SKY-WATCHER STAR ADVENTURER gti

[beren]

Anyone had experience with the Skywatcher star adventurer Gti ? Next batch from Skywatcher is coming soon to the retailers and tempted to try one . For use with a small refractor and small solar scope and camera lens , had a AZgti but thought it was pretty crude hoping this newish mount would have better build quality ? Cheers

[AdamJL]

Yep. Had two. Sent them both back. Out of the box, they’re rubbish and diminish in quality within days. Some of the worst backlash I’ve seen. I’m not alone in that either, check out the CN thread on it
Apparently fairly easy to rectify with some Teflon tape though. But that voids your warranty
Don’t go anywhere near the 5kg limit
Build quality is not great but it’s a cheap mount so…

[beren]

Thanks for the real world opinion appreciate it :thumbsup:

[Crater101]

Likewise, I sent mine back with several issues.


There's a previous thread on the GTi here...
https://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=197791


...that will give you an idea of some of the issues experienced.

[AstroViking]

I had high hopes for the GTi, but after reading about all the problems people were having with them I'm glad I went with the HEQ5.

Not to say the GTI is a bad product, as plenty of people reported good results with them.

I think there's too much randomness in SkyWatcher's QA process and the gamble is not worth it, IMHO.

Cheers,
V

[Icearcher]

On the other hand.....

Iv had mine since the first release and its has been very reliable, no backlash present even after all these months of use, guides easily and reliably, easy to set up and runs from AA batteries.

I cant find anything big to complain about, apart from the polar scope cover falling of but Iv just left that in the box.

Its running a SW 72ed, flattener, canon SLR, guide scope and guide cam.

Pic attached from the lunar eclipse.

[carlstronomy]

I have one, had teething issues. The mount has come along way with the firmware updates. It does everything I expected plus more as a traveling mount.

Here is another thread on guiding issues that have been resolved.

https://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=201971

All in all it is a good mount and I would recommend, but it needs a better tripod if you want to do imaging. I use my NEQ6 mount and its super.

I use the mount with an Evolux 62ED

[Shawn]

Mine is new, and runs like a dream with the redcat. we will see how long for , I guess but, here is a simple solution to the cover that you cant use at the same time as batteries. Here are two caps, one off my 2i the other off the GTi, as you can see they are the same. Except for the trim at the end of the prongs to enable the cap to go in far enough in to click into place on the GTi.


Time required , 2 minutes
Tools , sharp stanley knife or similar


An easy fix is a good fix, only need to trim a millimeter or so..


;)

[dikman]

Chris, the cows appear to find it interesting too.:D

As for the cap, I just (carefully) heated the prongs and bent them to give more tension. I think I picked that up from Cloudy Nights.

[Shawn]

That's a surveyors tripod by the looks, that,s the interesting bit, and I,m no cow.. The lack of spreaders might be point of concern from my memory of such tripods...But its a darn good idea...

[Rod-AR127]

Quick question about the polar scope.
When the mount is in the home position and you look through the polar scope, is 0 (zero) on the circle supposed to be at 12 o'clock?
Mine is about 1 o'clock ish. I know we in the Southern hemisphere use the Octans diagram not the circle but it would mean my Octans diagram is out.
Thanks,
Rod.

[alan meehan]

I have had my GTI now for some months this is the 2nd one i have had the first went back twice because of the backlash too loose then to tight finally skywatcher replaced it my new one is good tracks great and is a lightweight mount to carry ,i have a skywatcher ed80 on it.Good fix with trimming the ends of the polar scope cover works a treat.That said this is a great mount and would be great for a camera and lens or a redcat i only use mine for some visual goto

[carlstronomy]

Rod, you have to rotate it using the Allen screws. I found it a pain, I now use NINA and plate solve for polar alignment. It works awesome with this scope and you can get great long unguided exposures.

Clear skies :thumbsup: