IOptron iEQ45

[Hans Tucker]

Introducing the iEQ45...looks good...I wonder if it performs.

http://ioptron.com/index.cfm?select=productdetails&phid=a67ad030-ddfb-47c2-8184-ab63d55bf2e6

[Terry B]

Looks very nice. I wonder how much it will cost in Oz.

[jjjnettie]

I'll wait to see what the reviews are like before I consider trading in my HEQ5Pro for one.
But I'm betting that it'll do just fine. Their other mounts perform very well, so why not this one too.:)

[Wavytone]

Hans,

Anacortes have produced a comparison chart (open the image) http://www.astromart.com/classifieds/details.asp?classified_id=686672 Pity iOptron didn't openly give these details on their own website.

The EQ6 or Vixen SXW were undersized for my scopes but the iEQ45 is tempting I must admit, though I think I'll stick with altaz.

[Iceaxe]

Hans

iEQ45
The specs says weigh load of 45lbs which is only about 20kgs.:shrug:

iEQ75-GT
The specs says weigh load of 75lbs which is about 34kgs,
but its us$8800.

I think I will stay with my plan to get EQ6 Pro.:thumbsup:

Joe :)

[Terry B]

The EQ6 is rated at 40lb according to anacort page. This is less.
The big difference I can see is the use of a belt rather than gears as the tramsmision. It will be interesting to see how this affects the PE.

[Kal]

The iEQ45 has potential on paper, but as I've seen all too many times with astronomy gear the performance of it can only be judged by actual user use and reviews.

To me the biggest difference between this and the EQ6 are the bigger worm gears (RA 130mm 216T & DEC 115mm 192T for the iEQ45 Vs 90mm 180T on both RA & DEC for the EQ6), and the use of servo motors instead of stepper motors. I am not too sure about how it will perform because of the belt drive - are there any other mounts out there that are belt driven and if so how does it perform?

I hope that it is a performer, it would be wonderful to have another mount option out there.

[Terry B]

An old thread.
I received an email today stating these mounts are now shipping. How long till they are available in Oz I wonder and for how much?

[robz]

As in other threads, the EQ6 payload is at least 20kg.............no less.
It has been proven to take 25kg without any significant difficulties.

The Ioptron will top the $2,000, or even $3,000 range after all the middle men have finished screwing around with it's price.
Keep in mind the price of a new EQ6PRO at about a year or two ago.

The EQ6 can be had for as little as $1599 at the moment, so why bother?;)

It's also made in the same factory as the EQ6................by a sub section of the same manufacturing company(Skywatcher....again :whistle:)apparently:question:

[wasyoungonce]

The funny thing is putting the IEQ45 in comparison with a EM200 and Mach1 GTO....with no mention of its advertised or expected PE:rofl:.

To give it it's due the drive system a 3rd generation of the Gotonova so should work nicely.

It's late in delivery...very late. The company has not published PE but early reports were +/- 35 arc sec's. (http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ioptronraw/message/125) However, this was not backed up by graphs. Other data shows around +/- 15 arc sec's, here (http://translate.google.com.au/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.astronomiecommunity.eu/index.php%3Fpage%3DThread%26postID% 3D228&ei=UnPWTLWEPYPfcfTwvNQL&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CC0Q7gEwBDgU&prev=/search%3Fq%3DIEQ45%2BPE%26start%3D2 0%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3Do6M%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.m ozilla:en-US:official%26channel%3Ds)and here (http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.m42optic.fr/pro/catalog/product_info.php%3Fproducts_id%3D74 1%26osCsid%3Df800f60eab92d716b5e701 b4e7ed6725&prev=/search%3Fq%3DPE%2Bof%2BIEQ45%26hl%3 Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DX%26tbo%3D1%26rls%3Dorg.mo zilla:en-US:official%26channel%3Ds%26tbs%3Dq dr:d&rurl=translate.google.com.au&twu=1&usg=ALkJrhgIN7PcKZOQrWJbD7LKB5z5vOd o6A).

Note that the last link is a vendor that reportedly sells a high precision worm that lowers this PE to +/- 7.5 arc sec's. Which would be great..but..I have to ask as to how they are producing "these" when the mount has just been released.

They must have had inside commercial knowledge.

Anyway..bring it on..this can only be good for consumers.

[strongmanmike]

Looks to be a strong competitor to the G11 actually - similar specs but much cheaper.

MIke

[wasyoungonce]

Ahhh fishing for G11 user comments;).

G11 performance on beer income.."tell them their dream'in!:lol:"

I have used Ioptron products and while they are well designed, wrt the GTN and GTS their service is well short on delivery.

Ioptron has a long way to go before they can marry their products with "good" reliability and service as part of their repertoire.

But the flip side is..if they can get reasonable performance cheaply then the pressure is on other manufacturers to produce at similar costs. Which is all good for users.

[brian nordstrom]

:thumbsup: Hi Hans , and all who have had an imput here ,
I have now got mine , and it is a really good mount for the price :thumbsup: ,The polar allignment is so easy to use its almost fool proof :D , Even I had it sorted in no time . 10 miniutes from first set up .
It holds my NG 127ed , 32mm celestron Axiom LX , FT 3035 focuser with ease , tracks beautifully , finds objects and looks really sexy . :P
But there is 1 big problem ....
Its the wet up here and we are on cyclone watch so I think it wont be until at least ;) april/ may 2012 that I will get to use her properly , at least I got a week to learn , like and love these . :thumbsup:
Brian.

[Terry B]

Good luck with the new mount. Keep your head down with the cyclone though.

[Fox]

Hi Brian, if you don't mind me asking, where did you get the mount and how much was it? Cheers Fox

[brian nordstrom]

;) Sorry Andrew , the iEQ45 uses 130mm Dia / 216 tooth on its RA and 115mm Dia/192 tooth on its Dec . :thumbsup: Exactly the same as the EQ6 ,
I have one now and its a very ,very good mount .

[brian nordstrom]

Santa was good to me this year .:D
Here is a bigger photo.
Brian

[brian nordstrom]

:eyepop: OOPs , sorry Andrew , read your message wrong:confused2:, its a little early on christmas morning .
Merry Christmas . Brian.

[brian nordstrom]

;) 2nd hand Fox , the origonal owner got it directly from China .
Dont ask how he managed this . It is the 2nd generation model with the single Vixen style DEC lock not the older 4 x lock system like the RA locks still are .
Price ??? all I will say is well under $1500 delivered to my door from over seas .
:thumbsup: I happened to be Johnny on the spot , had the readies , I was only a few days from getting a Vixen SXW when this came to be for sale .
. I had to machine up the aliminium adaptor to fit my WO hard wood HD triopd ( as in the photo ) and its a very sturdy set up .
I love the ease of use with all its functions , very cool and straight forward.:D
Brian. .