ZWO AM5 Mount Review - Actual Performance Revealed!

[@stuartriley]

Thank you for making a convincing video on the ZWO AM5 mount. I am a visual and solar photographer. Your interests in those areas helped me decide to pull the trigger (so to speak) on buying it. Thanks!

[@anthonygraham6449]

Sir I can’t tell you enough how much I appreciate this review. I’ve had my AM5 for a while now. No one reads the manual and they refuse to use this setup correctly. Weight in hammock and counter weight. I’ve tried to educate but I’m a nobody. So much of, you don’t need a counter weight and you have to upgrade the tripod nonsense. Great job ! I did get the big feet. I find it plants the tripod much better.

[@StarlancerAstro]

I have two of them and love them both, sold all my other mounts, and right now with a 102 mm triplet I am guiding at .3 as I type with an OAG. I've run my 9.25 on mine at 1500mm and still guide .5-.6. Spectacular mount!

[@ziggyfrnds]

Your solar images and timelapses are amazing! Well done! And thanks for sharing!

[@mwales2112]

May finally replace my aged EQM-35 that I have been using for years with the AM3 since I don't need to carry that much weight. Thank you for the great review and info.

[@NG-VQ37VHR]

Great review. Ive got one being shipped to me currently. My mounts have gotten so big and heavy that its been almost a year since i last brought one outside. I cant wait to be able to get back to imaging.

[@GarnettLeary]

Really enjoyed your review. As a huge solar enthusiast I’ve been considering this mount to lighten my setup. Thanks for publishing your thoughts. You answered all my questions.

[@AZASTROGUY]

You are welcome!

[@Mainuh]

Nice review! I'm getting ready to buy a new mount and struggling with the cost, but reviews like this sure make it look attractive! I'm in the Tucson area and would love to see one in action.

[@alandyer910]

Excellent review, thank you! Superb solar time lapses.

[@AZASTROGUY]

Thanks Alan!

[@richardsauerbrun2412]

mark, you did it again … wonderful. I especially like the videos of the sun … spectacular.

[@joedenisco6033]

That was a GREAT review. I was nice to see it carrying a TEC140. Awesome job! JD

[@AZASTROGUY]

Thanks!!

[@toddweiler227]

Nice review with great graphics and explanations. The only additional thing I learned from the recent annular eclipse is to use the included spikes vs. the ball feet on gravel. While watching the eclipse someone knocked a tripod leg with their shoe shifting the alignment on the loose gravel. The spikes would give better resistance I think when dug in. I also might add a bubble level to the PE200 to get the tripod level before I add the scope and more weight. If using the ASIAir I highly recommend ignoring all the Astro features for Focus, Live View, Preview and go right to Video. If you got those features to work right for solar, I’d love to see the video. There is also a lot of talk about isolating the AM5 power supply separate from the ASIAir. I’m doing just solar now, but maybe the 6 amp limit on the air with dew heaters and cooled cameras will max it. Any issues or do you do two leads to your power supply? Totally agree with your point about this being a game changer for portability. I can do Solar at home, but the dark skies are 20 miles from me with no power. Evaluating what scope to get now for Astro. Your sampling has me thinking hard about suitable choices. ZWO FF130 APO looks nice. We’ll see. Keep up the good work. It’s inspiring!

[@AZASTROGUY]

Hi Todd, thanks for the detailed comments. I am running everything off the AM5 power supply. But I do not have dew heaters to worry about which can make a big difference. I’m just running the ASI air and one cooled camera and the guide camera

[@tullyfisher]

Well done review. Very interesting. Thanks & cs - subscribed :)

[@WilliFromEarth]

Great! Thank you. This is the review I have been looking for. I have a 130 mm F/7.7 astrograph and I am looking for a portable mount for this somewhat hefty scope. Looking at AM5 and NYX-101.

[@lextrueno]

Outstanding review and well detailed!

[@AZASTROGUY]

Thanks!

[@johngleason6472]

Excellent summary on the mount. How much shake at the eyepiece with the 160 F/7? It would seem the moment arm would be too long for such a small mount and vibration dampening time would be long, especially on that lightweight tripod.

[@AZASTROGUY]

I tried it on two occasions while working on the review. In both cases I was fortunate to have little wind. It’s certainly a long local length but I was achieving 0.33-0.5 arcsecond guiding both times. I am convinced that it makes a huge difference having a heavy weight in the mount bag. Your mileage may vary!

[@nameisunique]

Great review. Got the AM5 earlier in the year and love it. Just using a SCT 6" and Hyperstar, but looking to head back to Starizona and upgrade to either the 9.25 (likely) or 11. The Starizona guys are keen on the 11", but seem like it might push the AM5 a bit much. Any thoughts? BTW, solar pictures and vids are Amazing!!

[@AZASTROGUY]

I agree the 11” is too much for the AM5. Great scope with a hyperstar though, if on a heavier mount

[@HEADLINEZOO]

I noticed you had an Edge HD on the mount which has a focal length well over a meter. Can the AM5 only handle the Edge for visual and taking photographs of planets?

[@AZASTROGUY]

The maximum focal length spec is 700mm for the AM5. I get good results with my TEC140 at 980 mm, and if the wind is calm get good results with my TEC160 at 1120 mm. However, the Celestron 9.25 SCT only gets good results when I use my hyper star which reduces the focal length to 600 mm. It will not align or plate solve at the F10 focal length of 2350 mm on the AM5.

