Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro unboxing and first impressions.

One of 'those' videos of someone else opening up their new toy! This is an upgrade from my existing Celestron AVX mount. Exciting times! For some reason, the video has rendered a bit jittery in places, but should be good enough to get the idea.

[@brentfugett2700]

The EQ6-R Pro is my dream mount. Several really compelling reviews, particularly by people who accurize eq mounts point to this one as the most reasonably priced mount that out of the box is accurate to sub-arc seconds of drift, which is dead on pretty much (particularly important if you are doing high magnification time exposures with heavier tubes). Really solid product.

[@meusatrumtempestas]

"We don't want to play with the pig for a minute." What a sweet assistant and a nice video also - Thanks.

[@pault5947]

unboxing starts at 4:40

[@skyprop]

One Has to Love your ASTRO-ASSISTANT!!! For reasons seen in this video.

[@SuperNova-py1ec]

Got my mount today. It is a beast compared to my AVX. Love your dog!

[@clonecrow217]

I would like to apologies to all in the UK, I recently brought the NEQ6 and just took delivery of a William Optics refractor - the clouds are going to be here for months now.....sorry..

[@alessandrocernuzzi]

Nice vid and dog, man. I use the SW 1.75" tripod to support my Skyguider pro, but this things looks huge! I'd like to get an HEQ 5 pro or this EQ6R pro, someday. We'll see where we stand with money. Subscribed ;)

[@ARIAVIALLE]

Thanks for the video. Just bought a EQ6 R and Esprit 100 scope. Will not see them till Christmas.

[@astromadness]

Sounds like an awesome combo! Finger crossed for clear skies over Xmas and new year for you!

[@denodan]

Why do you have the weight between the legs? The mount gives both options either over leg or between legs. Over leg would be steadier and thd mount will be top heavy. Also another advantage of over the leg is rear altitude bolt easy to use as well as polar scope.

[@Miguel_Noppe]

Hello, good video, i got the same mount since the end of May, still getting the hang of it, but i'll get there. You're right about the foam inlay, kept it to and got a hard case for it. I found that the bubble level in mine isn't good, i use a small Stanley level on the tripod directly before putting the head on. I also had some work getting the polar scope perfectly aligned with the mount axes, i used a printed out bull's eye and put it up as far as i could in my house (about 12meters i guess). Also the reticle of the polar finder isn't vertical when the mount is in the zero-position, so when polar aligning i first put Polaris on the center spot of the reticle, then put Polaris on the top of the circle of the reticle only using the altitude bolds of the mount, than rotate de DEC axes until Polaris is on the vertical axes of the reticle, then you know its perfectly vertical en in zero position and you can put Polaris on the right spot of that date and time. I also marked my mount to determine the zero position, using the video's from Astronomyshed, found it quite helpful. Are you on SGL also ? Clear skies !

[@astromadness]

AstroDude Hey Mitch. Thanks for your comments. Very useful indeed. I've yet to give it first light because I'm making my pier adapter first. Hopefully I'll have that finished and in place by the weekend so fingers crossed for a few hours of clear sky on Friday/Saturday and I can give it a maiden run out Iam on SGL, but don't post too often. Only if I can help :-) Cheers, Tony

[@Miguel_Noppe]

Hi, i am Miguel1983 on the forum, there's someone else who uses Astro Dude with a space so i've seen, is this Mitch ? See you on SGL then !

[@astromadness]

AstroDude ah, I see. Could well be. Apologies or the mix up! The other Astro Dude also has a KZbin channel with some really cool tutorials for pixinsight. :-)

[@colinanderson3834]

Keep the box as well. it takes up the same room as the foam.

[@amaimani]

loved your unpack vid a lot. and the dog is so cute too

[@astromadness]

Thanks for your comments, Abdul. I've got a few more ideas for new videos. All I need to do is find the time to make them! And yes, the dog will probably get in on the act too!

[@ACEOFSPACE2000]

Nice unboxing thanks for the info.

[@Castyo]

nice doggo, so sweet!

[@oldgittarist]

Good luck, but I wouldn't want to assemble an EQ6 size mount in bare feet!!

[@astromadness]

Ha ha! That's a very valid point :-) No accidents this time fortunately. That could have been a very different outcome to the video!

[@markc7889]

Hi, I have another question. Does the new Eq6-R have PRECISE GOTO? The AVX Mount has it. I love it.

[@astromadness]

Hello again, Mark. When I use the AVX, I use the 2 star alignment plus add a single calibration star which works really well as you say. Remembering that the SkyWatcher uses a different controller, therefor different software and firmware, I am still getting to know all the different features the new controller brings. However, I haven't read the instructions for it and managed to get on with it quite easily. On the EQ6-R Pro, I now use the 3 star alignment feature, with no additional stars. (I can't even remember seeing an option to add extra stars to be honest, although it doesn't mean that the option isn't there somewhere!) I have an Altair 80 ED-R telescope (f/7) scope on the mount. www.altairastro.com/Starwave-80ED-R-V2-FPL53-Refractor-Telescope.html When carrying out alignment, I used a 10mm illuminated reticule which gives you a double set of red crosshairs at the eyepiece to line up on the stars you are using for alignment. I found that by using this method for centring the alignment stars, GOTO precision brought targets almost exactly to the centre of the eyepiece each time. Maybe, slightly out of centre, but certainly nothing you would worry about visually anyway. I would say that it I every bit as precise as using the AVX GOTO features. When I'm imaging though, before I start the imaging run, I always take a couple of test frames to get things as good as I can. I never need to tinker too much at all. Hope this helps, Tony

