REVIEW of iOPTRON HAZ 46 TELESCOPE MOUNT

iOptron has now released another alt az telescope mount with the strain wave technology. The mount only weighs 12 pounds but iOptron asserts that the mount can handle a 44 pound payload. I bought one and tested it out over several nights with three different telescopes with the heaviest weighing 30 pounds. Find out how the mount did and how I rate this telescope mount.

[@lindafinch8983]

Hi Tsula, Thank goodness we have a solo astronomer brave enough to take on the challenge of these new innovations and telling how it really is! So many of today’s systems require considerable strength and two pairs of hands to set up, which puts them beyond the scope of a solo astronomer, especially in the field and in the dark! Quite often these days it’s not only the price that prevents you buying what you’d really like, but the feat of just assembling and setting up something so valuable with so much risk! Additional piers often make the mount unstable because it becomes very top heavy when the telescope is off centre. Here’s to practical solutions for all us solo astronomers! Thanks so much Tsula, for this sensible and practical review, I wish you great results with your new mount

[@tsulasbigadventures]

Thank you. I think my whole idea was a bad one. I think 30 pounds for a telescope is too much for an old lady like me but I thought that I could compensate by getting this ultra light mount but it just didn't work out. I think that 10" telescope needs a permanent home in a home observatory which I am still working on. I think a great mount would be one that is highly accurate but not too terribly heavy. Let's just say I am still looking for that perfect mount.

[@RobertRidgley]

Hi Tsula. I have two iOptron mounts, an Alt Az Pro and a GEM45. I’ve seen the same issues with my Alt Az Pro as you experienced with the HAZ46. The heavier the OTA is, the less accurate and erratic the mount becomes. As long as I keep the OTA below 50% of the rated capacity it’s not too bad. Anything heavier than 50% if it’s rated capacity creates deflection in the mount and shifts the leveling. This creates the go-to issues. My GEM45 also doesn’t have encoders but is a good deal more accurate than the Alt-AZ pro. Thanks for your review.

[@tsulasbigadventures]

Hi. Thank you. I have a GEM28 that is fairly accurate as long as I don't put anything too heavy on it. I was putting a 12 pound SCT on it and it worked great and I really liked it but it was stolen. But this HAZ46 is just too unreliable for me. iOptron needs to go back to the drawing board on this one. But I agree with your assessment on keeping the weight to about 50% of what they claim the mount can handle.

[@rfleming7883]

od job on the review. I do appreciate you showing the problems with this mount as they occurred. Trying to get the 10" Meade Telescope on looked really difficult. Thanks for the review.

[@tsulasbigadventures]

Thank you. That telescope is a beast but I thought it would work on that mount based on iOptron's claims but alas not so.

[@cigarnationwarriors]

Tsula, I appreciate that you bring the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

[@tsulasbigadventures]

Thanks. I think the HEQ mount you got is a good balance between accuracy and weight as long as your telescope is not too terribly heavy. A 30 pound telescope is just too heavy in my opinion. I am going to make a video about this but why on earth does Meade go from 12 pounds for the 8" to 26 pounds for the 10"? That is ridiculous.

[@Peter-yw6fo]

A great practical review as ever Tsula, thank you.

[@tsulasbigadventures]

Thank you so much.

[@mikebrown9902]

Excellent real world review; expensive bit of kit for what it is. It would be interesting for an engineer to look at the internal build quality of the gearing. I have my reservations. Stay safe😃

[@tsulasbigadventures]

Thank you. I think for the price point iOptron should be putting out something more accurate even if it requires adding an encoder or seeing what the problem is with the gearing.

[@ultrametric9317]

Bummer. When I went looking for a stout mount I settled on an old Meade LXD650. That thing has incredibly accurate pointing and can actually hold 60 lbs of scope. It carries my 45 lb 10" Newtonian with ease. I have a LXD750 coming soon. I just don't like these modern mounts. And the payload capacity is always vastly overrated. The LXD650 has HUGE double bearings on both axes and a boxy aluminum casting that makes for extreme strength and rigidity. These mounts were supplied with the monster ED refractors of the mid-90s. For some reason Meade never sold them standalone. I got mine with a 127ED - by the way a fantastic scope optically.

