Great review! Just received my Solar Quest mount. Was wondering however.. The little solar sensor/finder, does it have a thin plastic wrapper on the glass which needs to be removed? As it seems to scratch even with a small touch of my finger nails...?
Thanks! There is plastic in front from what I remember and If you look at t he video around the 3:14 mark, you can see a little plastic tab on the top left corner of the lens (when I start to take off the battery compartment). It's very subtle but I recall having to take that off. Let me know if you have any other questions! Clear skies!
@@Naztronomy Thx for the quick reply! I thought so as well, as there is no way plastic could even scratch as fast as it did. There was no plastic tab to pull it of with mine, but very carefully I was able to get a grip on it and peeld the plastic wrapper off. --The glass now looks New! (Next up: looking to make some protective cap for it to keep the glass that way;)
@@RaymondKPhotoVideography Awesome! Glad to have helped. Getting a cap is a good idea! Especially if you can 3D print a fitted one. I've been storing mine as-is in the Styrofoam container it came in and it still looks new.
Where I am (UK) this whole tripod and mount set up is bundled with a 80mm white light scope from Acuter. Its a bit of a steal if you ask me as they’re not charging much more than some people charge for the mount and tripod. I use white light binoculars at the moment I might go for this set up. For the money, compared to what some people spend on solar scopes this is a fraction of that
Wow! That's an amazing deal and a really great way to get someone started with solar AP. I used the SolarQuest earlier today. I had only 15-20 minutes of clear skies and I was able to get the images I needed. SolarQuest is still a win.
Where I am (UK) this whole tripod and mount set up is bundled with a 80mm white light scope from Acuter. Its a bit of a steal if you ask me as they’re not charging much more than some people charge for the mount and tripod. I use white light binoculars at the moment I might go for this set up
Looks like all the sellers are saying that this mount is powered by an INCLUDED 12v power adapter but all that is included is a 12v power adapter PLUG. You need to buy your own separate ac to 12 volt power adapter.
I have had this since they first came out. My observations on this is: 1. It works very well. 2. Setup Is a dream 3. Seems well made, except some reservations about the tripod. I use this for my personal use a well as outreach and for that it’s great. I have only one problem so far, and it’s easily prevented. I sat it up with an ASI air on the scope tube so I could “broadcast “ the image to my IPad several feet away at a star party. The mount refused to find the Sun (red blinking light indicating trying to get GPS signal. Long story short as soon as I turned off the ASI air, gps locked and it went to the sun. Seems it didn’t like the WiFi signal so close. The tripod is a little too skimpy. Fine for visual, but I have a heavier duty tripod that I use instead.
I agree with all of your points! The tripod is definitely too flimsy. I also noticed that the bubble level on the tripod doesn't match the level on the mount head. If you just level based on the tripod, you'll end up seeing drift. I tested it with my 6SE a few days ago, heaviest load and when the tripod was collapsed, it kept wanting to tip over! I ended up expanding the legs all the way. The spread gave it more stability for the telescope but of course, it wobbled more from the wind. Which tripod are you using? Interesting about the ASIAir's wifi interfered with the mount's GPS. I don't have an ASIAir but I do use a Raspberry Pi with Astroberry that also broadcasts its own WIFi so I'm going to test that out and see if I have a similar issue. Have you tried letting the SolarQuest get GPS signal first and then plugging in the ASIAir? Or does the order of operations not matter?
Yep! The SolarQuest has an 11lbs limit and the Lunt 60 is about 7 lbs. I've used the mount with my 6" SCT and a DSLR which comes out to around 10-11lbs without any issues.
Thanks! I used that option after my first setup which helped get the sun in the center in subsequent sessions. I'll be sure to re-lock the sun into place after I center it every time I use it, should be good practice. I also went out another time after this video, I didn't see any more drifting. So it was definitely something I did weird on my 3rd time out.
