EQ6 Load Capacity

[Grimmeister]

Hi All,

I am considering buying a sky watcher EQ6 and was hoping someone may be able to assist me with a couple of questions?

A) Is the maximum load capacity of 25KG including the counter weights weight (e.g. Counter wieghts and OTA) or is the 25KG just the payload rated weight (e.g. OTA only)?

B) Have many people found the hyper tune kits for the EQ6 make much difference to their performance and are they worth the trouble on a new mount?

Many Thanks in advance

Anthony

[Poita]

I'm about to receive one, so I guess I'd like to know this as well.

I know people have said that fully loaded it will struggle for astrophotography work, but would be okay for visual if properly balanced.

From what I've read the hyper tune kit is not really necessary, but opening up the mount and cleaning and lubing it properly may be worth the exercise and you get a look at how the lucky-dip went with the quality of gears and grease you happen to get.

I'm hoping to hear from some experienced owners though.

[Shiraz]

EQ6 is pretty wobbly when carrying a 20kg+ 12 inch f5 Newt and 3 CW - with this load and on the tripod it can wander maybe 20-30arcsec in a light breeze, more in a gust, but it still tracks well enough for planetary imaging or visual. Would suggest you keep the OTA-side weight below about 12kg for imaging over longer time periods for DSOs. Would also be worth getting or making a pier - the tripod is OK, but not particularly stiff.

Mine was very well set up straight out of the box and I won't be doing any tuneups for a while. Amazing value and capability when you look at the alternatives. Regards Ray

[Grimmeister]

Thanks Peter and Ray, good feedback and much appreciated, I am surprised at the 12 KG rating as it doesn't take much to get to that weight and AP is definitly where I want to go with the mount. But have heard people say to derate the mount by 50% when trying AP. Maybe this one would be better?? (I wish LOL). http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=75838

[Shiraz]

Hi Anthony. You can definitely put more on an EQ6 than 12kg and others have probably done fine imaging at higher loads. However, every additional bit of weight you add will reduce the stability and you will end up losing subs because of it. Others may have had different experiences, but that is about the best tradeoff between weight and DSO imaging efficiency on my system. regards Ray

[Merlin66]

I hang a C9.25+spectroscopes+cameras etc etc on my NEQ6pro.
Total weight around 15Kg and it GOTO's and tracks very well (can hold a star image on a 20micron slit indefinately)
I looked at de-forking the 12" lx and putting the OTA on the NEQ6 - but at 17.1Kg it was just too much!
IMHO somewhere around 15Kg is the loading for imaging on a HEQ6pro

[gbeal]

Like most answers, "depends". I am imaging now with a nice mid-weight 4" app, and CCD/OAG combo. Nothing else. It is blowing about 12 knots, and the tracking graph is not flat-lining. I have the NEQ6, on a pier.
On other nights the 10" f5 C/F tubed Newt is a doddle.
Only one way to find out.
Gary

[Logieberra]

You'll void your warranty (5 yrs from some places) if you start fiddling with internal upgrades etc.

They work out of the box :)

[Grimmeister]

Thanks again to everyone, I think the general consensus is around 15KG Max for AP, So I guess I will need to look seriously at the scopes and accessories that I want to put on it and weigh up their weight and then determine if the EQ6 is suitable out of the box (as Logan highlights, opening the thing up and modifying it will void warranty :( and I don't want to do that). I might end up spending more cash on a bigger stronger mount to carry the load I want it to. Maybe the EQ8 isn't out of the question yet :)


Cheers and thanks again


Anthony

[Logieberra]

There is / was a used G11 in the classifides. I would start there as a minimum...

[icytailmark]

speaking from personal experience id definately go for the Losmandy G11 mount. Its a very solid mount no slop and very smooth tracking. Worth the money for sure!!!

[Alchemy]

If you want to go down the AP path then get the best mount you can afford.
I had a similar choice and saved for the G11. that certainly doesn't mean you can't get good results with an eQ6, the longer focal length you go generally the better mount is required.
Although strangely enough This image has listed as it's mount listed as a 15 inch scope on an eq6 http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=79586&page=2 if someone could provide me with a pic of the setup I would like to have a look.

[icytailmark]

clive i think john has the eq6 on a pier tho.

[bert]

Ok I'll go against the tide.

Load the sucker up... worked for me. I have done ap at 1800fl with a Highly modified (read very heavy) vc200 with an 100mm apo on its back and 4 counterweights with round stars. Didnt make too much difference to tracking to my eye. It has nice smooth periodic error which guides out nicely.

I did the hypertune. Not sure if it made much difference, it tracked well before and after. I did the hypertune because I thought I had a tracking problem, I later found out it was an optical problem with the ota.

The most important thing with tracking on these mounts is to get the worm spacings right... not too tight or too loose. Either way your in a world of pain.

My mount is used in my home observatory including all night, unattended, multi target imaging. I dont think I would swap it outright for a g11, I know I have a good example.

Brett

[Waxing_Gibbous]

Absolute weight has less to do with image quality than distribution of weight. My back-heavy mak-cass (f15) doesn't fair too well despite weighing only 9kgs. Nor does a 10" newt weighing maybe 14kg.
However, my TOA 130 which weighs in at about 18-20kg fully-loaded fares just fine.

There's some sense to the extra weight stabilising the mount - if the OTA isn't blowing around in the breeze or wobbling from inertia, then the mount can do it's job properly. As long as the load isn't stressing the drivetrain, a heavier package will actually help maintain stability in long scopes or scopes with long focal lengths (IMO).

[rider]

Yep, I'll go with that. Ive got a 12inch Newt. 80mm finder, Moonlite focusser, 20" counterweight rod with 4 weights and the rest of the heavy toys you usually hang on scopes. The neq6pro doesn't even notice it. rock solid.
...and I think a certain Mr Salway uses a similar arrangement for some pretty good imaging.

[thunderchildobs]

Can the Skywatcher NEQ6 PRo handle a 10inch LX200 OTA, 80 mm Skywatcher guide scope, 2 cameras and all the extras?

Brendan

[Merlin66]

I can answer that....
It's the same set up that I've been using; I add the spectroscope to the lis!
Worked 100%. No issues.
EDIT
I used the wider Losmandy dovetail and an ADM minirail for the guide scope.....

[Carl]

Interesting comments
I have an EQ6 and thinking of buying the new 10inch f4 newtonian for photography. The only other stuff on the mount will be a modified finderscope/guidescope and my canon 500d. The whole lot will be resting on a solid permanent peir in my observatory. Question is how well will it image for deepspace 5 minute exposures.

Any comments?

Cheers carl

[thunderchildobs]

thanks

[gbeal]

I use one for a similar set up, and no problems at all. In my case I am headed in the OAG direction, but even with the finder/guider it worked well, no real issues. OK, windy night? Forget it, but that goes for my 4" refractor as well.
Gary

[Poita]

Let me know, as that is almost exactly the setup I am about to attempt :)

I'm thinking of getting the Losmandy plate and Dovetails though, as I have the EQ6Pro, not the NEQ6