[@Michael.Chapman]

Great review Tsula-another Big Adventure ;-)

[@tsulasbigadventures]

Thank you!

[@emfletcher]

Tsula, thank you for the great review!!!! I was quite excited when I saw the the HAZ 46 and HAZ 71. I really liked the concept and needed a payload upgrade to my iOptron AZ Pro which just works perfect on the iOptron Tri-Pier. I also own the Rowan AZ100 with go to motors, which has some advantages (encoder, high real payload capacity) but also disadvantages (no long slewing with the motors, no self-calibration, etc.). A mix of both would be perfect.

[@tsulasbigadventures]

You're welcome. Thanks for watching. I wasn't familiar with that Rowan AZ100. So I just looked it up. Can it really hold 33 pounds? And what does it mean "no long slewing?" Does it just stop after a certain number of degrees? Do you recommend the Rowan AZ100?

[@emfletcher]

​@@tsulasbigadventures Up to 33 - 44 lbs on each side due to the manual. I am using the mount with an APM 6" ED Apo f/7.9 (1,200mm/305" focal lenght) on one side and a Skywatcher 4" f/4.9 (500mm/20" focal length) as a finder scope on the other side. So it's quite some weight (total of approx. 33 pounds) and a lever but works well on the iOptron Tri-Pier. A handbox is not available as far as I am informed. You can use it with a Nexus DSC or with the build in OS or skysafari via a smartphone. It has functions to slew which are not really convenient. E.g. skysafari - you have to push the move button multiple time because is slews just a short step. There is a joystick option, too. But you have the push-to option which works well with the encoders. Go to works fine. I just like the difffent speed options with my iOptron.

[@tsulasbigadventures]

@@emfletcher Thanks for all that information. It sounds like if someone would combine some of these features with the iOptron it would make a great mount.

[@OlliesSpace]

Hey Tsula - That seems a real shame especially at that price point. Even my Heq5Pro can do a pretty good job once aligned, so for this price you'd just expect it to work. Might be best to return and try again.

[@tsulasbigadventures]

I would like to return it. I have been away on my star gazing trip and just got back and intend to ask for an RMA from iOptron now and hopefully they will take it back. I don't want it. The HEQ 5 Pro and the old Orion version-- EQG-- worked much better and that mount is not that heavy for an EQ mount.

[@marvinwhisman3333]

Surprised they depend on a bubble level. Seems like it should have been done in software, sort of like the ZWO Seestar. Unfortunately I have had lots of problems with the various iOptron mounts I have owned. Had hoped this one might be a winner but it sort of sounds like there are issues. Thanks for the video.

[@tsulasbigadventures]

Thank you. I was hoping it would perform much better than it did for the price. Very disappointed.

[@gregerianne3880]

Thanks for the review, Tsula! I'm SOOO happy you didn't have to sacrifice yourself to save the telescope! 🤣 Too bad about the GoTo inaccuracy. I may have missed this, but once centered on an object, how was the tracking? Also, don't they make a solid mini-pier for the mount/tripod? It seems like it would be a little more sturdy and support more weight. (They have two types of piers for the AM5 mounts from ZWO, the kind you used and a solid pier. The payload for each is significantly different. BTW, they just came out with an improved AM5 with an increased weight bearing capacity without counterweights, as well as improved tracking accuracy and bluetooth capability!) I hope you find a mount that fills your need, Tsula. So sorry this one didn't work out.

[@tsulasbigadventures]

The tracking was fine but locating was not acceptable. I have to look into this but I believe that iOptron only has the flimsy pier. I didn't like it because it made the saddle way too high. I am short and it is very difficult to heft a heavy telescope above shoulder level. iOptron needs to add an encoder to that mount but in addition I should not have gotten a 30 pound telescope. I must have lost my mind.