Is there anyway that the Solar Quest can track the moon? Are there any other mounts that can track the sun and moon without the need for polar alignment?
Unfortunately the SolarQuest is for the sun only. It won't track anything else. You can look into the Sky-Watcher Az-GTi mount. I believe that can track both the sun and moon but I also believe you need to do some kind of alignment so that it knows which way to track. There are plenty of videos online and you can also reach out to Sky-watcher with questions. Other computerized alt-az mounts may offer a similar solution for you. Polar alignment will only be required if you get an Equatorial mount instead of an alt-az mount. Let me know if you have any more questions. Clear skies!
@@Naztronomy Thanks for your reply. I wanted a mount that didn’t require a polar alignment to track the sun for the upcoming eclipse. I was hoping that such a amount could also be used to track the moon since it seems like a waste to spend so much money for just this eclipse when they’re will not be another one for 20 years.
@@jhn1987 That's one of the things I fought with too. The SolarQuest has a very specific use case so it's tough to justify. But since I planned on doing more solar astronomy/astrophotography, I convinced myself that it was a good buy. I've been able to sneak in quick solar viewing during my lunch breaks because the mount is so easy to setup and get going. Trying to get my money's worth 😊 The Az-GTi may be okay with a 'solar system' alignment, where you input the date, time, find the moon/sun and it'll track for you. My old NexStar SE mount let me do this to a degree. The tracking would be good for 15-20 minutes before I'd need to redo it but that was 10+ years ago now so the technology may be better. You should definitely reach out to Sky-Watcher or maybe look up the Az-Gti manual online and see if it'll work for you.
What size cable fits the DC adapter? Most of my cables are 5.5mm x 2.1mm DC barrel ports. My manual says 2.0mm inner by 5.5mm outer. That’s an odd measurement.
2.0mm inner is indeed an odd measurement. Did you find that in the SolarQuest manual? I just looked through mine and it doesn't reference the size of the DC adapter port at all. My regular 5.5mm x 2.1mm DC barrels fit it perfectly. I've used both a car charger adapter and a AC to DC adapter. Same adapters I use for my AVX and CEM40 mounts. Hope this helps! Let me know if you have more questions.
@@Naztronomy yes, that’s what it said in my manual, and I think I read that someone else’s said it required 2.5mm. I tried my 2.1 cables I use for everything else and it worked! Glad it wasn’t some strange cable size!
@@AstroDanno 2.5mm feels like it would be way too wide to stay connected to the port. I'm glad it's not some strange cable size either! That would be a real pain.
Yeah, mine tracks really well. The only time I had poor tracking is when my mount wasn't balanced. When you balance it, make sure you use the bubble level on the mount head and not the tripod. I found that the tripod isn't always accurate. The solarquest camera also has a thin plastic film so you can peel that off and see if that helps. Maybe it's causing internal reflections affecting the tracking.
@@Naztronomy You mean balancing the scope forward/backward? I'll check for the plastic film! Didn't see one but didn't really look for one either. How did yours do during totality? Did it drift during those 3 minutes?
@@Naztronomy You were right! There was a plastic film!! It didn't have any tab as those protector films normally do... I hope I can try the tracking again soon!
Hopefully that helps! And sorry, I meant level the mount, not balance it. Used the wrong word. Make sure the bubble level on the mount head is properly leveled.
I bought this for our club as soon as it was released. We had used a small iOptron GEM for our club's 60mm Lunt Ha scope, but it was always tedious to set up and try to align for outreach events during the day. With this one, we are able to set up within a few minutes, and keep tracking accurately. I was able to put up to an 80mm Lunt on this mount, but I needed to add some weight (battery) to to the spreader plate for added stability. Also, our first AC/battery adapter plate was wired backwards. I hope this was fixed.
