I’ve been eyeing off one of these mounts for a while now to future proof my Obs down south. My existing EQ6-R pro is a superb mount in the 20kg class but maxed out with 15kg on board which doesn’t give me much room for future expansion in aperture and focal length.
When the EQ8-R pro first hit the market in late 2019 it had a few problems which could be resolved in one way or another. Lately there’s been a few more reviews on the current batch ( 2021 ) and it seems as though the mount now is fairly reliable and free of any major issues. The only thing that’s mentioned now is some minor tweaks and adjustments on the worm for minimising Dec backlash even further.
Guiding out of the box on average from various Astro sites is between 0.35 to 0.50 arc sec total which is excellent
I’d like hear from any folk who have purchased an EQ8-R pro mount in the last 12 months or so no to get their thoughts on this mount.
I realise not every situation and set up is the same but just an overview of the mount and it’s set up and performance
I know folk may suggest to go for an alternative 50kg class mount ( I Optron etc... ) but I’ve been a Skywatcher mount user since day one and would prefer to keep using the same style of mount and all my Goto and Nav programs ( EQMOD and Stellarium)
Below is the latest review on the EQ8-R pro mount from a chap in the UK
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nx-CRz24KeA
Appreciate any comments in regards to this mount
Thanks