[@waltergold3457]

Excellent review! You explained everything clearly and linearly. And it's remarkable machinery, even if it doesn't always work. (Plus the story about the mount's jet lag was novel, and I heard what you said when your lights blew over. 🙂)

[@tsulasbigadventures]

It is an amazing piece of machinery and engineering but it needs more work. Ha, you heard my mild expletive.

[@ronm6585]

Great review Tsula, thank you.

[@AstraPharmaq8]

Great review Tsula. Thanks for sharing!

[@tsulasbigadventures]

Thank you. Thanks for watching.

[@OldGirlPhotography]

I don’t use Alt Az mounts but I wonder if part of the problem is that you changed the placement of the mount plate from the side to the top. Also, I’ve been told that even if a mount is rated for x pounds, for accuracy you should never exceed 50% of the advertised payload. Again, I don’t use Alt Az mounts so not sure if these comments are helpful.

[@tsulasbigadventures]

iOptron actually recommends moving the saddle to the top for heavier telescopes. But you are correct that for iOptron you should cut the claimed payload capacity in half of whatever crazy number they assert.

[@ddierick]

You are right, for that price point you can expect accurate pointing. I was about to get one for visual observing, but it seems this will not be the one. Mind, I had good experiences with their equatorial strain wave mounts.

[@tsulasbigadventures]

I had the HAZ31 but I never put more than 12 pounds on it and it performed well. Unfortunately it was stolen out of my car.

[@JamesAdams-ev6fc]

Your review points out that you still need a big mount to carry a big telescope, despite the innovative engineering at iOptron. For my Stellarvue 130 APO refractor I use an Orion mount and tripod rig that weighs 76 pounds with counterweights. I have the entire rig mounted on a JMI wheeley bar, so no heavy lifting. I just wheel it out into the yard and when I get there it is rock solid. The mount and tripod rig is not that expensive, and it's the only such setup that I'm likely to need.

[@tsulasbigadventures]

That's a great set up you have. I have a monster telescope-- a 12" SCT that weighs over 100 pounds and it stays permanently on a JMI Wheeley Bar that I can pull out onto the driveway just like you described with your rig. If I didn't have that Wheely Bar it would not get nearly as much use as it does.

[@JamesAdams-ev6fc]

@@tsulasbigadventures Thank you, I enjoy your videos. My Stellarvue 130 is actually quite heavy, with a plate on the bottom for mounting to my German equatorial mount, and a plate on top that attaches to a Stellarvue 60 mm doublet finder. I wish more people knew about JMI wheeley bars. They solve almost every problem except light pollution. And the owner is a talented manufacturer who is improving the product.

[@ultrametric9317]

As for the strain wave concept - fine unless there is too much - strain that is. I can see these mounts for wide field AP with a camera-camera. Otherwise I see no real advantage over a good old equatorial with accurate construction and motors and gears and a way to actually point it straight at the pole, with the polar axis scope. My LXD75 mount can carry a 20lb scope and the whole mount minus the tripod fits in a plastic bin. It can't be any harder to carry that around than this device. This year marks 20 years of trouble-free service from that mount. And the Autostar handbox is still the best and easiest to use.

[@tsulasbigadventures]

I have to look that one up. I am not familiar with the LXD75 mount. It seems like most mount manufacturers are moving away from including a polar scope which is too bad in my opinion. It's a little heavy but by far and away my best mount is the Losmandy GM8 which can handle the 30 pound telescope I used in this video.

[@叶一-t5d]

Hello Tsula, I have the similar issues and I'm on the way resolving them, here's some points I'd suggest: 1. put the tripod and equipments on solid concrete, do not put on sand or soft dirt floor; 2. do not use carbon fiber tripod, they deforms when high payload, steel tripod or steel tripier is suggested; 3. considering counterweight, after emailing with iOptron support, they suggest me to use couterweight which keeps the bubble always centered.

[@tsulasbigadventures]

Thank you for the suggestions. I was putting it on a paved driveway. I wondered whether the carbon tripod might be inadequate and was surprised that iOptron recommended it. I have to see if any of my steel tripods will work. Do you have to get an adapter of some kind? For a counterweight I would need to get the needed attachments which I didn't get. Thank you. I will try these suggestions.

