I tried the Sky-watcher EQM-35, Is it any good?
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- Опубліковано 14 жов 2021
- Get the Sky-watcher EQM-35 Pro Equatorial Mount from High Point Scientific here: tinyurl.com/eqm35pro
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I had pointing error issues with the EQM-35 until I did a factory Reset on the hand controller. After that it worked fine. Before that, using the EQM-35 with a hand controller from an Orion StarSeeker (the hand controllers are identical) also worked fine. So something was amiss with the EQM’s hand controller out of the box. Resetting it is worth a try.
Would not have occurred to me! I'll pin this comment so others can try this simple fix. Thanks Alan!
Hi Alan. I was just about to post a question re: the source of the problem (Encoder resolution? Software? etc), so thanks for sharing your experience! 👍👍
@@derekbaker3279 I don’t know if a reset will solve all but it’s worth a try. You lose site settings but big deal. It seemed to work for me.
@@alandyer910 Mine has been doing better since I have been parking the scope on shutdown, and then powering up from park. Though the 3 star alignments are usually off, if I do a 2nd alignment it generally starts finding the objects from there. The last 2 times I've had it out, I did not do any alignments and and the goto had the objects in frame first try.
@@hikingphotog And just how did you get the go to to work without any alignment??🤔
EQM35 + Z61 + ASIAIR PLUS + EOS 6D + ZWO mini guide + ASI120 = FUN for years ! Thanks Nico.
Can you do polar alignment with the Asiair?
Olivier, how did you get the EQM35 to work with ASIAIR goto?
@@rleonbutler1030 Yes y can.
Small tip from an owner of the EQM-35s smaller Brother, the EQ3-Pro-synscan. A big "problem" a lot of these cheap mounts have, is the fact that they don't use ball bearings. They are very dependent on being well greased. Unfortunately they use a relatively low grade grease in the factory. Which can result in a relatively sticky axis. That can be really bad for autoguiding and for pointing accuracy. Tracking is affected as well, but surprisingly not as bad as the other two.
By regreasing all the important parts with a high quality teflon grease, and being carefull not to tighten the nuts too much after reassembling you can get those mounts down to sub arcsecond guiding and extremely accurate pointing. I'm guessing at least part of that is due to much more precise balancing (which is hard if you have a sticky axis).
Regreasing yourself is relatively easy, but I wouldn't recommend it to someone who is not compfortable with disassembling and reassembling relatively complicated objects. However many Astroshops offer to service mounts for a hundred bucks or so. That is definitely an alternative to an EQ6 or similar expensive mount, if it is not yet necessary due to weight of telescope etc.
Great tip! Thanks Jörg
I agree, Sky-Watcher uses one grease to fit all, if it is grease. It's more like glue! Really, it's horrible stuff. A good quality teflon, (PTFE) grease will work wonders for pointing accuracy. I advise people to check with the status of their warranty before attempting to clean and regrease.
@Jörg I also own an EQ3 Pro and made a full disassembly, de- and regreasing everything carefully. With autoguiding, I get around 3-4 arcsec guiding accuracy and I am wondering after reading your post if I tightened the screws too hard. Can you give me any advice how much you tightened the screws?
@@sailaliamg2695 It's possible. I thightened the nuts of the RA and DEC axis just enough that they held in place without play, with the axis still spinning just as freely as without any tightening at all. The same is basically true for the motors and gearboxes/wormgear. After installation they should have good contact, without any play whatsoever (if you close the clutch, they should not move the slightest bit when you try to turn at the little gears of the gearbox. But with the clutch open, the gears should move very easily.
The other point is of course balancing and polar alignment. Both should be bang on for perfect guiding.
It is of course possible that you need to adjust your guiding settings.
I use the ASI Air Pro, and it took me a while to get decent settings, because I went way to agressive with the stepping speed.
Hope I could help a bit.
@@PagsPayback Thanks for the hints. I think I did as you described. I tried to avoid play in all axes and gears (the worm gear was the hardest to adjust that it is not too tight but has nearly no play). I also ballance my gear as best as I can (lose clutch and carefully check if either rotation direction is easier). I check polar alignment with Phd2 (I think with this drift align option, not sure) and usually get something around 10 arcmin, but more is nearly impossible as the value will jump back and forth when I try to be more accurate. I guess I will just have to get more experience or better gear...
Just bought this mount a couple of weeks ago and its tracking is indeed impressive!
Nice one Nico! Appreciate the sharing and the insight into some of the potential watchouts. I just acquired one and am looking forward to some clear winter skies to give it a run.
Excellent video again Nico, we need the full length comparison video for mounts, waiting patiently.
Very good review, thank you! I really enjoy my EQM-35 Pro, guided by ASIAIR PRO, it is just like I discovered a wonder. But I have to say I first tuned it, cause I had some friction in the axis, and after bearings were changed and the factory grease removed and replaced by a quality one, now it works nice and smooth. I just reached 15 min. guided, still having the stars round. Usually, I use 3 or 5 min. My setup: EQM-35 Pro, scope TS80/560, guide tube TS50/204, ASi1600MC-Pro, ASI120MC-S and ASIAIR-PRO.
Thank you. Very informative. Happy New Year.
Thanks Nico. Your videos are awesome and so helpful for a beginner like me. I bought this mount in may 2021 (it has the USB connector). I use it with a SW 72ED refractor, a guide scope and a DSLR. I never managed to get rid off the backlash in Dec, but I’m now quite happy with little EQM-35. I get precise PA with SHARCAP and my guide camera. Pointing and meridian flip are a breeze using plate solving with NINA/ASTAP. Guiding is almost always better than 1 arcsec (generally 0,7). The only thing I can’t do is dithering. Backlash doesn’t allow to dither in DEC and I get walking noise when I dither only in RA. So I’m completely OK with your conclusion Nico. Keep on with the good work and sorry for my poor English…
I've got this mount and can basically confirm this review. I too was a bit disappointed with the GoTo errors. But being diligent when leveling the scope and polar aligning it, means the world.
Having said that, I use this mount in conjunction with a Stellarmate. So it's kind of a moot point for me now.
I have had a bit of trouble with backlash lately. Quite often Stellarmate cannot initiate guiding because backlash prevents accurate tracking. But this is my fifth year of using it, so a bit of tightening up is probably long overdue anyway.
