Hello, In a nutshell, I need (want  ) a second mount and I can’t afford $2600 CAD for an AM3 so I am looking at the EQM-35 which I can get for about $1200 CAD. I see a lot of different comments about this mount on internet. Some recommend it, some say don’t touch it with a 10 foot pole so I am guessing it all depends on what one is gonna use it for an how. I currently have a SA GTI with a 62mm scope and reducer, ASI533MC Pro, EFW mini, ASIAIR plus and a ZWO Mini guide scope. That comes up to 4.2 kg. With good polar alignment and balancing I can still take 5 minutes exposure with guiding as long as there is very little or no wind at all. So I want a mount that is affordable, with at least 8 kg capacity and preferably at no more than $1250 CAD ( 850 Euros, 900 USD). I will keep the GTI to use with my smaller rig (yes, I have one even smaller ) which is a DSLR (soon to be replaced with cooled camera), Samyang 135mm, ASIAIR Mini and EAF. The GTI will be perfect for that. With a 10 kg capacity the EQm-35 looks like a good fit but is it good ? Nico at Nebula Photos recommends it as long as one uses plate solving for goto because it says it’s its biggest issue. Other reviews I have seen say stay away with this because it doesn’t have bearings which makes it the worst thing in the world. So what do owners of this mount here think about it ? Are you happy or are you in a “I can’t wait to get rid of it” mood ? Does it work well, does it have any major issues ?
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I like mine. I have used it with a Z61 and now a FRA300. A 70mm scope would probably be about the biggest I would put on it for photography. Mine has a decent bit of backlash in the declination axis, which is a common issue.
I bought it before they raised the price a couple years ago, but now I would be more interested in the HEQ5 for the little extra cost, it’s a better mount.
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Maybe prices in Canada are different but here the heq5 is almost the price of a am3.
EQM-35: 1150$
HEQ5: 1990$
AM3: 2024$
The AM3 price does not include the tripod which is 404$ so the comparison is a bit unfair as ai think the other two include tripods.
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It’s like $900 bs $1400 here. I thought the HEQ5 was more like $1200, but I guess not. Back when I bought my EQM35 four or five years ago it was $750ish USD if I remember right.
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If portability is a non issue I would get one. IMO heavier is better and with that pixel scale you should have no trouble guiding within the image scale limits
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I recently bought one and feel it represents a good value for the price. I have been pushing it to 10-minute subs and it seems to be handling it well. (Admittedly, this is only with a 250 mm RedCat, but still.)
Coincidentally, I am also using an ASI533MC Pro.
I haven't played with the GoTo much yet, but it does seem to get on target reasonably well, even with only a 1-star alignment. (I have a restricted FOV in my backyard and so a limited choice of alignment stars.)
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Thanks @Rafael Amarins @Don Ogaard . Portability is not an issue. I will mainly use it in the backyard. I can still use it with the GTI if needed.
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I liked mine, bought it of $700, used it for 2 years, sold it for $400 because I could afford an AM5.
I would look for a used one if money matters, they work fine with a 10 lb. setup, a lot better than a star tracker for about the same price.
I shot 10 min subs all the time with it, You can look at my Portfolio.
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I just placed the order. Worst thing that I can happen is I won't like it and have to spend a little money to return it. But I doubt it will be the case, a year ago when I started AP I was happy with a Star Adventurer Mini |
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Dan Kearl:
I liked mine, bought it of $700, used it for 2 years, sold it for $400 because I could afford an AM5.
I would look for a used one if money matters, they work fine with a 10 lb. setup, a lot better than a star tracker for about the same price.
I shot 10 min subs all the time with it, You can look at my Portfolio. I checked for used but it's not easy for me, I live far from any major city and I don't really feel comfortable buying something like this without seeing it first. I'd have to deal with a seller that is highly recommended by someone I trust. And I like new toys anyway, they're all clean and shiny  |
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Eric Gagne:
With a 10 kg capacity the EQm-35 looks like a good fit but is it good ? As a former owner, the 10kg is grossly exaggerated. In fact, it would struggle with the items you have describe. If you can take 5 minutes exposures with what you have, you will see very little benefit with the EQM35. I was never able to do more than 3 minute exposures, usually 1 or 2 (72mm scope which is heavier but no EFW so it adds up to about the same). I think the SA GTi is what the EQM-35 was meant to be. Its advertised capacity is equal to the EQM-35's real capacity and the DEC worm has almost twice the teeth density.
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I have one and use it with an ASIAIR mini, Pleiades 68mm, 2600mmDUo, 2" filter wheel, and it works great. I don't know what that combo weighs, but it isn't light. What I don't like is the strong "stiction" it has which makes balancing a bit of guessing game. However, it hasn't been an issue, so I'm good with it.
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I have one and use it with an ASIAIR mini, Pleiades 68mm, 2600mmDUo, 2" filter wheel, and it works great. I don't know what that combo weighs, but it isn't light. What I don't like is the strong "stiction" it has which makes balancing a bit of guessing game. However, it hasn't been an issue, so I'm good with it. There is a video on YouTube of a guy who fixed it by loosening something. I didn’t watch it yet but I’ll post the link if I can find it again
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I use one with a EvoStar 72, ASI55MC Pro, 30mm guide scope and camera, ZWO EAF, and an ASIAir. I usually do 2 minute subs with no problems and have done 5 minutes as well. As Scott F. mentioned, it is pretty stiff. I followed a youtube video about tuning and re greased it. There was some improvement but it is still stiff. I like it. I haven't used any other mount except an EQ-6R and a Skyguider Pro so, I do have limited experience.