[@叶一-t5d]

@@tsulasbigadventures Hi Tsula, I use an adapter adapting the interface of skywather eq6 tripod to haz46 and the adapter was customized, you may check if there are adapter which can accept the 3/8 interface of haz46.

[@tsulasbigadventures]

@@叶一-t5d Thank you. I was thinking about that yesterday because I need a stronger tripod for that HAZ46 but not sure how to attach it to any of the tripods I own. Did you customize the SW adapter yourself or you bought it somewhere? I read a review of the HAZ46 by someone how said he adapter his Losmandy tripod but he didn't say how he attached it to the mount.

[@叶一-t5d]

@@tsulasbigadventures ioptron website provides the bottom drawing of haz46, I went to a local machining workshop which made the adapter for me and I use the six M6 holes underneath haz46. I searched google there’s also adapter adapting SW neq6 to general 3/8 thread, this might also work, you may check if there’s any similar one to your tripod[search: skywatcher neq6 to 3/8].

[@叶一-t5d]

@@tsulasbigadventures mine was made by local machining work shop, i think most of the people using the haz46 with adapter is the same way.

[@perry92964]

i just got a c8se a few weeks ago and even though i leveled it with the bubble it came with it, i was having the same issues, while shopping for a better level i saw that the one the scope came with was less then a dollar, the one i bought was 20 and it glows in the dark, well its a big improvement. i didnt realize just how important the mount being level really is. that being said for 3 grand i would expect that thing to be flawless.

[@tsulasbigadventures]

I borrowed a NexStar 8" for a comparison video I made comparing the NexStar with my Meade 8" SCT and I immediately thought that the little tripod the NexStar comes with was inadequate for an 8" telescope and sure enough I had a lot of problems getting that telescope to accurately locate objects. Eventually I had to take it off that mount and put it on a more accurate mount I owned in order to finish my comparison. I carefully leveled it first. So my conclusion was that the tripod wasn't sturdy enough for an 8" telescope but probably the cheap level was off as well.

[@perry92964]

@@tsulasbigadventures im looking for a better mount, i noticed just last night after i leveled it while doing the alignment it went out of level and i had to re level it. im on a concrete slab

[@tsulasbigadventures]

@@perry92964 That's very disappointing. I hope you can find something better. The Meade 8" LX90 comes with a very sturdy rock-solid tripod. That thing doesn't move. And I think the dual fork is much more suitable for an 8" telescope. Unfortunately, the future of Meade is uncertain at the moment.

[@lindafinch8983]

Hi Tsula, Just an idea, I’m wondering if placing the saddle mount on top of the unit is contributing to your problems, if the object appears bottom left in the field of view and top right when side mounted perhaps the unit is directing to a point between the two mounting positions rather than centering the object as it should?

[@waltergold3457]

That's a good idea. I noticed the errors seemed regular. But didn't Tsula say she'd centered some objects but not others?

[@jackflash6657]

Great review!! I have been considering the HAZ 71 but think I will pass for now due to alignment issues. I agree with a poster below that the tripod, and the lack of a counter-weight, is probably contributing to the accuracy issues. That said, having to use beefy tripods and counterweights largely defeats the purpose of getting a lighter weight strain wave mount. Disappointing.

[@tsulasbigadventures]

Thank you. Yes, I agree with you.

[@krazyhorse448]

I wouldn't have been this trusting with my precious. First fail Fine, second nope in the box you go! I'm still trying to find a EQ for my 8" I've gotten so used to knobs keeping my object in frame longer than the Dob mount. In really dark skies I have to stick my fingers inside the scope to move it where needed, but every minute is getting old. Opps where the smudge go!? When my eyes are just starting to really see it. And I go no no no I had focus and it looked great. I'm looking for a either a EQ or motorized, This is really a hobby for deep pockets. I'm not looking for pictures but that would be a plus. Just not searching over and over again because I missed "is it raisin or falling" It's already upside down!

