NEQ6 mount and which scope?

[boomboom]

Recently just bought the Sky Watcher NEQ6 EQ mount. It's rated to 20kg's.
Will this be capable of holding a 6" f12. Any other sizes ie180mm R35???
Wanting to use it for visual only, set up in an Obs eventually but until then on my home made solid ash (and I mean solid) tripod.
Matt

[kevinbarker]

Hi Matt
My brother has a verson of that mount. It handles a 6 kg 5 inch f 9.4 effortlessly and a beefy C-11.

I do however think a 6 inch f-12 might just have put too much Torque on the mounts Dec and Ra axes.
I once had a 6 inch f-12 D&G with a 14-15 kg homemade ota, it was too much for a Zeiss 1b mount. I have seen 16kg mak 180/1800 on that mount with no problems.

Kevin

[boomboom]

Thanks Kevin,
Torque was the word I was looking for! Been thinking on this one for a while now and guess I'll have to go on thinking for a bit longer....
At least the NEQ6 second hand was half price of new, so I have not lost there, maybe a bit of ATMing on a mount coming up.
Matt

[StephenEveleigh]

Matt,

You will surprised at what that EQ6 can really handle.

When Skywatcher brought their 305/1500mm Newtonian to Canada, it was spec'd on an EQ6. I wrote and said "really?" and their response was that it would make a "smooth combination" (still have the email). Someone at SW had erranously copied the specs for the 10 inch to create the specs for the 12 inch, and I had purchased the tube thinking it was going to weigh only about 28 pounds. The associate at Efston Science (Toronto) scratched his head when we placed the order, saying "I don't know where they could have possibly taken the weight from to make it this light. "

The tube arrived and it was huge. Once assembled it weighed about 57 pounds without eyepiece or finder scope. This tube was marketed as an Astrograph. Can you imagine adding camera equipment? When I let them know, they quietly changed the spec on their web page and offered no "thanks for that" or offer to take back the tube if it was not going to perform satisfactorily. I did not press them on it. They gave the classic "silence" ; just in case I started talking legal stuff.(issues of misrepresentation?, warranty?, who is that guy?)

I would happily tell Skywatcher that their tube is impressive; its sharp and has minimal coma. Its light grasp is awesome. Its just too big and as a result see's little action. Realistically it needs a CGEM pro, or a Losmandy Titan, etc, (and the $3-5K plus).

I load up about 55 lbs of counter weight and let the thing "humm" away. It climbs no problem. I am fully confident that it is not going to break. (maybe foolishly confident) Funny to say - it is smooth enough for visual.

I think matching an EQ6 with a 150mm F12 should be fine. It is near the limit. Take care to properly balance the tube. Consider remounting the tube with a longer losmandy dovetail and using all 4 bolts. Get the pier extension. There is some shake created from touching the focuser. It dampens out quickly enough. Maybe even get a motorized focuser if your a bit finnacky about it.

Like you, I am planning a bigger Frac like a 204/f8/R35, and it should perform equally silly on this mount. That tube should be several pounds lighter than the F8.8. (like James Lings) It should dress out at 45- 50 lbs. It really comes down to one's willingness to push their equipment. While I fester over my scopes, I don't with my mounts.

Presently I have an Asteria (127mm/F12/R30) and use an manual EQ5 to do most of my viewing. Never felt the need to go bigger.


Stephen

[bn1777]

Hi Matt , as you know my Istar 127mm f8 is an easy load on my HEQ5 , I have the same mount in NZ that holds my 150mm f8 easily now that its on a solid HW tripod like yours .I gave the stainlees steel tripod to a fellow member to get his EQ5 with alloy tripod and 4 inch OTA in a better position and the set up is a good one now .
A fellow club member in NZ has an EQ6 and for a lark we put my 150mm f8 OTA onto it and it held it easily , but the standard tripod was to light weight and short , as you already know .
I knocked up an adaptor to use Allen's EQ6 in our out side observing pier ( super sturdy 150mm x 150mm RHS concrete filled , I made it STRONG ! )to hold my 150mm and putting the OTA up to about 6 feet was a match made in heaven , super sturdy and enough hight to view the zenith easily .
The EQ6 took the 150mm with ease so I recon an Istar 150 f10 on your ash tripod would be a great match , even the f12 ? given enough hight of the tripod .
Good luck mate and please keep us informed as to your progress ,,, mmmm 6 inch f12 ,, nice !
Brian.

[boomboom]

Nice Skywatcher story there Stephen, 55lbs is an impressively large amount of weight for an EQ6. I take it you are going to put an 8" f8.8 on the same mount? When it comes down to it I have three choices of scope that I just can't decide on 6" f12 of the shelf' 8" f8.8 of the shelf or a 7" r35 ATM. I can get a 203mm Aluminium tube here and put a 7" objective in it and put that on the EQ6 if it will hold it, which by the sounds of it is a definite maybe. I'll post a pic of what I have at the moment when I can get to the home computer. It's an HEQ5 (14kg rated) with 12.5kg's of 6" f8 6CR plus a 70mm f7 'finder scope' This performs really well too, I'm always very careful with balancing. Got me thinking on an 8" now....oh dear how am I going to break this to my wife!
Thanks Brian, height is what every refractor needs, mine is now 5' in the air. Getting a scope set up that far off the ground is a bit scary, thinking out loud 18 -20+ kg's is even more so...
Matt

[astropaolo]

So a 150 f/8 should be not a problem on a NEQ6, good.
But what about a 180 f/8? i was thinking to the new TCR open one.
Will my neq6 mount break under its weight/tourque?

[Mike]

There would be no problem using a 150-8 on the EQ-6. I am taking delivery of TCR 150-12 classics and TCR 150-12 R35 scopes tomorrow. When I get back from California I'll get the opportunity to use these scopes extensively. That is if I don't sell them all at SCAE. The first time I used a TCR 150-12 was on a Celestron CG5 Advanced Series. I wouldn't want to do this all the time but it demonstrates how light weight these scopes are. Although there is not really anything for the wind to catch, there was no breeze that night. The only worry about using a F12 TCR on the EQ6 is whether you can get enough height so as not to have to lay on the ground while looking at the zenith. For now the TCR is available in both the classic and R35 lenses in a 150-12 and a 204-8 R35 and 204-12 R35. I wonder what the height of the EQ6 head is from the ground. I could measure the distance from the dovetail to the end of the focuser to see if the EQ6 is tall enough.

Mike

[astropaolo]

oh, neither the 150 f/8 and the 180 f/8 exist?

[Ales - iStar Optical]

Paolo,
the Asteria AXT 150-8 R35 will exist in classic, fully enclosed tube design but the 180mm versions Asteria TCR 180-8 R35 and Asteria TCR 180-12 R35 will be offered in Truss/Semi Closed Tube design similar to already existing Perseus TCR 150-12 and Asteria TCR 150-12 R35. I hope it explains.
At this moment I have no plans producing larger then 204mm TCR refractors but we may look into 220mm and 250mm if there is enough interest out there,
best regards,
Ales

[boomboom]

Have just measured the NEQ6 at full height and its 1.7 metres at the middle of the dovetail. With my f8 the eyepiece is 960mm off the ground at vertical. The wooden tripod is another 300mm higher again, then there is an extension that could go on the tripod too. Seems like enough height for a 150 f12 in the future.
Skywatcher rate the NEQ6 at 25kg on their web site....everyone else puts it at 20kg.
Matt