I am one of the many astronomers hesitating between these two mounts…so your video is super helpful! Thanks

@martinsastrophotography

3 жыл бұрын

Glad it was helpful! Clear Skies.

I really enjoy your videos Martin--clear, concise, and informative. Thanks for providing such quality tutorials.

@martinsastrophotography

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!!

Your explanations are clear and precise. Thank you!

Thanks Martin, I'm considering an upgrade to the EQ6-R Pro and this was really useful. I especially like the detail on power consumption which doesn't seem to be available anywhere else (least of all on the Skywatcher website which as a reference point is almost useless!)

@martinsastrophotography

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Mark. I’m glad it was helpful. Happy decision making, and clear skies.

Good review. I initially ordered the 5 but changed it to the 6R. Glad I did as my scope plus extras is alot heavier than I anticipated.

@martinsastrophotography

3 жыл бұрын

Nice one! Clear Skies.

Man I'm glad you made this video. I was trying to figure out if I should get the 5 or the 6. Great information here. Thank you! 🙂

@martinsastrophotography

Жыл бұрын

Glad I could help! Clear Skies.

Thanks Martin. Good video. There must be several version of the NEQ5 PRO. My version the dogtail handling looks like the one you showed for the EQ6. So no direct contact between the screews and the dogtail.

Really well explained Martin. 👍

Another great informative video👍 martin.

FYI the newer HEQ5s (like the last several years) have a true clamp as well just like the HEQ6 compatible with losmandy and vixen.

A couple of really important differences that you missed are that the EQ6-r-Pro has a built in USB port so no EQMOD cable is needed liek it is on the HEQ5. Another significant point is that the power connector is deifferent on the EQ6-r-Pro - it is a two pin aero style plug which screws in and is much more robust and safer than the normal jack on the HEQ5. I know this to my cost as a faulty cable managed to short the plug on my HEQ5 and blew the motherboard.

@martinsastrophotography

5 ай бұрын

Thank you for this. I see that more recent HEQ5’s have a USB socket on the handset, avoiding the need for an EQDIR cable. Good things to point out, but I am not sure they would be the deciding factor for people given the significant difference in weight, payload capacity and price between these mounts. Thanks again.

Thanks.

After much adieu I ordered the HEQ5 from Hi Point Scientific for visual observing through my TeleVue TV76 APO Refractor. I hope it’ll be an enjoyable setup. Keep looking up!🔭

@martinsastrophotography

9 ай бұрын

It’s a great mount. You won’t regret your purchase. Did you get it with the Rowan belt mod? If not, I highly recommend the upgrade, either via a kit you install yourself or get it done by an expert. It makes the mount run super smoothly and quietly. Clear skies!

Have just purchased the EQ6R Pro for my Nexstar 8SE and awaiting delivery this week.

@martinsastrophotography

Жыл бұрын

Exciting Dave! Enjoy the adventure!!

@microreniassance2929

6 ай бұрын

I am looking for a mount for my 8SE as well. What made you decide on the 6 vs. the 5. It seems they both should be able to handle the weight, even with guide scopes/cameras and other accessories. Was it the headroom for bigger scopes down the line? Thanks for taking the time to respond.

@martinsastrophotography

6 ай бұрын

@microreniassance2929 I didn’t decide on the 6 over the 5. I have the HEQ5. I borrowed a friend’s EQ6-R Pro to do the review and comparison. It’s basically portability, payload capacity and cost. If you have the money for the 6 and you don’t mind that it’s heavier, then get that to future-proof yourself.

thanks!

Great video. Exactly what I needed! How do you specify the "roller(?) and belt modification" for the EQ5? Is there the same mod for the EQ6? Thanks again for a great video!

@martinsastrophotography

6 ай бұрын

Thanks. It’s the Rowan Belt mod. It’s a kit supplied by Rowan Engineering Ltd. You can check online to see what mounts it is available for. I have it on the HEQ5.

Hi excellent video Question In Europe I have EQ6 pro older one similar like your eq5 My question is I have hard time to control it with asiair pro I have adapter to go from the port where the hand controler goes to usb but asiair can’t find it. No I’m thinking to buy cable that goes from hand controls to asiair

I would be interested in understanding the conditions when measuring current draw. Was this just the head on its own? With a scope? Balanced? Either way it is not that bad, good knowledge to have as I am debating between the two and obviously need to plan for power supplies at the field.

