Skywatcher Wave 150i

[AstroJunk (Jonathan)]

Here it is, in the flesh!

At least it's not raining so I can give it a quick whirl on some landscape objects. I have to say it's pretty well put together and whisper quiet even on max slew. Being strain wave, it's rock solid too which makes ultra-fine focussing manually a breeze so will be a big help for my solar work.

Looking forward to getting to know the mount better but so far so good, and FYI, the superb cable management was the thing that caused me to pick this over the many very capable alternatives.

[Pasko (Pascal)]

Congrats! Very nice. I have the OG AM5 and was tempted to upgrade to something with better cable management. How well has it been guiding so far? Would love to see it head to head comparison between this the AM5 and AM5N.

BTW I like your DIY mounting plate

[AstroJunk (Jonathan)]

Thanks, given the weather, it may be some time before I get to find out how well it guides! and fortunately for me, mounting it atop my pier was super simple with some stainless bolts and left over hardwood from a cabinetry project!

Originally Posted by Pasko

Congrats! Very nice. I have the OG AM5 and was tempted to upgrade to something with better cable management. How well has it been guiding so far? Would love to see it head to head comparison between this the AM5 and AM5N.

BTW I like your DIY mounting plate

[AstroJunk (Jonathan)]

Finally had a clear night to play. One thing for sure, I need a lot of short USB and power cables to properly use the ports on the head.

It's probably an unfair screen grab from my ASIAir as I haven't actually polar aligned yet, so the guiding will be chasing drift, but even so, everything seemed to be doing just fine using a 25mm guide scope and 120MM camera via the ST4 port.

I was a bit shocked just how quickly the mount slews to targets, it's very impressive and so quiet too making it an absolute pleasure to use. I'm more impressed than I thought I would be.

[AstroJunk (Jonathan)]

And in preparation for tonight's session, with larger guide scope, watch this: https://youtu.be/EsfgwJpLy1U

[h0ughy (David)]

Well I have just bought myself an early-ish Christmas present. I got a zwo cf40 and pier extension . I have also bought the 150i and I bought a new camera 585 mcpro, guide camera and asiair plus to go with my redcat51. I also got the counterweight set just in case and I thought outside the box and got a synscan hand controller for when I wish to use solar scopes and other camera gear. You're a very bad influence......

Would really appreciate how you setup the asiair and the other bits. As you know for me it's way out of my comfort zone. How did you go for cables and power supply?

[AstroJunk (Jonathan)]

Welcome to the bleeding edge - Although it's a familiar place for us as we both had the first ever EQ8's!

The 2.5mm plugs are a pain, but adaptors from Jaycar allowed me to use my normal cabling and gradually I will re solder some existing cables to be a little neater. I don't have any serious power drains with my camera but still run one lead to the camera, the other to the ASIAir, but from a previous set up I have run the camera Power from the Air too.

The synscan controller is a good idea, the wireless phone app is a great way to drive the scope into the pier by accident and it hits pretty hard - you can do the same with the hand controller, but it is easier to recover from. The ASIAir is really easy to set up, plug it into the cradle USB and Jumper the USB on the mount so that the ASIAir controls and guides through it, no need for the ST4 cable. The whole thing is nice and neat with no cables loose from the scope at all now as per picture.

Not that I've seen much sky since it arrived - I still need to polar align it properly and really test out guiding, I may have a go later.

[h0ughy (David)]

Thanks for the prompt response. Cable warfare coming soon for me I think. I think most of it is at the post office, I see where they have apparently called in to attempt delivery. Bugger I was down the back.

Stinking hot day here, with a chance of pestilence and calamity later in the week.

[h0ughy (David)]

But the hinode guider used st4 connection

[AstroJunk (Jonathan)]

Originally Posted by h0ughy

But the hinode guider used st4 connection

Then that ST4 on the saddle will come in very handy - It's one of the reasons why I chose it over the AM5 or smaller Wave 100. Better too many options than too few

I do love being able to swap out Solar for the SCT with minimum of fuss. I don't currently use a counterweight with the scopes being relatively small and on a pier, but certainly would on a tripod for peace of mind.

[DarthRiker (Vikram)]

I have a C8 SCT with Celestron f/6.3 Reducer, ASI294MC Pro camera and HEQ5 Pro mount. All controlled with an ASIAIR Plus 32GB.

At the moment I can do unguided EAA with no more than 30s exposures for at most 30 minutes duration in Live Mode for Live Stacking.

Would I be able to use the Skywatcher Wave 150i to do unguided EAA?

I have been told that I should be able to to unguided EAA with the AM5N with my setup - I'm just wondering if I can do that with other strain wave/harmonic mounts like the Skywatcher Wave 150i and the iOptron HAE29 (non-EC version).

[AstroJunk (Jonathan)]

Any equatorial mount is fine for EAA, the key is not the mount but the polar alignment. I had a permanently mounted scope with a clear south which I polar aligned to arc second accuracy using Sharp Cap and it would track unguided for hours.

Strain wave mounts by their nature have more periodic error than a conventional GEM, but short exposures will compensate for that.

Of course, with the equipment you are using, which is not far of the kit I use, a small investment in a guide scope and camera will allow for much longer sessions without the need for such precise polar alignment.

Originally Posted by DarthRiker

I have a C8 SCT with Celestron f/6.3 Reducer, ASI294MC Pro camera and HEQ5 Pro mount. All controlled with an ASIAIR Plus 32GB.

At the moment I can do unguided EAA with no more than 30s exposures for at most 30 minutes duration in Live Mode for Live Stacking.

Would I be able to use the Skywatcher Wave 150i to do unguided EAA?

I have been told that I should be able to to unguided EAA with the AM5N with my setup - I'm just wondering if I can do that with other strain wave/harmonic mounts like the Skywatcher Wave 150i and the iOptron HAE29 (non-EC version).