I like this mount because it is affordable for amateurs who are not yet committed enough to buy thousands of dollars worth of equipment. But good enough to let your hobby grow into the advanced field of it. It affords a good solid base from which you can build your kit. Bigger scopes, guide scopes, cameras, filters, heaters, and computers. The only limitation is its payload. But it's a limitation all mounts run into at some point.
Because as all amateur astronomers know, the ideal amount of telescopes is n+1. Where n is the number of telescopes you currently have :).
Great review Nico! Had mine for 18 months or so and works great!
Never used the controller except for switching into pc mode where both
Stellarium and Nina can control it for targets and platesolving via a mini pc.
Bought it after using the Star-Adventurer but didn’t have any plans for
heavier mounts/bigger set-ups. Using it with DSLR and a W/O 61mm with guide camera, etc.
Been very happy with it!
Zip ties and velcro straps and a USB hub have come in handy for cable mgt
to allow only two cables (1 ac power, 1 usb) back to the workstation.
Thanks for the video nico! Loved it
Being new to the hobby I don’t have anything else to compare to but I love my EQM-35 pro. I did struggle with manual polar alignment at first too but once I added my ASIAIR PRO astrophotography became really fun. I would recommend the mount but I would suggest the ASIAIR pro too go with it. Great info on the review
Bravo Nebula Photos! Another great informative video!
I have been using my EQM-35 for over a year now and just love it.. At first it was having some play issues and after some research I found a video of tearing the mount down to re-lube it and adjust the worm drives and that made all the difference. I use it with a Astro-Tech AT65EDQ scope and ZWO ASIAIR Pro and small tablet an this setup has taken some great photo's over the past year. The best thing about this setup for this 61 y/o is I can carry the entire setup (minus the weights) out into my back yard without having to break it down. Nice video...
@@realtraphotography ua-cam.com/users/MartinPyottsearch?query=eqm-35 Martin tunes up a EQ-5, but it works the same... I think there are 5 video's..
Do ypu have a link to this teardown video? I can't find anything anywhere!
@@Phunkydiabetic It's on Martin Pyott channel and he has a lot of scope stuff video's. Good luck... ua-cam.com/video/8tZ58AVVyuQ/v-deo.html
I used an eq3-2 with onstep as the goto option for almost two years. I used it with my explorer 150p, 60mm guidescope and usually a dslr which overloaded it by a few kilos. When it worked it was phenomenal, but I had to spend most of my nights fixing it up. I'm sure it would work beautifully when in payload capacity. Great little mount.
You are spot-on with the pointing accuracy. I got this mount in April (my 1st tracking mount) and I love it! But, as you stated, the pointing accuracy is somewhat lacking. At first I thought I was doing something wrong: maybe my polar alignment was off or I was not aligned properly doing my star-align. But I came to the conclusion that this was just a "flaw" with the GoTo system. I now can just study the area that I want to image/view with the help of Stellarium and pretty much get my target dead center, or wherever I want to in the frame, and I don't and have never used any computer connection. That time will come. Hopefully after the new year.
I find that 2 minute subs is pushing the limit without guiding with my camera lens. 90 seconds has been my limit with my 1325mm Mak-Cas OTA. Any longer introduces trailing.
Overall I think this is a great mount for the money and would recommend it to anyone getting started, like me. Just put a little effort and have patience with the pointing accuracy and it will be worth your while...and money.
Clear Skies to ALL!
P.S.
High Point Scientific customer support helped me out so much. Thanks to that whole team!
With the money saved on this mount I was able to add the ASIAIR Pro (you touched on at about 5:30) with a guide camera. A killer combo for relative portability and accuracy. Just a note for anyone doing this (and it took me a lot of head banging before I found the solution) when tracking and plate solving DO NOT sync the plate solve to the mount after success. For some reason that messes it up. Since getting that straight I've been in AP nirvana. Thanks for the review!
I've been dithering between getting a star tracker like a Star Adventurer 2 and a full EQ goto mount. This mount seems like a great value for me and I'm very thankful for this review! You have a new subscriber!
Thanks for the very sensible review.
Great review Neco! Not many people have reviewed this mount. I have my for about a year and I agree the tracking is impressive and the go-to is not 😅 but works great with plate solving.
Something to be aware of is that my model came with an older controller that doesn't have a USB port so instead I use a EQDIR cable to connect to my PC, using the hand controller port!
Hoping to hypertune and PEC train this mount soon to get the very most out of it
Thanks for the presentation great information.
Thanks Nico! I've actually been looking at this mount for a very portable solution (along with my AZ-Gti)
Thank you for this review. I've expected the go-to to be as easy as saying take me to Andromeda and have thought I've been doing something wrong. So happy I'm not as stupid as I feared. Too bad I find this review after many tears. But what blew my mind was that I can use the USB port to connect my computer for plate solving. Say what???!!!!!!!! Now I have something new to research this winter. Thanks!
This mount is really great- I think personally that low-end equatorial mounts can be even a greater alternative than trackers for people that need something on a budget. Personally, as an EQ3-2 user, in my case, I got double axis guiding, go-to and a greater payload for less than the price of the Star Adventurer.
Usually, the pointing accuracy won't be so great- but this is why platesolving with ASTAP exists. Another problem is that working without guiding can leave star trails even when perfectly polar aligned, caused by the periodic error. Once you get it working with guiding, you will be able to get as much time as you want! There are some versions that come without the stock motor in the kit. This way, you can adquire improved DIY motorizations, like the OnStep and AstroEQ and run it via computer.
I'd suggest anyone who owns a cheaper mount like the EQ3, EQ3-2, EQ5 or EQ-35 to invest on guiding, even if it's guiding with a webcam and a diy telescope.
Great insights Olga! Yes, I should have put more emphasis on the possibility for much longer exposures with guiding. Excellent point!
i was going exactly this way, i got a cheap 2nd hand 750mm newton with EQ3 mount and motors. The ZWO mini mono cam for guiding and a damn OAG adapter costed nearly the same as the scope itself but its totally worth it. Even with "perfect" polar alignment i got a lot of trails.