[@markc7889]

Astronomy According to Mountainmadman Hi Tony, thank you so much for the detailed reply. I am seriously considering getting the Eq6-R if it has the PRECISE GOTO feature on the hand controller. May I ask you to scroll down the hand controller menu to see if there is PRECISE GOTO? On Celestron hand controller there is a feature called PRECISE GOTO. I do not know if you have used it. I use it all the time. After alignment you scroll down the menu to PRECISE GOTO, press Enter. Then choose an object that we cannot see in the eyepiece or in the camera. The AVX hand controller will find a visible star very nearby to slew to. You center on the star, then Enter. The scope will slew to the object such as Ring Nebula right in the center. I love this feature so much that if Eq6-R does not have it I will not buy it. Thank you. Mark

[@astromadness]

Hi Mark, I now understand what you're referring to. I don't have the mounts to hand at the moment, but checking the synscan menu tree in the instructions for the Skywatcher handset on-line, there is no reference to PRECISE GOTO. I believe that this is a celestron specific offering. The manual for the Skywatcher hand controller is available to download from their website and shows the full menu tree. I suggest taking a look at that and familiarising yourself with the options before committing. Hope that helps, Tony

[@markc7889]

Thank you for the video. I am looking for a mount to replace my AVX. May I ask you two questions? 1. How do you compare it with avx mount? Is it worth the upgrade? 2. Is the new mount's tripod identical to that of AVX?

[@astromadness]

Hi Mark, firstly, let me thank you for taking the time to watch and comment on my video. I really appreciate it. In answer to your questions... 1. The EQ6-R Pro is a much heavier mount than the Celestron AVX. For this reason alone, the AVX wins the portability contest. But, the EQ6-R Pro is solid. When you put it together, it feels like it just doesn't want to be moved, which I would day is a great thing for a mount used for imaging. It takes me a little while longer to set up than the AVX because of the extra care I take when carrying it around. My main reason for going getting the new mount was to help with my guiding and astrophotography. The AVX was great at getting exposures of the 60 to 80 second range unguided, but whenever I connected it to PHD2 I found it very hard to get an acceptable graph. I know there are many variables when using PHD/PHD2 like your polar alignment, balance of the mount etc. but I found I would spend 2 hours each session trying to get guiding working, only to give up and image unguided. The first time I used the EQ6-R Pro, I went through the same preparation I usually do in terms of set up and polar alignment (using the Polar Align tool in Sharpcap Pro) and then just ran the calibration routine followed by guiding assist in PHD2. That produced a graph I was really pleased of straight away. 5 minutes work, and the mount was being guided in a way I could never get the AVX to respond. There are 2 things of note I have found with the EQ6-R Pro that are worth mentioning, coming from an AVX owners point of view. Firstly, the white lines on the AVX marking the home position that the controller asks you to make sure are lined up don't exist on the EQ6-Pro. So, when switching it on, I have used best endeavours to line everything up at the start of the alignment process. I don't even know if this is necessary, but it has work so far. I have made my own marks with a sharpie on mount for future reference. Secondly, the bolt used for changing the latitude dial on the mount is an odd design, requiring you to work a small handle/lever onto the shaft of the bolt before turning it then releasing it. You'll see what I mean if you get your hands on a mount before you purchase. Don't let it put you off considering the mount, it's just a bit odd. I'm at roughly 52 degrees, and I found that the tripod leg gets in the way a bit when approaching 48 degrees or so, meaning that I have to make lots of small adjustments to get the mount to 52 degrees. To combat this though, I moved the alignment peg on the tripod to the other hole the opposite side. It makes access much easier. I hope you understand that. It's quite a tricky thing to explain without pictures. 2. The tripod is different on the AVX tripod. The tube legs on the EQ6-R Pro are thicker, although not by much. Also, the plate at the top of the tripod which you drop the mount into is a different shape. The AVX is mount plate is smaller than the EQ6-R Pro So, in summary, you can't use the same tripod for both mounts. I hope these help, Tony

[@RaysAstrophotography]

Nice

[@dilipsharan8699]

Nice video. Let us know how like it once you get to use it. :)

[@astromadness]

Hi Dilip. Thanks for your comment. So after a year of use, and now having it set up permanently in my home observatory, this mount is awesome. It's really easy to use in the observatory, holds polar alignment really well and I have never had a problem with it since putting it in place. One thing which could do with improvement are the alt/az bolts. They can take a bit of persuasion to move sometimes, and are quite awkward to get to. However, once set up, there's rarely any need to touch them anyway. In terms of taking the mount to other observing sites, well, it's not exactly mobile. I did take it to one star party, but it took a bit of time to get set up perfectly, ready for imaging. I think in the future, I will leave the astrophotography stuff at home, and just take my dob to future events. Aside from that, I love this mount! Cheers :-)

[@dilipsharan8699]

@@astromadness I have also bought a EQ6-R PRO. Works well. Though there is a bit of backlash now starting to appear in the DEC axis

[@astrophotonics9470]

The Dog is Win..........Mount is ok too lol

[@v4mp1el]

thanks for the unboxing but your cam is pretty bad ;)