Oh that's awesome! I'm hoping I can go around town (or the state) and do solar out reach soon with both my Lunt and AT60 with a white light filter. Motivates me more than using my CEM/AVX mounts. Good thought about adding weights for heavier telescopes. I need to see how my 6SE does with it. Just need some clear skies. The adapter plate seems to be fixed now. I didn't have any issues with my setup. I'll be bringing this one with me to Texas in April! Clear skies!
@@FortWorthAstronomicalSociety We're going to be in Marble Fall. From the pictures, our Airbnb looks like it has some nice spots we can set up our gear. Would love to have a backup spot! Where are you going to be? I know of at least 6 other families that are planning on coming to us.
The manual doesn't say anything on how to shut it down at the end of an imaging session. What is the best way to return it horizontal when shutting down?
If you use the joystick while holding that one power/action button, the mount will slew really fast. Use that to set the mount to horizontal mode and then unplug it. OR you can unplug it so it loses power, then plug it back in and turn it on. It'll automatically always level off first, then just unplug it again.
Great review! I've been thinking about buying this mount so I could have a portable dual solar setup. Currently use a Celestron Nexstar mount with my Lunt 50 or Burgess 65mm. I have a SW Star adventurer that I can use to track as well, but its a bit of a pain since it doesn't have fine adjustments.
Thank you! Definitely recommend this for a dual setup! I recently tried a dual setup with the SolarQuest and my CEM40. SolarQuest did a better job of tracking the sun, mostly because I had to do a blind polar alignment with the CEM40. If I could, I'd buy another one of these SolarQuests before I head to Texas for the April 2024 eclipse. I plan on doing a double set up as well, one with my Lunt and another with just a white light filter.
Great review!
Just received my Solar Quest mount.
Was wondering however..
The little solar sensor/finder, does it have a thin plastic wrapper on the glass which needs to be removed?
As it seems to scratch even with a small touch of my finger nails...?
Thanks!
There is plastic in front from what I remember and If you look at t he video around the 3:14 mark, you can see a little plastic tab on the top left corner of the lens (when I start to take off the battery compartment). It's very subtle but I recall having to take that off.
Let me know if you have any other questions! Clear skies!
@@Naztronomy Thx for the quick reply!
I thought so as well, as there is no way plastic could even scratch as fast as it did.
There was no plastic tab to pull it of with mine, but very carefully I was able to get a grip on it and peeld the plastic wrapper off.
--The glass now looks New!
(Next up: looking to make some protective cap for it to keep the glass that way;)
@@RaymondKPhotoVideography Awesome! Glad to have helped.
Getting a cap is a good idea! Especially if you can 3D print a fitted one. I've been storing mine as-is in the Styrofoam container it came in and it still looks new.
Where I am (UK) this whole tripod and mount set up is bundled with a 80mm white light scope from Acuter. Its a bit of a steal if you ask me as they’re not charging much more than some people charge for the mount and tripod. I use white light binoculars at the moment I might go for this set up. For the money, compared to what some people spend on solar scopes this is a fraction of that
Wow! That's an amazing deal and a really great way to get someone started with solar AP.
I used the SolarQuest earlier today. I had only 15-20 minutes of clear skies and I was able to get the images I needed. SolarQuest is still a win.
Where I am (UK) this whole tripod and mount set up is bundled with a 80mm white light scope from Acuter. Its a bit of a steal if you ask me as they’re not charging much more than some people charge for the mount and tripod. I use white light binoculars at the moment I might go for this set up
Looks like all the sellers are saying that this mount is powered by an INCLUDED 12v power adapter but all that is included is a 12v power adapter PLUG. You need to buy your own separate ac to 12 volt power adapter.
I have had this since they first came out. My observations on this is:
1. It works very well.
2. Setup Is a dream
3. Seems well made, except some reservations about the tripod.
I use this for my personal use a well as outreach and for that it’s great. I have only one problem so far, and it’s easily prevented. I sat it up with an ASI air on the scope tube so I could “broadcast “ the image to my IPad several feet away at a star party. The mount refused to find the Sun (red blinking light indicating trying to get GPS signal. Long story short as soon as I turned off the ASI air, gps locked and it went to the sun. Seems it didn’t like the WiFi signal so close.