Still trying to get guiding working but i still mess up some things it seems but it really tries to guide with PHD2 for something like 10-20 seconds before it lose the star (somehow its too slow to follow despite using 1,00x autoguiding speed on handcontroller)
Im pretty sure as soon i get guiding working as its meant to be, i can start with longer exposures than 20-30 seconds which i really want to do.
@@harrison00xXx Check what tracking speed you are running. Lunar, solar or sidereal
@@Astronurd yep found that out too i need to start tracking with the hand module before autoguiding
Thought at first that’s automatically done when using ST4 connection
But as i found out already how everything is done properly i also found out: the DEC worm gear is fked up, every 2-4 minutes a HUGE jump in dec direction next to a very huge backslash, impossible to correct and i can at best autoguide DEC only in one direction and with imbalance of the scope to make the broken DEC movement a little bit less annoying
I think the EQ3 was probably a nice 2nd hand starter/beginner mount, but i realize now why the astrophotographers hate the EQ3… RA axis completely fine, but DEC so much worse…
I have this mount and been using for 18 months. It’s very capable and I have a GT81 with all the imaging gear required. Manages the weight with no issues and tracks extremely well.
Very helpful, thank you!
Great information thank you. I have also experience the inaccurate go to with several mounts. I recently bought a HEQ5 Pro. I do a super accurate polar alignment with SharpCap. I have also reduce cone error using Conesharp. That is less than a few arc seconds now.
After set up I do a goto and a plate solve and sync. After this every GoTo puts the star almost dead centre frame. This works even when the mount does a flip. I can't get that good with an AZ-EQ6 so perhaps I have an unusually good 5.
Sensible advice as usual Nico. You are my first goto YT source. You can tell when peopl;e know their subject rather than pretend.
I use this mount and I’ve been able to take 10 minute subs with a Skywatcher EVOSTAR 100 with no trailing at all. I was blown away with how good the tracking was but I do agree that the pointing accuracy could be off from time to time.
Thank you so much for this video! And thank so much everyone who commented the video, it was really helpful for someone who is buying is first goto mount (in this case me)
Just tested this out for the first time! I'm forever grateful to say that I did not have the issues with goto like Nico had. Excited to start collecting data!
Awesome Nico, I have an EQ6-R Pro, but I've been looking for 2nd mount that would work well with my camera lenses for wide field without breaking the bank. This seems to fit my needs!
Thank you Nico, I’m sold with adding this to an ASIAIR pro and redcat. Clear skies
I purchased a used Orion SkyView Pro which I think is equivent to the EQM-35 mount. I have to say this video and comments has put me at ease. I am also having the same exact issue with goto accuracy that you and many have mentioned here. My whole plan was to get an Asiair Plus for astrophotography and to have better accuracy. I am so happy many and yourself have comfirmed this is the way to go. Once I am on a taget, tracking works great. I do not have the USB port on the motor controller but was able to hookup an RJ11/USB cable to the hand controller and computer and have Stellarium controlling the mount but, goto accuracy is stil off as I am using the 2 star alignment from the hand controller. I am going to research how to hookup the Asiair directly to the motor controller. I will also look into that motor control update that was mentioned here. I am looking forward to using the Asiair to solve all of this. Thanks again for a great video and all the good information posted here!
Yep, that all sounds right Patrick. Once you can add platesolving, either on a PC or through the ASIAir, it should make go-tos much easier. You should be able to hook the ASIAir up in the same fashion you have done with your PC using the RJ/11/USB cable. Do you use a ZWO camera?
@@NebulaPhotos I have a DSLR Canon SL3/250D that I have confirmed from ZWO that is compatiable with the Airair Plus. I might look into getting one of their cameras eventually but, will stick with the Canon for now. Do you have any other hints/tips for me considering my setup? I have 72MM ED refractor that I will be using from Astronomics so, weight-wise, I think I am good. What PC program can I use now for platsolving?
All the mounts with the telescopes on them look so cool!
About the pointing accuracy - Skywatcher released a motor firmware update (v3.15) about 2 weeks ago that fixed it having incorrect gear tooth counts. My pointing accuracy improved after that, although it's probably still not as good as a higher class mount.
Oh, interesting, that's good to know! Wish I still had the mount to test that. Glad it's working a bit better for you.
Just tried updating to the new firmware with no luck i'm in PC direct mode connected by usb on my eqm35 do you have a guide I can use? i keep getting "not a valid motor controller firmware".
Week 21 of appreciating Five Minute Fridays
regularly get sub arc second guiding with this mount (0.60ish) and my skywatcher 80ed. this mount is brilliant for a more budget option aslong as you dont want a big heavy scope on it.
i noticed the 3 star alignment and goto was off with the hand controller but i use APT and plate solving now and dont have any problems finding and centering targets anymore.
overall this mount gets 10/10 for beginners (i paid £560ish brand new for mine although prices have gone up since lockdown
I run my Skywatcher EQM 35 Pro with an 80mm SvBONY ED, field flattener, ZWO EFW 1.25” +filters, ASI294MC Pro, guide camera/scope, AAP and it runs great! I’m very happy with it.
Good review.. sounds like it would be a good option for a small refractor.
I bought the EQM-35 Pro about 2 plus years ago and never could get the goto working. The Cloudy Nights forum has a great thread about issues with fixing a ton of issues. Since mine was well out of warranty I went through the scope with a fine tooth comb. That didn't help. Neither did up dating the firmware. I bought a new hand controller (v. 5) but haven't tried it yet. Instead, I bought a Celestron AVX mount because I wasn't going to invest a bunch more time in the EQM. The AVX works well. I'll probably try and mount the Sky Guider Pro on the tripod just for kicks. In my opinion, the EQM-35 makes a great boat anchor.
I can confirm the issue with EQ6R-Pro, especially when it does equatorial flip. Thus I typically slew to the target's nearest bright star, manually correct center on this star and adjust Stellarium by CTRL+Shift+1. Next I slew to the target object (near by), and the error is very little.
This is my favorite little tracking mount!! You are correct - the GoTo is not great, but the tracking is good. 😁
I've got that mount, it does work well. I even overload it with my old 8"Meade 2080, can still get 3 min subs with phd2. Of course, spot on polar alignment is a must.
Impressive!
Mine have the same issue
I have the same mount. I haven't gotten it all set up, but I'm close. I'll be using a Nikon D500 (1.5 crop) on a couple lenses: 80-200 f/2.8, 200-500 f/5.6. Both are super sharp, which is why I got the mount. Payload should fall within specs, too.