@martinsastrophotography

2 жыл бұрын

Hi there. It was with my Newtonian setup which weighs in at about 13kg, all balanced and tracking at sidereal rate. After 4 years of this hobby I am properly addicted to it, and wish I had gone for the EQ6-R Pro. I do almost all my imaging from home so portability is not a big issue for me, though I do set up each night. Whatever you decide you will be very happy for a good few years!

Thanks Martin, I was wondering what one you think would be better as a first mount?

@martinsastrophotography

2 жыл бұрын

Just down to max payload really. I bought the HEQ5 as my first mount, with Rowan belt mod. It was a great choice. But be aware that if you get really into this hobby you will probably end up buying a bigger mount one day.

Would you say that a belt mod. On the heq5-pro would improve guiding? Thanks!

@martinsastrophotography

3 жыл бұрын

It eliminates any backlash contributions from the drive motor gears, but not from the worm drive/gear. So a small improvement is likely I think.

Hi Martin, nice vídeo as always. I own the heq5 pro which I use with a small refractor 72ED+mono camera and filter wheel. Up now I get really good guiding and I’m planning on doing the rowan belt upgrade. In the future I would like to buy a Newtonian like the skywatcher 200pds. Do you think the heq5 can effectively manage a large Newtonian like that one or should I stick to the 150pds which is only 6kgs? Thanks for your comments

@martinsastrophotography

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks. What would your total payload weight be with the 200PDS?

@ergio1

3 жыл бұрын

@@martinsastrophotography Skywatcher 200pds = 8.75 Mono camera plus filter wheel = 1.6 kgs Guide scope plus guide cam = 1kg Focuser = 0.2 kgs Total approx = 11.55 kgs

@martinsastrophotography

3 жыл бұрын

@@ergio1 Thanks. That will be fine on an HEQ5.

Gosh! If I never tell the Wife, and just quietly empty all 5 "Piggy Banks" in the house, then "re-allocate" a small portion of the kids College fund, I "might" just be able to pull it off! THANKS MATE !!!!!

@martinsastrophotography

Жыл бұрын

I won’t tell!!

Does the HEQ-5 have an extension to the weights? It can probably hold my two telescopes but I’m afraid that I will never be able to get it balanced with some of the heavier options with such a small bar.

@martinsastrophotography

Жыл бұрын

No. It is unwise to push the capacity limit of a mount. If you have too much payload for this mount, then you should go for one with a higher payload capacity such as the EQ6-R Pro.

Do you find either tracks more smoothly than the other?

@martinsastrophotography

Жыл бұрын

One is mine and the other was borrowed, so I cannot answer that. However, be aware that the manufacturing tolerances will dominate, so it’s not a case of one tracks better than the other, but more a case of pot luck whether you get a good one, a less good one or something in between.

What's the difference in guiding performance like?

@martinsastrophotography

3 жыл бұрын

Good question Chris. Using a mount well below its maximum payload will tend to give better results than if you push the limits, so a 13kg payload on the EQ6-R should perform better than on the HEQ5. That said, it would likely be hard to reliably measure the difference due to variations in balance and tuning. Clear Skies.

Good review . I prefer eq6 because I have it hahahahaha

Thinking about buying a new HEQ5 instead of the EQ6-R. I want a lighter mount and won't need the higher payload capacity of the EQ6-R. However, I'm wondering if the manufacturer is going to take all these belt drive conversions to heart and come out with an improved belt-drive HEQ5. Has anyone heard anything along those lines? If a new model had the same price, I'd jump right in. Otherwise, adding the conversion kit starts to bring the price of a HEQ5 close to a EQ6-R.

@martinsastrophotography

2 жыл бұрын

I have not heard anything about Sky-Watcher incorporating a belt drive into the HEQ5, but it would be a sensible step. I would go for the HEQ5. If you are confident enough, do the belt mod yourself, otherwise buy it with it already fitted.

Hi Martin, my local SW supplier told me that if I install the belt drive mod the warranty will be cancelled. Did you face that? Thanks

@martinsastrophotography

3 жыл бұрын

Hi there. No. I deliberately bought my mount with the belt mod fitted by the distributor (Rother Valley Optics) so that I would not face this issue. Clear Skies.

Hi Martin, very informative video especially for newbie. I need your advise, >with Redcat and ASI/DSLR. HEQ5 will be good option or we should invest on EQ6? >I believe PA in both will be same?