[@rickcrume739]

can you turn the volume up

[@paulsmaglik5063]

Nice review loves the pics. I have two AM5 mounts one is used for my WO 120 MM & the other WO 91 MM they work great. Next year I am considering on getting another AM5 for my WO 81 MM. The bell weights were an awesome suggestion and I am going to take your advice and purchase them. I have a question for you it is about the bag you got from Amazon that you used to store your tripod with the pier option and want to know if you can forward it to me. I also found out that I really do not need to do PA with these mounts as long I am in correction direction of Polaris and the plate solving and auto guiding this is not an issue for me. My average capture rate is about 300 Seconds for Nebulas and 180 Seconds for galaxies, start clusters and double stars. For the longest time I had tried to do an exact polar alignment through the ASIAIR and I could never get to the 0-degree mark which was frustrating for me since I like to be dead on. I was NEAF earlier this year and had spoken with a ZWO AM5 engineer, and he informed me that I need not worry about a perfect alignment just get close as you can. The engineer also informed me that with the harmonic mounts it is impossible to get a perfect alignment and stated that the plate solving and auto guider will compensate for this. I want to share this with you so other people can benefit on what I learned so far.

[@AZASTROGUY]

Thanks for the detailed review. Here's the link to the bag I used: www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08JV1DJ7X/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Interesting comment from the ZWO engineer!

[@mattysastropics]

Can you link to the tripod bag you use?

[@AZASTROGUY]

www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08JV1DJ7X/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[@larrycable984]

curious how well the AM-5 performed with your Celestron Edge HD 9.25" - do you only use it with a Hyperstar - or perhaps the focal reducer, does the mount perform adequately at native f/l?

[@AZASTROGUY]

Only with hyperstar. It’s rated for max 700mm focal length. It won’t plate solve at F10 2350mm focal length. I did get it to work with my 1120mm focal length TEC160FL but that’s it

[@anata5127]

To summarize, it’s main and only advantage is weight. Right? Operation is the same as other mounts; guiding is the same as EQ-6R pro (or similar class of mounts); doesn’t handle long focal length for imaging of objects smaller than 5-10’. Is my summary right? Your solar imaging is really superb! I noted it in your previous videos. You really master of this.

[@AZASTROGUY]

Like any harmonic mount, the main advantage is weight/portability. But it punches well above its weight in performance, it's quiet, guides very well, slews quickly, and is especially good if you're using the ASIAir. If you have a quasi-permanent set up in your backyard, then perhaps this isn't the best mount for you. If you usually set up away from home or setup/tear down frequently, then this deserves serious consideration.

[@anata5127]

@@AZASTROGUY Thanks a lot for reply. If I decide to get this type of mount, I will get other. ZWO products are unpredictable. I and others had No good experience with them; but others, like you, have good one. Whole mark such companies! My one is semi-permanent set up. I travel not often, but I do. In my opinion, key element for travel (besides lightweight) is NO guiding.

[@jsn7123]

I wish I would ever see such a guiding quality with my AM5. The best is 0.8, usually it's 9ish or even 1.0 I've spent hours and hours playing around with PHD2 settings (not using ASIAIR), it's hopeless. It seems that buying an AM5 is some kind of lottery. You might win, but then you might lose all, too.

[@omarlorentz99]

Hi, have you tried cutting off the electrical voltage to test whether the absence of clutches could damage the equipment?

[@AZASTROGUY]

Did not try that but the documentation says there should be no issue

[@videoscrapheap]

You say that the mount is good up to 1m (1000mm) but the 9.25 SCT is 2350mm so more than twice that FL. Or were you speaking of the physical length of the rig?

[@AZASTROGUY]

I was using the C9.25 with a Hyperstar which changed the focal ratio from F10 to F2.2

[@MySolarSystem]

Hi! And thank you, vey much for informative video. What your thoughts about 1280mm focus? My main telescope is TAL 200 Klevtsov - Cassegrain. It is 8'' inch diameter and mass aprox 9 kilos. With Best Wishes Nikolay Vdovin, from ROSCOSMOS )

[@AZASTROGUY]

Hi Nikolay, Well here are some considerations. My TEC160FL is heavier (14kg with rings, plate etc) and a much longer moment arm. However at focal length of 1280 is going to be really pushing it. My TEC160 has a focal length of 1120mm and it works but is susceptible to wind. I think if you used a 0.7x focal reducer you'd be OK. The weight is not the issue and it's a short tube which helps. But you are going considerably over the rated max FL of the mount (700mm). I get best results with my TEC160 with an Apex L focal reducer (0.67x) but it does work, and guides well, at native F7. But as I said it's more susceptible to vibration because I'm pushing the mount. Good luck!

[@MySolarSystem]

Thank you so much! By the way, your channel on youtube great and informative, keep going! And your solar images, timelapses Wow!😮 very nice results

[@omarlorentz99]

Hi,how do you calculate the quantity of counterweights to put in relation to the weight of the telescope? For some harmonic mount a small weight of 4kg is sufficient.

[@AZASTROGUY]

The axis does not swing freely like other EQ mounts. You need to go with the ZWO recommendation of a max of 11kg. That is what I use with my 14 kg Celestron C9.25 and it works well.

[@TheNarrowbandChannel]

Hidnode needs to get out of the 1980s and support usb.

[@AZASTROGUY]

That would be nice but I’m glad they make a solution that works