The tripod is a little too skimpy. Fine for visual, but I have a heavier duty tripod that I use instead.
I agree with all of your points!
The tripod is definitely too flimsy. I also noticed that the bubble level on the tripod doesn't match the level on the mount head. If you just level based on the tripod, you'll end up seeing drift.
I tested it with my 6SE a few days ago, heaviest load and when the tripod was collapsed, it kept wanting to tip over! I ended up expanding the legs all the way. The spread gave it more stability for the telescope but of course, it wobbled more from the wind.
Which tripod are you using?
Interesting about the ASIAir's wifi interfered with the mount's GPS. I don't have an ASIAir but I do use a Raspberry Pi with Astroberry that also broadcasts its own WIFi so I'm going to test that out and see if I have a similar issue. Have you tried letting the SolarQuest get GPS signal first and then plugging in the ASIAir? Or does the order of operations not matter?
Can that hold the Lunt 60mm?
Yep! The SolarQuest has an 11lbs limit and the Lunt 60 is about 7 lbs. I've used the mount with my 6" SCT and a DSLR which comes out to around 10-11lbs without any issues.
P. 6, para. 2.2 will solve that drift - after centering, push the power button twice. Locks it in place.
Thanks! I used that option after my first setup which helped get the sun in the center in subsequent sessions. I'll be sure to re-lock the sun into place after I center it every time I use it, should be good practice.
I also went out another time after this video, I didn't see any more drifting. So it was definitely something I did weird on my 3rd time out.
Is there anyway that the Solar Quest can track the moon? Are there any other mounts that can track the sun and moon without the need for polar alignment?
Unfortunately the SolarQuest is for the sun only. It won't track anything else.
You can look into the Sky-Watcher Az-GTi mount. I believe that can track both the sun and moon but I also believe you need to do some kind of alignment so that it knows which way to track. There are plenty of videos online and you can also reach out to Sky-watcher with questions.
Other computerized alt-az mounts may offer a similar solution for you. Polar alignment will only be required if you get an Equatorial mount instead of an alt-az mount.
Let me know if you have any more questions. Clear skies!
@@Naztronomy Thanks for your reply. I wanted a mount that didn’t require a polar alignment to track the sun for the upcoming eclipse. I was hoping that such a amount could also be used to track the moon since it seems like a waste to spend so much money for just this eclipse when they’re will not be another one for 20 years.
@@jhn1987 That's one of the things I fought with too. The SolarQuest has a very specific use case so it's tough to justify. But since I planned on doing more solar astronomy/astrophotography, I convinced myself that it was a good buy. I've been able to sneak in quick solar viewing during my lunch breaks because the mount is so easy to setup and get going. Trying to get my money's worth 😊
The Az-GTi may be okay with a 'solar system' alignment, where you input the date, time, find the moon/sun and it'll track for you. My old NexStar SE mount let me do this to a degree. The tracking would be good for 15-20 minutes before I'd need to redo it but that was 10+ years ago now so the technology may be better. You should definitely reach out to Sky-Watcher or maybe look up the Az-Gti manual online and see if it'll work for you.
Thanks.. good videos
Thank you!
What size cable fits the DC adapter? Most of my cables are 5.5mm x 2.1mm DC barrel ports. My manual says 2.0mm inner by 5.5mm outer. That’s an odd measurement.
2.0mm inner is indeed an odd measurement. Did you find that in the SolarQuest manual? I just looked through mine and it doesn't reference the size of the DC adapter port at all. My regular 5.5mm x 2.1mm DC barrels fit it perfectly. I've used both a car charger adapter and a AC to DC adapter. Same adapters I use for my AVX and CEM40 mounts.
Hope this helps! Let me know if you have more questions.