Since I've never used it, I'm struggling with PHD2, such as how to hook it up so it can talk to the mount. Can you recommend any videos or other resource that would help me? I'm sure it's just a brain fart, but I can't seem to get past this brick wall. TIA.
Theres a mount firmware upgrade which is significant, as mentioned I use mine in conjunction with APT (using EQMod) and also hook up to Stellarium, having polar aligned with Sharpcap I "sync" with a number of stars in Stellarium following which the Goto through Stellarium is very good...
Looks Like a Really Good Mount for 785$!! Very Impressive!! This Mount Is In My List. Thank you so much For This Review👍🏻
I own this mount and in the early days I had a periodic vibration every so often that would smear the sub. I had to clean the gears, re-adjust the worm gear spacing and re-grease. Got rid of the periodic vibration, and with a larger tracking scope (the Sky-Watcher Evoguide 50DX APO) and well balanced weights, I now have an RMS of 0.4 when tracking.
Now that I have it humming along beautifully I love it. I can even strap a 30 year olde C8 to it!
Do you have a guide or instructions on how to disassemble and apply new grease? What grease did you use?
@@Phunkydiabetic Tube of silicon grease from local hardware store. Couple of different sized Philips screwdrivers, couple of Allen wrenches if I recall correctly. There were no instructions or guides that I used. Trial and error mostly. There are two sets of gears, one I the mount its self and the other under a plastic cover. The one on the mount is trick as it has a tension screw adjustment you need to play with, if it is too tight you will hear grinding, not good, and if it is too loose there will be a mile of backlash, also not good. Make sure the gears are CLEAN, as any grit will cause unwanted errors while guiding. I cleaned all the old grease off before applying the silicon grease. Some trial and error adjusting the tension screw made life miserable for a couple of nights but then I hit the sweet spot. I went from a PHD2 error of 1.5 arc/sec to 0.4 arc/sec with no unaccountable error. The gear boxes are open to the elements so accumulate dirt and moisture being outside all night so my error is creeping up again, so the hearing needs to be cleaned out very so often.
@@Phunkydiabetic Ok, this is wierd, this just popped up on UA-cam home page. ua-cam.com/video/9hmkOajfGu4/v-deo.html
@@marckeith8967ok sounds good, I'll have to give this a try!
Thanks! I wound up with the HEQ5 Pro and Williams Optics Z73 and, although the mount has been great, the SynScan controller sucks. Push a button and it jumps through 5 menus... the buttons always stick. That is by far the most frustrating aspect.
I literally bought it 2 days ago as my first mount. Now, after failing yesterday night to do things properly this is what I have to say: I found a way to see in the scope at night for free by pointing a light towards my face so it reflects inside it. Even if I set correctly my latitude at ~46 degrees (48°58') Polaris was still to high up in the sky and I have to change it to an incorrect theoretical one to align it right (my tripod was leveled). Last thing is that I was scared that my mouth didn't work because I didn't expect them to be silent while tracking ahha. I had a problem with my camera: I couldn't mount it. I bought some screws but they were too short, I bought the ball head adapter but it didn't want to close correctly on the mount cos it's only mad for tracker version and... I decided to diy my plate to make my camera attach while I'm waiting to buy a telescope (my longest lens is a 85mm in APS-C so... Yeah). I used the short screws and I made my mount able to have my camera mounted in even though I have to tear down everything if I want to release the camera since the small screw it's not accessible from behind the plate. And as you can imagine my camera gear is not heavy enought to balance so I had to use a 1/4 inch to 3/8 inch adapter to make the ball head fit on my diy mod plate and I fixed the balancing problems. Tonight I'm trying to align Polaris correctly in the scope (so with a wrong latitude, yeah, it's weird) and finally try my mount and see if this time when I tell it to point to Andromeda doesn't point at the ground :')
If you have not already done it, could you do a video on plate solving for beginners? That would be really useful! What software? What cameras? All that stuff. Keep up the great work sir!!
Yes, it's a good idea. I will add it to my list
i have the skywatcher azgti that i have modified to be used as an equatorial mount. i had the same problem with the goto accuracy. it plagued me for months. a few weeks ago i purchased a 60edr scope and was exited about getting that first picture with it, so i took it out on a night that i knew i wasn't going to have much time. i did a quick set up and polar alignment and decided to just do a one star alignment so i could get to imaging. i chose a star near my target and to my surprise i got an almost perfect goto afterwards. i have done the same on every session since, using a one star near my target then using the goto function and have got near perfect slews each time. this may help with other mounts that have the same issue.
I had this pointing error issues also on my EQ6-R Pro, sometimes it took me hours to get it right. THen I bought an ASIAIR Pro and now I dont have this problem anymore and it even takes less than 10min to do the PA with it. So I guess the EQM-35 together with an ASIAIR is a very good combo
Underrated mount for sure
I got this back in July and since the ever time I tried to take it out. I have had 35% or greater cloud cover. Hopefully with winter I get some clear sky on my free time
Would be nice if you made a video explaining plate solving with your prefered software. Is ATP any good? I want to use a program that can do everything, controlling the mount, plate solving, auto guiding and controlling the camera.
Not speaking for all EQM35s, but mine has been performing like an absolute beast. I have it running with a Skymax 127 and an added piggyback guider (given I'm at such a high focal length) and I've managed to get up to 10 minute subs with 0.7" guiding! If you treat it well and have everything set up perfectly, it can definitely be a beast
I don't know if the pointing is generally bad but I noticed that the accuracy improves if the first 2 stars of a 3 star alignment are on both sides of the meridian. I believe this may be due to backlash and uneven balance during the calibration. When calibrating with the first 2 stars on one side of the meridian the pointing is good but suffers when doing a meridian flip. I belive the manual also recommends this however its advice is much more specific and difficult to execute.
Thanks for the helpful review! I bought the same mount as a pandemic project for my son and I. I found that it tracks very well, but I’m having the same go-to issues. I’m considering stepping up to guiding. Is it possible to guide straight out of a dslr, or will I need a separate scope and camera? Thanks for reviewing gear people can use on a budget!
