Last Premiere of 2022 Tomorrow - Wed. Dec. 28th, 4pm ET - Harmonic Drive Mount Showdown
Added 2022-12-28 02:55:18 +0000 UTCNew video premiering tomorrow (Wednesday, 12/28) at 4pm ET (9pm UK, 1pm PT). Trying a bit later in the day for this one. It is a 41 minute long video review of the ZWO AM5, the iOptron HEM27, and the Sky-watcher EQ6-R (this is the control). As usual I will be in the live chat to answer your questions. Hope some of you can make it!
Hope everyone gets some clear skies to round out 2022!
-Nico
Comments
Another great video. I just got and assembled the AM5 last week. Skies here have been poor where I live, so have only done some test planetary work with it so far. But I did mount the AM5 into the sturdy Celestron AVX tripod, and when I extended its legs, the AM% handled the 9kg Celestron 9.25, plus a long imaging train, easily and without a counterweight. Tracking was great too. Have yet to try it for Deep Sky. But I'm happy with it so far.
Doug Berger
2023-02-18 10:03:38 +0000 UTCBeside the portability, and not having to use a counterweight (up to 25 pounds), no, they performed the same as the EQ6-R and polar alignment takes just as long if not longer. Long term maintenance: someone told me these strain wave gears last a long time in industrial applications. My guess is the normal EQ mounts are easier to service, even yourself if you are handy. But this is a bit of an unknown so go with Sky-watcher if concerned about it. They are good about having lots of replacement parts ready to go.
Nico Carver
2023-01-03 16:02:04 +0000 UTCNice video ( as usual ) and actually i was very interested in a comparison like this. Pitty I'm more confused than before. :-( I plan to replace my AVX somewhere in 2023 with something more capable, and considering that i don't care at all how much the mount weights ( I shoot only from my backyard, hence i dont move my equipment ). I was interested to know if the harmonic mounts are any better than an old school eq6r-pro beside the portability. Another thing that would be good to know ( but probably we will know only in afew years) is if those harmonic mounts need periodic maintenance, and what's the expected life cycle of those mounts. There's plenty of people having 10+ years old equatorial mounts that are still rock solid, and there's plenty of places where you can bring them to do periodic maintenance. I know for a fact that an eq6r can easilly last a decade or more, but those small and light harmonic drives ... how threy will perform after 3-4 years?
Salvatore Di Nardo
2023-01-03 13:14:07 +0000 UTCMaybe out of your price range ($2,960), but I suspect this unit from Pegasus Astro will be a strong competitor: https://www.highpointscientific.com/pegasus-astro-nyx-101-harmonic-geared-mount Other than that, I think the EQ6-R or AM5 are the best mounts at around $2,000.
Nico Carver
2022-12-29 23:18:42 +0000 UTCThanks for the video. I've always wanted an EQ6R but dang that AM5 is more than interesting with its compact size. More pondering to do...
PopolZ
2022-12-29 23:11:06 +0000 UTCThanks Nico. Besides the mounts in the comparison video, are there others I should consider in that price range?
David Beecher
2022-12-29 23:08:57 +0000 UTCThe AM5 had some early issues with their ASCOM driver, but those seem to have been ironed out, so today it is not true you have to move to the ZWO ecosystem to use the mount. For my testing for the video, I used all third-party software to control the mount and imaging session and it worked well. It's a tough choice, but I'd probably go for the ZWO AM5 just since not using counterweights or having to balance is pretty convenient.
Nico Carver
2022-12-29 21:28:00 +0000 UTCHey Nico, great video, but no clesr winner, but the iOptron with it’s hex key seem to put it in last for me. As someone who shoots with a SWSA without guiding, I’d like to upgrade my mount in 2023. Between the EQ6 and the AM5, where would you point someone looking to make a mount upgrade? Let me add that I understand moving to the AM5 involves adopting their ecosystem for operability, and I have no issue with that.
David Beecher
2022-12-29 17:32:17 +0000 UTCLooking forward to it
Torbjørn (T-Bear) Gustavson
2022-12-29 01:58:43 +0000 UTCI had unguided on my list, but the video was already “late”, so it got axed. I’m sure I’ll get to testing it eventually.
Nico Carver
2022-12-29 01:49:00 +0000 UTCTracking tonight on my EQ6-R / ASIAIR Plus is RA 0.70”, DEC 0.44” Total 0.83”
Jack Bernstein
2022-12-29 01:46:28 +0000 UTCReally thorough video as usual. Thank you for your hard work. Would be interesting to see an unguided comparison also
Torbjørn (T-Bear) Gustavson
2022-12-29 00:38:08 +0000 UTCCorrect. Performance is very similar, so the only reason to get the AM5 is if you want a smaller/lighter mount.
Nico Carver
2022-12-28 21:45:43 +0000 UTCSo… since I have an unscuffed EQ6-R with a USB port, no rush to get an AM5…
Jack Bernstein
2022-12-28 21:43:54 +0000 UTC