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I use one with a EvoStar 72, ASI55MC Pro, 30mm guide scope and camera, ZWO EAF, and an ASIAir. I usually do 2 minute subs with no problems and have done 5 minutes as well. As Scott F. mentioned, it is pretty stiff. I followed a youtube video about tuning and re greased it. There was some improvement but it is still stiff. I like it. I haven't used any other mount except an EQ-6R and a Skyguider Pro so, I do have limited experience. Thanks for sharing your experience
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You did good
Weight is part of the equation. You pixel scale at 2.1 ish arc sex per pixel should be a breeze as long as you have good PA and proper settings in PHD2
CS
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I haven't been able to get mine to work right so I'm using my see star for the time being. Maybe consider to get the celestron advanced vx if you can handle the extra weight.
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Eric Gagne:
I have one and use it with an ASIAIR mini, Pleiades 68mm, 2600mmDUo, 2" filter wheel, and it works great. I don't know what that combo weighs, but it isn't light. What I don't like is the strong "stiction" it has which makes balancing a bit of guessing game. However, it hasn't been an issue, so I'm good with it.
There is a video on YouTube of a guy who fixed it by loosening something. I didn’t watch it yet but I’ll post the link if I can find it again Tried it and it does fix the stiction at the expense of backlash (and even more sensitivity to the wind). And you need to remove a lot of things that are not trivial to put back *exactly* where they are supposed to be. Putting the RA motor for example back so that its cogwheel is completely perpendicular to the mount's cogwheel and there is minimal stiction and minimal backlash. The mount is full of situations like this, where you have to find the sweet spot between too loose and too tight and too far and too close. Only it doesn't really exist. And the spot you convince yourself is "good enough" becomes completely irrelevant when you add load or the temperature changes or some alien monster flaps its wings in the outskirts of M31. I used to believe the mount was okayish, then bought a serious one (GEM28) and realised it is not. And this has nothing to do with its class. I also have the Star Adventurer (good ole' version not GTi) and it is really good for its payload capacity. Super reliable and just works. 8 years, the only thing I've ever had to loosen or tighten was the dovetail saddle. The EQM35 is just a bad design in my opinion. Cheers, D.
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The mount works fine, but it doesn't have ball bearings, so it needs lubrication by renewing the grease from time to time. When the lubrication in the mount gets old, the friction becomes too high for successful guiding. The mount is surprisingly sturdy in the wind.
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I received my new mount today. I have to say the manual is almost useless when it comes to connecting things. There is a manual for the mount and one for the hand controller but nothing for the motor. I have a few questions I hope someone here can answer.
- What is the USB plug on the motor used for ? Can I connecto the asiair directly to the motor and not use the hand controller at all ?
- If that's the case then do I have to connect the hand controller at all or does it have to be connected even if not used ?
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Eric Gagne:
I received my new mount today. I have to say the manual is almost useless when it comes to connecting things. There is a manual for the mount and one for the hand controller but nothing for the motor. I have a few questions I hope someone here can answer.
- What is the USB plug on the motor used for ? Can I connecto the asiair directly to the motor and not use the hand controller at all ?
- If that's the case then do I have to connect the hand controller at all or does it have to be connected even if not used ? You need an EQmod cable to connect to Asiair and you can throw away the hand controller. You don't need a manual if you have used any astro amount. Just connect to the ASIAIR and plug and play.
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Yes for the usb,allows for a connection to a computer/software (like asiair0. No for the controller, you don’t have to connect it if you don’t want to use it and you just want asiair or other computer/ software to control it.
to the original question: In general i have spent a lot of time and money on the eqm35 and the tunning of it and I would strongly not recommend it. Plenty of problems and big guiding errors, so as someone said, ok for short focal lengths, but anything above 300mm will struggle. I did manage to get it to work with good success with the ed80 reduced to 525mm with a lot of tunning and perfect polar alkgnment to 50% good exposures at 5min over a coarse of a 5hour shooting. But this is too much precious time wasted. So save up if you can and wait for more heavy duty mount. Even for widefield.
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borko:
Yes for the usb,allows for a connection to a computer/software (like asiair0. No for the controller, you don’t have to connect it if you don’t want to use it and you just want asiair or other computer/ software to control it.
to the original question: In general i have spent a lot of time and money on the eqm35 and the tunning of it and I would strongly not recommend it. Plenty of problems and big guiding errors, so as someone said, ok for short focal lengths, but anything above 300mm will struggle. I did manage to get it to work with good success with the ed80 reduced to 525mm with a lot of tunning and perfect polar alkgnment to 50% good exposures at 5min over a coarse of a 5hour shooting. But this is too much precious time wasted. So save up if you can and wait for more heavy duty mount. Even for widefield. He already bought the mount and many people, myself included have got excellent results with it. I used it with a Williams 71 gt scope and various cameras and did 10 minute subs all the time.
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I used one for a few years.... Great mount for the price. https://www.astrobin.com/kdb9ns/ |
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. There is a bit a cable management left to do. I need a short one to go from the camera to the EFW. I am also planning on shorting the dew heater cables.