[@tsulasbigadventures]

How much does the 8" weigh? I put my 8" SCT on a light weight EQ mount but that telescope only weighs 12 pounds. So, I don't need a very heavy mount for it. That is the best set up I think.

[@krazyhorse448]

@@tsulasbigadventures It's 13.5 according to the manual. The only EQ mount I have barely hold my 127 reflector, It's got no chance.

[@krazyhorse448]

@@tsulasbigadventures I got suckered in buy Amazon to get the scope everyone hates with the worst mount. I've had to hit Lowes for replacement parts. That junk that came with it as a fastener let my 127 fall off. I remember thinking that did not just happen! Please don't be broken! It wasn't and is a decent scope once collimated I'm never going to trust my precious to it. It's 14.3 lbs with my phone. I think I've mentioned this it's the Bird Jones127. Spherical mirrors are junk I know now.

[@MichaelBarden]

Hi there, Tsula. Your mini review of the HAZ31 was quite positive. Is there a noticable difference in the two mounts, especially in terms of accuracy? Thanks so much for all your great videos!

[@Nottsboy24]

Nice mount 👌 📡🔭🔬

[@elray4932]

Hey Tsula, I have the HAZ 31 and found that accuracy is better if you use sync to target after you center the first object. Not sure why that is…seems redundant. 😊

[@tsulasbigadventures]

I was using it a lot but then I read in the manual that sync to target only works to hone in on a nearby target. I found my HAZ31 was more accurate than the HAZ46. I think it's because I put a lot more weight on the HAZ46 but who knows.

[@elray4932]

@@tsulasbigadventures Totally agree, and for the price spotty accuracy is not acceptable. Perhaps a software upgrade would be helpful.

[@Astronurd]

I think a lot of the new modern mounts actually rely on folk using plate solving to centre targets. My AZ-EQ6 can place targets more or less dead centre when using my 180 Maksutov with a focal length of 2700mm. Mind you i place each of my three alignment stars dead centre using a reticled eyepiece. The performance of your new mount seems to be particularly bad especially when using a relatively short focal length refractor with a 40mm eyepiece. I would deem it as unusable Tsula and return it. After all this is not a cheap piece of equipment. PS: Did you have daylight saving set correctly? It's just that with all the targets being on the edge makes me think something is not quite correct.

[@tsulasbigadventures]

Yes, I set the time accurately. I think you are right that they are counting on the consumer using other devices for accurate locating.

[@ScrapYardDog64]

Great honest report, wonder how well it would do on a pier, not much better in my opinion, without encoders and relying on stepper ticks is not ideal.

[@tsulasbigadventures]

I agree.

[@drde4010]

Yea Ioptron’s have often had issues with pointing.

[@tsulasbigadventures]

For the price they really need to address this issue. I think I waited too long to return it.

[@richard3143]

Dum question....did you ever think the bubble may not be level? If you had a firm platform like a tri-pier and leveled it first off and THEN bolted the flat face of the 46's base straight to it - the mount would definitely be level without looking at its bubble. Run the small refractor off the side mount and see if that can centre stars. I think mounting the plate on the top with 4 bolts down only one side is a strange way to mount the plate anyway....and if the bubble is off you will never get it right following it.

[@tsulasbigadventures]

It's possible the bubble level is off and that's why I also used my own carpenter's level and they both said the thing was level. I couldn't use the pier as it made the telescope impossibly high for a short person like me. And I agree that bolting a saddle on only one side is odd and seems imbalanced.

[@jacopocom]

If it loses the levelling after the inizializing process then it’s 100% a tripod fault. The tripod is too weak or the terrain is too loosen. And as you said, the levelling is everything.

[@tsulasbigadventures]

It could be but it is the tripod that iOptron recommended. I have some other tripods but I have to see if they have the correct attachment for this mount. I waited too long to return it and now I'm stuck with it. So, I am willing to try a different tripod.

[@k.h.1587]

Sounds like it has the pointing accuracy of my 2004 costco special nexstar 80gtl with the original pre sky align firmware. OK for a 2-300 dollar starter scope but unacceptable for a 3k dollar mount

[@tsulasbigadventures]

Yes.