You need a separate scope and camera and computer. The scope and camera can be had for as little as $250 (asi120 mini and mini guide scope), and if you already have a laptop, you can install PHD2 on it to start guiding.
You can save some money if your telescope image circle is bigger than sensor size by installing off axis guiding aka OAG. You will then only need OAG and a guide camera, like ASI120MM mini OR ASI290MM mini.
Thank you sir! I have this mount I have not use it yet still in the box as for the clutch put in wrong is this a wide spread issue?
I was thinking of upgrading from my Star Adventurer tracker to a GoTo. I am decent at locating objects and then plate solving with online astrometry tools. Sure takes me a bit of time BUT I like to learn the steps.
From what you say if the locating accuracy of such low-mid level GoTo mounts is consistently off by a few degrees then that pretty much matches up my initial setup in my tracker. May have to think again about upgrading.
Just add an ASIAIR and your golden
Hey Nico, regarding the pointing accuracy, how close to your intended targets were the stars you aligned to? I use plate solving, so haven't done any star alignment with my CEM40 in about a year, but I do remember needing to align to stars that were in different areas of the sky (far from each other) and having 1 of the stars at least somewhat close to a target I intended to go to. When I did that, I recall the pointing model ended up being quite accurate. Of course, this was on my CEM40, which is a couple of rungs up the mount quality ladder from the EQM-35.
I definitely considered mentioning that, but it wasn't particularly relevant to the EQM35 as the pointing was so bad that even if kept to stars close to target it was still quite a bit off. But yes, I considered mentioning it because as you found its generally a good tactic.
After using the EQ-6R for a few months I am completely satisfied with it, but I wanted a more portable version so I ordered the EQM-35.
I'm looking to get this to replace my standard equatorial mount. I have two questions: if the go-to functionality isn't great, can I simply find objects manually then use tracking? Secondly in the product description video from highpoint scientific they specified a 80-90mm but my tube is 114mm. Its only 9lbs though so it should still be good for that, right?
Thank you for just stating the facts about this mount. I've been considering this mount to use with my DSLR 5D mark II and a series of Canon FD Telephoto lenses. My comfort zone about this mount increased greatly thanks to this video. What are you using to power this mount? It has a power range to 11 to 16 volts. Thanks for being here for the newbies (that's me) and the pros...HB
Good question. At 5:21 you can almost see the input. It says 12V DC, so I would guess a 12V power bank type battery, or even an automotive power outlet. I have a Fornax Lightrack II which runs on the same. Have been considering another mount with a little more control, not to replace (cause the Lightrack is amazing) but to run two at once, I already have multiple cameras, lenses and wanting a bigger scope. I'm addicted.
@@wooddogg8 I would recommend high Ampere power source. 2A may not be enough😏
@@luboinchina3013 👍
5Dmk2 + Fd lenses 🙃😞😑 what????
You'll also want to make sure to give it the amps it needs. Most USB 12V adapters don't get high enough. In one of my early tests, this mount didn't even last a few hours while plugged into a 26,000mah USB pack (probably cause the USB adapter was drawing much more from the power bank) and it wouldn't slew properly. It would guide great but not slew.
I think it wants at least 3 amp for proper slewing. So now I just have one of those portable power stations that provides more than enough juice and a 12V output port and it could probably run it for days.
Hello, me again. I had enough money saved to get the star adventurer tracker package. I was almost ready to pull the trigger but I kept searching Cloudynights classifieds and found a used avx for the same amount. The guy lives not far from me too, so it didnt have to be shipped. I couldn't pass that up. My tiny ota looks funny on it but it'll allow me to expand my kit in the future. All I need now is a portable power supply. I got it yesterday and I've been practicing setting it up today. The guy sent me videos of it functioning beforehand. It is all there, he even gave me the packaging with its foam inserts. Forecast is clear skies tonight so here comes my 1st lesson.
Awesome! Hope the forecast holds, enjoy the mount!
I've seen lots of videos of people tearing their AVX mounts apart and cleaning then regreasing with teflon, and some going as far as to polish the axes. The top part of my mount (where the dovetail is) doesn't swing freely. When my gear is all mounted I have to push to initiate movement near the balance point unless the weight is far from balanced. I might take mine apart and clean/regrease. I am mechanically inclined so the only real issue is getting past tearing apart an expensive working mount that I've barely used.
I'm decent mechanically too, but personally I wouldn't tear down a mount unless it was really necessary. All my skywatcher don't move freely either due to the sticky grease problem, but they perform fine, so I've never done a full teardown and re-grease. If it sounds like fun, go for it, but otherwise I'd wait a few months to see how the avx performs after you've mastered using it.
I got this mount and I've only had success with it. Sometimes I run into "massive" pointing errors of nearly 4 entire degrees when it's executing a goto command. I don't know if that's common as I haven't had a goto mount before but usually it's around the 1-1.5 degree error mark so seeing 4 degrees feels off. However, platesolving basically eliminates this issue, and running something like Three Point Polar Alignment in N.I.N.A basically makes the polar alignment non-problematic as well. Most of my guiding is around the 1'' to 1.4'' RMS mark which isn't too bad, although sometimes it swings towards 2'', such as when it's windy or I didn't do the polar alignment well enough. As I stated, I don't have any experience with other goto mounts but given the price I paid for it, I would argue I got my money's worth as it has made the hobby that much more fun to do, and I haven't run into any issues that have made me frustrated yet.
Mount shootout in this category would be awesome. My friend is looking for something like this for his 400mm refractor
I picked up a second hand EQM-35 Pro that had been well looked after. It has been and continues to be a bit hit and miss for me at times, but I am polar aligning manually and doing the 3-star alignment before use. When I have it set up well and accurately polar aligned I am only marginally off with the go-to function. For example, my 150-500 Sigma lens at 500mm on a Canon APS-c body I can slew to the object and have it only slightly off centre. I have also achieved up to 2 minute subs with this setup. Then there are nights that I struggle to polar align, which means my star alignment is way out (5 degrees +) and I would be lucky to get 20 second subs with no trailing.
I recently pulled the head apart and adjusted the gears so that it has reduced the backlash, which is giving me slightly quieter and smoother movement and slewing. I still get some zig-zagging on some tracking where as you flick through the images you can see them move marginally, say, up left followed by bottom left (only by a few pixels) and this cycles throughout the session. The quality of the initial alignment obviously plays a big part on how much this happens.