@@Naztronomy yes, that’s what it said in my manual, and I think I read that someone else’s said it required 2.5mm. I tried my 2.1 cables I use for everything else and it worked! Glad it wasn’t some strange cable size!
@@AstroDanno 2.5mm feels like it would be way too wide to stay connected to the port. I'm glad it's not some strange cable size either! That would be a real pain.
I'm using the same Celestron 12v power adapter and plug that runs my Celestron AVX mount on this.
@@chuckhunt809 Yeah I used my AVX power adapter for a while too but moved onto the one that came with my CEM40 and it's a tighter fit.
Does yours track well. I find mine drifts.
Yeah, mine tracks really well. The only time I had poor tracking is when my mount wasn't balanced.
When you balance it, make sure you use the bubble level on the mount head and not the tripod. I found that the tripod isn't always accurate.
The solarquest camera also has a thin plastic film so you can peel that off and see if that helps. Maybe it's causing internal reflections affecting the tracking.
@@Naztronomy You mean balancing the scope forward/backward? I'll check for the plastic film! Didn't see one but didn't really look for one either. How did yours do during totality? Did it drift during those 3 minutes?
@@Naztronomy You were right! There was a plastic film!! It didn't have any tab as those protector films normally do... I hope I can try the tracking again soon!
Hopefully that helps! And sorry, I meant level the mount, not balance it. Used the wrong word. Make sure the bubble level on the mount head is properly leveled.
I bought this for our club as soon as it was released. We had used a small iOptron GEM for our club's 60mm Lunt Ha scope, but it was always tedious to set up and try to align for outreach events during the day.
With this one, we are able to set up within a few minutes, and keep tracking accurately.
I was able to put up to an 80mm Lunt on this mount, but I needed to add some weight (battery) to to the spreader plate for added stability.
Also, our first AC/battery adapter plate was wired backwards. I hope this was fixed.
Oh that's awesome! I'm hoping I can go around town (or the state) and do solar out reach soon with both my Lunt and AT60 with a white light filter. Motivates me more than using my CEM/AVX mounts.
Good thought about adding weights for heavier telescopes. I need to see how my 6SE does with it. Just need some clear skies.
The adapter plate seems to be fixed now. I didn't have any issues with my setup.
I'll be bringing this one with me to Texas in April! Clear skies!
@@Naztronomy
Where are you going in Texas? If you need a place to observe from, we have one.
@@FortWorthAstronomicalSociety We're going to be in Marble Fall. From the pictures, our Airbnb looks like it has some nice spots we can set up our gear.
Would love to have a backup spot! Where are you going to be?
I know of at least 6 other families that are planning on coming to us.
@@Naztronomy trying to email you, gets sent back.
@@FortWorthAstronomicalSocietyWeird! Try sending to naztronomy@gmail.com
The manual doesn't say anything on how to shut it down at the end of an imaging session. What is the best way to return it horizontal when shutting down?
If you use the joystick while holding that one power/action button, the mount will slew really fast. Use that to set the mount to horizontal mode and then unplug it. OR you can unplug it so it loses power, then plug it back in and turn it on. It'll automatically always level off first, then just unplug it again.
Great review! I've been thinking about buying this mount so I could have a portable dual solar setup. Currently use a Celestron Nexstar mount with my Lunt 50 or Burgess 65mm. I have a SW Star adventurer that I can use to track as well, but its a bit of a pain since it doesn't have fine adjustments.
Thank you! Definitely recommend this for a dual setup! I recently tried a dual setup with the SolarQuest and my CEM40. SolarQuest did a better job of tracking the sun, mostly because I had to do a blind polar alignment with the CEM40.
If I could, I'd buy another one of these SolarQuests before I head to Texas for the April 2024 eclipse. I plan on doing a double set up as well, one with my Lunt and another with just a white light filter.
Please tell me what the green light indicates
The Green LED is the "Mount Status" light which lets you know if it's connected to GPS. It also flashes to during calibration resets.