[@k.h.1587]

Might be a software issue, it takes alot of calculations to make a a model by counting steps rather than encoder tics

[@tsulasbigadventures]

Well, they need to add an encoder for that much money.

[@JoeJaguar]

iam thinking of a new AZ mount if i de fork my 12" LX90 but this mount in Canada is $3800 with taxes its $4300 and thats without the tripod. i may wait abit see if i ever find a used one I wish they would make mounts without goto but with tracking maybe it be half price plus sometimes these goto take along time plus goto sometimes are never correct or. cheers

[@Astronurd]

Buy a Rowan 100. Fantastic mounts built by astronomers who are also superlative engineers.

[@JoeJaguar]

@@Astronurd I appreciate your suggestion, but they are just super expensive. I believe in Canada without the go to seen itself for like 3000. which is a lot considering it used a lot of my observing is the planetary stuff which I need real high powers but I also need good tracking Most az can’t track the nice guy so well Maybe one of these days, they will lend me one to test and then I can see how I like it. You never know.

[@tsulasbigadventures]

I am still in the market for a good alt az mount. So, if you find something suitable let me know because I don't like this one.

[@JoeJaguar]

@@tsulasbigadventures Iam a EQ mount guy its super easy to use and mount. my only Az is the SVbony 225 but thats mkinda light . I was thinking of the Hercules 30 KG Az mount. In cdn funds with shipping its about $650. you have to but the mounting bracket ie: vixen kind or Losmandy and of course the tripod. BUT its doesnt have slow motion controls just moving knobs, and its a manual mount. i may try it. iam not sure

[@tsulasbigadventures]

@@JoeJaguar I'll have to look that up as I am not familiar with it. I'm going to keep researching.

[@telboy911]

Hello Tsula it's Terry 🌷🖐 I've commented before on your review about "Maksutov Cassegrain Telescopes". Can you tell me if you have a review about a particular GoTo Mount that did/has good Object Tracking? I am currently using a Celestron Nexstar SLT '6in GoTo setup' and may upgrade to a 'Nexstar 8SE', or buy the items OTA and Mount separately you see.

[@tsulasbigadventures]

Hi Terry. Yes, I made a video about what I consider the best goto mount on the market, Losmandy. It's an expensive mount but very reliable and accurate. I'm going to make another video comparing it to another goto mount, Skywatcher EQ6R Pro, very soon. That mount is very heavy. I also made a video comparing a few light weight mounts made by iOptron: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b5bOh6aCodKUfZI Also this is about a mount I didn't care for: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r3_KpmBnbbinlac I think for the size telescope you are using you wouldn't need anything nearly as expensive or heavy as the Losmandy or Skywatcher but Skywatcher also makes a strainwave goto mount for lighter telescopes. I have not tried one out yet. Do you want an alt az only or are you willing to use an equatorial mount?

[@telboy911]

I started Astronomy as a young teenager during the 1960s when the Space Race was going on, and I was mad keen on Space & Astronomy (I'm 70 come October btw). My mom gave me the money for a 4.5-inch Reflector Telescope on an Equatorial Mount. My mom wrote me a note to give the guy in the store saying she won't pay the $57.57 ticket price for the Telescope, but is prepared to pay $51.81 'max', well every little helps right! My parents were hard-working people, but not "well off" Tsula and $51.81 was a lot back then. At 13 years of age, my new Telescope and the books I read taught me a lot. But I never got the hang of that Equatorial Mount. When I started work as an adult, I left my Astronomy hobby, as I had to earn money to pay my bills, and being outside at night at 3am was not good for me getting out of bed in the morning! Now I am retired, I have gone back to my hobby. Okay back to your question. If I buy a new 8in OTA and GoTo Mount as Separate items, the thing that puts me off a GoTo Equatorial is if I understand correctly, you have to 'Polar Align' the Mount every time you take the telescope outside. Otherwise, the GoTo won't work, right? I do enough at night on my hands & knees lol with my Nexstar 6in SLT Alt-Az Mount when using the Red-Dot Finder without having to align an Equatorial, I want 'easy' at my time of life, or do I mean lazy lol. In truth, I'm an amateur 'Observational Astronomer' Tsula, doing Astrophotography isn't important at the moment. But hey, if you can sweet talk me honeybee into a GoTo Equatorial Mount, who knows. You have the advantage of having USED all this equipment first-hand👍