The person I bought the mount off used an ASIAir with it and was getting 5-8 minutes with no trailing. As frustrating as it can be I am not upset that I am learning to use it without the electronic help in alignment, as it is teaching me a lot about our night sky and visually plate solving to attain alignment. As my first and only mount I don't have anything to compare it with, but would imagine it is good value for an entry-level piece of equipment. I am going to look at getting an ASIAir Plus to strap to it in the coming months, so hopefully that will give me a bit more imaging a little less setup time.
No joke, the asiair will be one of the best purchases you'll ever make in astrophotography.
@@Phunkydiabetic Yes, I keep getting told to stop thinking about it and just get it! I have watched some videos on setting it up and using and it looks ridiculously simple for what it achieves.
@@bowks1o_o669
Polar alignment is a breeze. The plate solving makes framing up targets so simple. I set it up so it'll calibrate guiding, capture how ever many images I decide to capture, automatically do a meridian flip, at the end of the session (when I've maxed out as much as I can before the sun starts rising) it'll send the eqm-35 back to the home position and park it. Shut everything off.
I cant say enough good things about this device. You won't regret it!
@@Phunkydiabetic AAhh, you have me a bit excited now. The meridian flip and parking / shut off on top of the alignment and tracking would be awesome. I have to set an alarm now and a couple of times have only just rescued my camera from being driven into the tripod.
@@bowks1o_o669
I forgot to mention..I'm sleeping during this all haha. I'll admit the first two or three nights out I had zero confidence in it pulling it off but after that off to the races. I could lay in bed and watch the images come in in real time.
The other day I sold my Asiair Pro and purchased thd new Asiair Plus. More stock is supposed to arrive at the end of April and they sell out fast. Just a heads up.
Nico, I am finding myself in need of replacing my old Celestron CG5 goto mount (the AVX's older brother) and also find myself falling into the budget range of this mount if I take advantage of financing through Highpoint Scientific. I was wondering if you still hold a positive view of this mount. I think it would work well for my gear, which is a 130mm f/5 newt that I use with one of the little uncooled astronomy cameras with an IMX585 sensor and an autoguiding setup run with NINA and PHD2. Everyone I have heard from who has tried or owns this mount loves it so I think it will fit my needs perfectly since my payload is well under the limit at only about 11 pounds and even though it is more expensive now that it was when you made this video, it still makes my wallet cry less than looking at some other mounts.
First of all, thanks a lot for your review and your honest opinion. When I checked the relevant online-shops here in Germany, i can´t find a version with mentioned USB-connector. Did you get a kind of prototype for testing?
No, I think it's on all new versions being produced. Same thing with the EQ6R. My version didn't have the USB, but all the new versions do have it. If you get the old style, you might be able to upgrade the part from skywatcher.
Exelente muy bueno!
This mount appears to be on sale for prime day, might end up getting it as a good stepping stone. Im sure amy problems I encounter I'll be able to figure out on my own.
I AM looking for a smaller mount, I think Skywatcher is hitting a sweetspot with this one. I got an EQ6Rpro but despite I can lift it and carry it, that doesn't necessarily mean I want to LOL. For a refractor like 50mm redcat to up to probably 80mm and depending on the gear, this one is hitting that sweet spot, without being too expensive and too heavy. The EQ6R is great, but the most of the weight it carried for me was probably less than 15lbs. Maybe If I get a larger telescope , like a reflector or a large S-Cassegrain then the EQ6R will come handy.
Also, not having a good Go-To feature while the mount having a good tracking sounds to me like it needs a firmware update from SW. Go-To is all about the sky-map stored inside the mount logic board memory, being correct. This isn't a hardware issue (for people who doesn't understand how it works) , it's just a software update .
It's worth it! I have an EQ3-2, the "worse" version of this as my second rig.. Next to my EQ6R.
It works great for the Redcat I have on it. And it's not heavy at all. I don't even take the scope and gear off, just unplug the few cables, and pick it all up in one go. Take it all inside, and just bring it out again when I need to. Great for those nights where the weather allows only 2-3 hours worth of data to be collected. Enough that you want to shoot, maybe not enough to drag out the EQ6.
I have this mount, the goto accuracy is garbage, but with the asi air pro its now 100% with the platesolving that comes with it. My biggest issues is the stiffness of the RA and DEC axis due to the slime on the gears, makes balancing and issue. Also the issues with auto-guiding especially in RA. I'm just not confident enough to strip it down.
Really detailed information. I would like to use a Sky-watcher EQM-35 to point a small radio telescope dish of about 7 pounds. Laptop pointing software. 😎 Thank you.
you can try open astro tracker for the price it's one of the bests mount and you can even conect it to computer
I have a celestron 130slt. I want to do astrophotography and I'm a beginner. Would added this mount be better than what the scope comes with?
I have this mount.
And it works fine indeed.
But i need to figger out the plate solving.
But that will come some day du to the wheater.
Hello again Nico,
I’d like your opinion once again.
After having upgraded the firmware of my EQM-35 Pro, it works very well. The Go-To finds the objects I want every time. I have only to center them a little bit in the frame.
I’d like to buy a telescope and have been suggested on a Skywatcher 150/750 or a 200/800. Being the max payload of the EQM-35 Pro 10 kg, which one you buy? The 150/750 is 5.5 kg the 200/800 is about 9 kg.
As per camera, now I am using a Sony A7iii but I’m going to buy a Canon 70D and have it modified full spectrum.
I was thinking of an Astro camera but maybe with a dslr I’d be better off.
Thanks,
Fabrizio
For astrophotography on a eqm-35, I wouldn't suggest either, I'd go for a refractor with field flattener at 72mm or 80mm. But if you really want a newt, go for the 150. The challenge will be wind with this mount since it's not super heavy even medium wind will be difficult with a big newt if you don't have an Observatory.
Ok, thanks.
Hi i have the opertunity to get either the EQ5 PRO or this EQM-35, both fitted with the GOTO system at the exact same price, which is the better mount??
Tripod is actually 1.75", unless SW started shipping them with 2" after I got mine in May. Using Altair 60EDF and C5 with. PHD2 quite often dropes to 0.66" RMS. You haven't mentioned typical issue for SW: sticky axis affecting balancing, unless your specimen was already tuned.