@martinsastrophotography

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Faizan. HEQ5 is great and can carry a lot more than the kit you describe. I use an 8” Newtonian Reflector with coma corrector, filter wheel and ZWO ASI2600MM Pro on an HEQ5, and it works great, although I would not recommend much more payload than that. Only reason to go for EQ6-R Pro is to future proof your setup. If you have the extra cash and don’t mind a bigger heavier mount, go for the EQ6-R Pro, otherwise go for the HEQ5. Polar alignment is the same on both.

is there a difference in tracking accuracy?

@martinsastrophotography

10 ай бұрын

Not a meaningful one, no. If you take 10 of one model they will all be different, and the same with the other.

Hi Martin, now that you've had a few months to compare the two, what's your current assessment of the accuracy and reliability of the two mounts (within their respective weight class, of course)? Having seen tear downs of the two, it looks the the internal components are fairly similar (especially once the HEQ5 has a belt mod). By the way, I use my HEQ5 with a C9.25 for planetary imaging (where guiding, etc are not really important) so it's surprising how good a mount it is.

@martinsastrophotography

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Douglas. Sadly I have not had a few months to compare... I borrowed the EQ6-R Pro from a friend and I gave it back about 10 days later. However, comparing the performance of one mount over another is fraught with problems. Even if the payload, target position and seeing are all identical, the manufacturing tolerances and precise condition of each mount still have an important part to play in their performance. So even if someone quotes you a certain performance for a given mount, if you then buy 10 of them and test them in identical setups and conditions you will get a (Gaussian) distribution of performance. So buying a mount has an element of pot luck involved…you might end up with a good one, a bad one or average one. That’s simply the nature of manufacturing tolerances. My sample of one HEQ5 Pro has achieved as low as 0.45” rms, but usually runs between 0.6 and 0.9” rms with my 8” Newtonian (plus coma corrector, camera, filter wheel, guidescope, dew heater bands etc….). But as I say, this is just one mount.

Would the HEQ5 be good holding a 18 lbs ioptron 8" for astrophotography? Of course the 6 would be better but why spend more money to have excess sturdiness if the 5 does the job well? Thanks in advance.

@martinsastrophotography

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, it would be fine. Payload Capacity is 30lbs. The only reason to go for the much heavier EQ6-R Pro is to be able to carry heavier payloads in the future.

@cryptojihadi265

2 жыл бұрын

The standard rule of thumb is to cut the capacity in half for astrophotography. Definitely needs the eq6r pro as even 18 lbs is starting to push it.

Whats the down side of putting an 8" reflector on a HEQ5 PRO, would it affect auto guiding?

@martinsastrophotography

Жыл бұрын

I used a Sky-Watcher Quattro 8CF (which is an 8” reflector) with coma corrector, off axis guider, EFW8 1.25” filter wheel and ASI1600MM Pro on my HEQ5 for years. It is getting towards the payload limit of the mount but provided you balance carefully in all axes it is fine. I achieved guiding at 0.4-0.8” rms depending on the seeing, so it wasn’t noticeably compromised.

@arthurkaye8999

Жыл бұрын

@@martinsastrophotography ok great, good to hear that. I was told by one that a similar set up would offer very little stability to the mount. Not sure what it meant exactly. But if it has worked with you, I'll press on. Many thanks.

@martinsastrophotography

Жыл бұрын

@@arthurkaye8999 It’s all about taking the necessary care in the setup, and also in making sure the mount is well maintained with backlash tuned out correctly. I have done videos on how to setup the HEQ5 and how to tune the backlash that you may find helpful.

Why are there so many more 6's on the second hand market than 5's?

@martinsastrophotography

10 ай бұрын

I don’t know. They are both great mounts. Perhaps more people go for the 6 due to image higher load capacity so there are just more of them out there.

Nice overview but a tracking comparison would be more informative and desirable.

@martinsastrophotography

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for your comment. I understand where you are coming from but to achieve a meaningful comparison I would have to have the same payload with the same balance and image the same area of sky at the same time so that the seeing is the same, and even then the tuning and condition of the specific mounts would come into play. I would expect very similar tracking performance as the design and build quality are very similar indeed. I’m sorry if this leaves you unsatisfied, but I would prefer that to misleading you with a result from an attempt to compare their tracking with so many uncertainties present that could make the result highly unreliable. Clear Skies.

The reason you should never exceed the 50% payload capacity is because of the counterweights. The mount motors are forced to move everything as one, basic physics.

@martinsastrophotography

Жыл бұрын

You are correct that the motors and gears must cope with the total moment of inertia of both payload and counterweights. However the manufacturers allow for the counterweights when they specify payload capacity. So your statement is not correct. However, it is always better to stay well short of the specified maximum capacity in order to get the best tracking from the mount and minimise wear.