[@tsulasbigadventures]

@@telboy911 Terry: You are a little bit older than I am but your story is so similar to mine. I fell in love with astronomy when I was eight years old and we sent Neil Armstrong to the moon. Daddy had a cheap little Tasco refractor and I can't remember seeing anything in it. When I was old enough to earn money I bought a cheap Orion 4.5" reflector also on a wobbly equatorial mount. I could never find anything with that telescope but I could not afford a goto. Then work got in the way like you said and I had to set my hobby aside but I would still make time to watch meteor showers and lunar eclipses but it wasn't until I retired that I could take the time to stay out all night to the wee hours and really star gaze like I wanted to do. Anyway, I know polar aligning sounds daunting but it's really not that hard but does require you to contort your body a bit. Also EQ mounts require counter weights and they can get heavy. So, I would recommend an Alt az mount for you. How much will the 8" weigh? Because that iOptron GEM28 mount is very light weight and can handle up to about 15 pounds of equipment with just a small counterweight. I was using the iOptron GEM28 with my Meade 8" SCT and it was very portable and light weight but someone stole the mount. Anyway it wasn't very hard to learn how to polar align on it. But like I said if you don't want to polar align I understand and I think an Alt Az would be fine for you. I would put off astrophotography for a while. It's very expensive, time consuming, frustrating, and leave little time for observing.

[@jimcabezola3051]

Good heavens... ...or bad heavens... I would feel gutted were I in your shoes. Indeed, I lack the courage to even TRY something like this. Now that I don't have a car anymore, my 1981 Celestron 8 just peeks out of my back yard. Its very presence...invites the neighbours to come on over and take a look through it. Nothing for me to do, really. I hope you can send your mount back and get a refund. If they are a good company, iOptron will LISTEN to YOU. Maybe it will be YOUR voice that will get them to install encoders and redesign the machine to include sturdier clamps. I've always imagined "Big Sky" Montana to have dark skies, and I'm dismayed to be disabused of that illusion. (Sigh...) Out here,. Honolulu might just as well be Las Vegas. The lights from here are easily visible on Maui! It's beautiful to see people who do NOT take their skies for granted. Aloha and clear skies to you!

[@tsulasbigadventures]

I'm going to try to return it. It's pretty dark here but getting less so every day because of all the development. There is an explosion of development going on.

[@jimcabezola3051]

@@tsulasbigadventures I wish you the very best of luck!

[@z.h.2216]

I don't like the original saddle. I made an adapter that would accept ADM saddle, which is much better at gripping the scope.

[@tsulasbigadventures]

I think that is wise but I don't like the whole mount. Is yours accurate?

[@z.h.2216]

@@tsulasbigadventures Similar issue as yours, at least for the first alignment, after which it's accurate. However, when I go to an object in the opposite direction it requires a re-alignment again. I read that the mount requires very fine leveling, something I have not tried yet.

[@tsulasbigadventures]

@@z.h.2216 When you say re-alignment you mean you start all over? That is a lot to do but if it makes it more accurate then I guess it's worth it.

[@z.h.2216]

@@tsulasbigadventures Sorry, I wasn't being clear. I meant doing just the "sync to target" function. So I basically manually center the scope to a bright star that is closest to the object of interest and sync the mount. After that the go-to function is accurate for that sky region. But If I wanna see something else in another region of the sky, I may have to repeat the above step again. iOptron should have implemented two or three star alignment for better accuracy.

[@tsulasbigadventures]

@@z.h.2216 OH! Yes, that helps a lot. I guess if I have to keep the mount because iOptron won't take it back I will just have to manually get on a bright star like you describe and go from there and hope for the best.