Re: tripod. Oh whoops, it really looked the same to my 2" steel tripod, but I just looked it up and you are right. Yes, sticky axis isn't just SW, I've encountered it on iOptron and Celestron too. Good point
@@NebulaPhotos althought lighter compared to EQ6's this tripod is plenty sturdy, while bit lighter. In my case I am quite happy with EQM35 as savings compared to HEQ5 can be allocated to other gear, while providing satisfactory performance (with ASCOM/INDI/Astroberry).
I agree that SynScan Handset's precision is not greatest, however there's PAE function in it, which helps to gradually improve GoTo precision during visual session - after each GoTo you manually correct slewing error and when object is centered PAE adds this additional error to it's alignment list, improving next GoTos.
This is similar concept to working with planetarium and and syncing mount to target after plate solving brings telescope to target, just without computer.
In any case EQM35 is for sure a fantastic "first grown up" EQ mount and stepping stone towards EQ6, hopefully EQ8 :-)
Am i right if i think the EQM35 is a upgraded version of the EQ3-2, pretty much something between EQ3 and EQ5?
Weirdly mine didn't come with the synscan USB port I got mine around 2 years ago in Europe. That's annoying
I have an old Meade LXD75 mount from 2006 that I'm resurrecting for use with my Schmidt Newtonian 8" with ASI678MC and my DSLR. Do you have an opinion for a mount like this that is this old? I was able to get it to communicate with NINA and it seems to work.
No advise other than: try it!
Hi, I currently have a 600mmF4 Is II and plan to use it to try out deep space photography. The lens and camera combined is about 5kg. What mount do you recommend for this payload?
This one would be a good choice. I'd recommend rigging it on a vixen dovetail plate and adding a small guidescope and autoguider (like the ZWO 30mm and ZWO ASI120mm mini package)
Thanks for the review. I’d be interested on you thoughts on the Sky-Watcher AZ-GTi GoTo AZ Mount in eq mode. $400 vs $785 ya know.
I'm very tempted to get one, not really $400 vs $785 though since with the Az-Gti you need to buy a wedge, counterweight (and shaft). After those upgrades it would still be cheaper, but with half the payload limit. But substantially more portable. I think I'll get one and compare to the ioptron smarteq, but might be a while to get to this.
@@NebulaPhotos thanks for your thoughts. Since I have a Star adventurer, I have the wedge, bar and a weight. I’ll have to see if the counterweights are compatible. I’ll be looking for your thoughts.
@@tjmccay3 Ah, that makes sense. Yes, I've heard it's mostly compatible. You just need a M12 (m) to M8 (f) threaded reducer for the CW shaft, and also hope that your AZ-GTi comes threaded because some strangely don't (maybe early copies only?)
I have the same one, with a skywatcher 150 pds.
Having trouble with alignment. Doesn't slew directly to target. Did you find that?
Once I move it to align the target in the middle of the scope it tracks really well. It's just the initial alignment process.
Don't have a guiding scope on it yet.
Yeah, that's what I was talking about at 04:07, alignment (or I call it pointing accuracy) was quite bad. If you get to guiding and computer control, you can take advantage of platesolving to get around this issue.
@@NebulaPhotos thanks, could that be fixed if Skywatcher did an update? It's my first scope/mount goy it early this year. Learned a lot from your channel, thanks.
Hi, I got my EQM-35 Pro some months ago but, for some reasons, I’ve been using it for only some weeks.
I’ve found that the Polar Alignment is easy but when it comes to the Star Aligment or pointing to an object, I hav some problems.
Not being an expert at all and, after watching your video, I’m wondering whether an app like SkySafari Pro or Plus could help me.
I would install it onto my iPad.
Thanks,
Fabrizio
Hi Fabrizio, unfortunately I don't think those apps would help with the pointing error. Reading through the the comments, people advise updating the mounts firmware and resetting the hand controller. If the go tos are still poor after that, the next solution would be plate solving, there are free options like astrotortilla on a PC, but many are now happy with the ASI air which is a mini Linux computer you control from an app
@@NebulaPhotos thank you for replying.
I think the firmware can be update only via a Win PC and not with a Mac, that’s my problem.
I see there’s a piece for the Wi-Fi connection; this way I could use their official app on my iPhone which should be updated. I’ll try to check it out with my reseller.
For the time being, I will try to reset my handset as you said.
Great video Nico! I am wondering if you have had the chance to use an explore scientific iexos 100 (or 200). It seems to have a very enthusiastic following, and it's at the price of a sky tracker(the 100, not 200)! I am considering the eq35m as well as that one. I wonder how the go-to and tracking compare (wondering what exactly will be worse and how critically worse).
Thanks for reminding me of that one. Another I'd like to try, but haven't found the time yet.
Can rely on go to with 1 or 2 stars alignement anytime. Really not sure that it is not a probleme on few mounts or stting up probleme ?
Using a 102/714
If you read through the comments here, it's seems like the poor pointing accuracy is a pretty wide-spread phenomenon. I've been doing this for several years with a dozen different mounts so do not suspect user error. Sounds like you got a very good copy if you have solid go tos after a 1 star align, congrats!
I use an Eq5
Of course everybody told me to buy Heq5 but I could not afford one and my Eq5 is doing great so far
Hi Nico... I don't know if you ever compared the 2, but what would be your advice between the HEQ5 and the Celestron Advance VX ?
Is one much better than the other, or more specifically, would one be more forgiving or a better learning tool than its opponent ? Thank you...
I think they are similar, but I'd prefer the HEQ5 because it can be run from a computer without the hand controller.
@@NebulaPhotos Thank you for your reply Nico. Much appreciated...
Thx😀 i have a SW eq5 Pro, if i connect usb to handcontroller it make a profilic connection and ascom work good, i did try to put the usb into the motorcontolbox usb, but that did nothing,.
One more, which protocol to use If i want pulse giude in phd2 via ascom?
I use EQASCOM. Another option is Green Swamp Server. Both are free.
Hey sorry for late query.. i heard from video that you used Smart Eq pro by ioptrom. I am contemplating buying that mount bcz of budget issue. How is it in your opinion. My payload is less than 5kg. Also how does it compare to skywatcher eqm-35...thanks in anticipation
It's decent, but it is not in the same league as the EQM-35. It is much more comparable to the Sky-watcher Star Adventurer GTi. Personally, I liked the GTi better (build quality, and newer connections), but in terms of convenience, tracking and payload the SmartEQ and GTi are very similar. I am comfortable putting a 60mm refractor and light DSLR on either for short exposures without guiding. You can see me do just that in some earlier videos like my first one on Orion Nebula, or the Pinwheel Galaxy video.
I'm new to astrophotography and still don't have all the basics. I'm on a bit of a budget, but I know buying the best I can afford means spending less in the future, potentially. Like buying an inexpensive tripod then wanting/needing something stronger or more precise, etc a few years later. I have saved up about $400 for an eq mount & tripod (currently using a photo tripod w 3-way head). I found a used celestron cg-3 for a little over 300 with tax & shipping. It has slight leg damage and looks well used, but clean. On the other end I've been drooling over the tripod in this video. I can get the used cg3 and have money left over, or I can borrow the rest from my very supportive stepmother (and pay her back as i can).
My current rig consists of; Altair 60mm f/6 edf w dovetail mount and mostly svbony accessories, all entry level as I spent all of my savings on the ota(I had a naked ota on a tripod for about a week). I'm not sure what upgrades I want to make since I'm still so new, but I know the tripod is very important. I have a Nikon dslr and many years experience in photography. I want to do wide field astrophotography (clusters, nebulae, etc) and I want to view deep space. I know those are different telescopes.. I'll get the longer one eventually. For now I'm in total awe with my little scope! It's my first. Love your videos btw, very thorough and informative.
Has the CG-3 been upgraded with motors and go-to? I think there is an unofficial upgrade kit, but normally a CG-3 is a manual equatorial mount for observers that wouldn't be useful for astrophotography unless someone modded it with good motors. Since it sounds like you are pretty new, I'd suggest to keep looking.
@@NebulaPhotos From the pictures it appears manual. Thanks for your suggestions, I'll keep looking. In the meantime, do you have any tips on spotting damage on used equipment?
If buying locally, plug in to a cars cigarette outlet L, and make sure it turns on and slews and all that. Other than that, just inspect for obvious visual signs of damage
Is the eqm-35 (or similar) a better choice for a newbie than the skywatcher star adventurer series? I want to learn as much as possible about astronomy but I don't want to lug a lot of equipment out with me, and I don't want to have a useless mount if I lack power. Are either mounts useless without batteries? I mean can you still use the mount manually?
If you don't want to lug a lot of equipment, the Sky-watcher Star Adventurer Pro pack or the iOptron Skyguider Pro would probably be a better option than a mount like this. You lose out on go-to abilities meaning you have to find the objects yourself, but they work well for telephoto lenses and very small telescopes. The Star Adventurer is very flexible in terms of batteries, it can run off AA batteries internally or a usb power bank externally. The iOptron has a rechargeable internal battery and I think can also run off power bank. The EQM35 (or similar EQ mounts) have no internal battery option, and require you to come up with your own power solution. I go for a cheap, but heavy (lead acid battery). Others go for expensive, but light (lithium battery). You can still use the mount manually after the batteries die, just as a really good tripod for astronomy, but the tracking only works when powered of course. And you can hand track for visual observing, but it won't be precise enough for astrophotography.
I bought this mount recently along with the skywatcher quattro 130pds a couple days ago. They dont offer the 130pds in U.S or Canada. I had to get it shipped from FLO in the U.K. After the scope, Im left with 6.5lbs for accessories. I want to add an ASI AIR, Zwo EAF, ASI533MC camera, guide scope and camera. Fingers crossed its under the payload capacity🤞Think I should be good?
I also bought the pole master, but now thinking I didnt have to if I get the ASI AIR. Would have saved me $370! Lol Thanks Nico 😁
Is it under the payload capacity? Or does it cause problems?
@@eincrafter1047 I havent finished purchasing the rest of the stuff to know yet haha
Hi, im pretty new to all of this and I know this is probably ill advised but would it be possible to use something like a skywatcher heritage 150p and a dslr camera to do some amount of deep sky imaging with this mount?
I believe the heritage is tabletop Dob. Most dobs are designed for visual so the focuser doesn't go in enough to reach focus with a DSLR. You can confirm this before trying to adapt the dob to an EQ mount. I've heard of people using long screws to push the primary mirror up to reach focus, but this isn't something I've tried, and if you are new to all this, I think you will just be frustrated getting that all to work. Better off spending on a decent lens and small tracker IMO.
@@NebulaPhotos Ive managed to get the dslr in focus using a 3x barlow but I imagine trying to get the thing focused while mounted to a tripod would be more effort than its worth. Thanks for the input I'll keep looking around
Would the HEQ5 pro possibly be better for those that don't need the payload capacity of the HQ6?
Yes, the HEQ5 is a great option and is like a mini EQ6. If you are okay with the price, I suggest the HEQ5 over the EQM35
Very good video my friend, as always. My query is: I looked on the Skywatcher usa page and asked in customer service and they tell me that the eqm 35 does not have a USB connection, that it must be connected to a PC through a Wi-Fi device, you know if there will be another model with USB. ? Thank you so much!!
That's odd. Maybe the official way is to connect through a Wi-FI device, but I can confirm that I connected to EQMOD through USB. I have heard some don't have the USB on the control panel, but in that case, you should be able to connect through the Hand Controller's USB port in 'PC Direct' mode. I used EQMOD/EQASCOM, which is Windows only, but another UA-camr Kamil Pekala got his working over USB to a Mac with KStars/EKOS: ua-cam.com/video/mUOBRGy6iDY/v-deo.html
Thanks Nico. Yes, it's weird, that's why I was asking you. I even compared the part of the video where you show the USB connector with the photo of the mount on the Skywatcher website and it actually doesn't have it. sorry for my English. Thank you so much.
@@marioantonio2011 Yes, some people who own the mount tell me their unit does not have the USB port there, so no guarantees I guess. If it doesn't have it, you should be still be able to connect with USB through the hand controller or buy an "EQ Direct" cable that goes from RJ45 (with a special pinout) to USB and replaces the hand controller completely. So lots of options to control this mount from a computer over USB.
@@NebulaPhotos Thank You !!