Appreciate real world information, seems to be a lot of fanboy reviews of this mount with supernatural results…. Nothing is perfect, so there’s a lot more value in knowing some of issues than just how light it is…
agree..the point this time is that they are kind of right. this thing just works for me..especially after theyve fixed the ascom driver issues. i cant recommend it enough to anyone. just soooo easy to deal with and just works.
The mount is very sensitive to seeing and wind so I add a 10lb weight into the basket. On very clear nights, I get .29 to.5rms. On fair seeing from .5 to .75 and terrible hazy nights above 1 to 1.75. FYI-PHD2 in algorithm is set to PEC with 431 steps. I have 1sec subs with aggressive RA25 and DEC25 with 1500 movement. I have 20lbs load in bortle 9 skies. Hope it helps somebody .
@south Bronx. That WAS my initial experience as well. That's carbon fiber tripods for you! I really tried... I put 22.5kg ballast in, upgraded the tripod feet, replaced my dovetail with a losmandy one, and all that made a 'tiny' improvement to a horrible shakey user experience. Then I discovered that the AM5 itself on a decent tripod (or pier) is *absolutely* solid. I'm carrying a 12.5kg 130APO 910mm fl on an EQ6 tripod (+PE200+AM5) now. It's good without counterweights or ballast, and is not especially sensitive to wind. This is far far lighter than the EQ6 rig (that put me out of action with a busted my back twice this year). Its qicker and easier to setup, and guides about twice as accurately as the EQ6. Also note that if you switch to an AVX/EQ6 tripod you don't need any ballast, so it actually comes in *lighter* than the TC40 + 20lbs. I now keep my OTA double bagged in soft luggage too, (instead of the heavy flight case), and in total I have shed over a third of the all-up weight of the rig. Hopefully that's a goodbye to back hernia for a few more years!
New AM3 owner, thanks for this video. First light did pretty well but I forgot to change the RA to Hysteresis. It still managed less than 1 arc second for the most part, not sure how I lucked out there. I did witness a few minutes of random - it lost it's mind - drift.
These things just work so good you almost don’t believe it. I literally quit looking at guiding graphs after my am5 purchase. And remember I came from a fully modded and hyper tuned rq6r pro.
Was happy with what I got using an AIR Plus out of the box (.8 RMS) but read a lot of the advice on the boards as well. Have had one night out with the new settings and ran .59 RMS over 4 hours. May test some more but living my AM5 right now
I have 2 SW EQ6-R-Pro rigs. Love that mount. It just works. I have an interest in a harmonic mount but not ready for prime time, IMO. For travel I use a Sirius EQ mount. Not as convenient but again...it just works. Thanks for this update. Love the portability for sure.
Thanks James. Hasn’t been all rainbows and butterflies but it seems to be dialed now. Zwo tech support has been very lack luster as well. I’m also really confused about asi air and why it works so well. It has to be using some kind of special settings when you select the am5 despite what they acutely report?? Still don’t regret the process since it’s very light even with the tripod
I assume you are using a separate guide scope (i.e., not an Off-axis guider in the focal plane), yes? What is the focal length of your telescope and guide scope? I use an OAG on a 2032mm fl Celestron 8" SCT and am considering buying an AM5. (I tried to use a iOptron cem40 with this combination, but had chronic oscillation problems which iOptron was helpless to fix. They refused to replace the mount. I really got screwed with iOptron.)
Thanks for this! I've been running my AM5 on an EQ6 tripod with the PE200 pier and ASIair. It run PHD2 but doesnt offer exactly the same configuration options. So yeah its been a two month journey and some wasted cash and effort with the TC40 (I'll find a use for it with a smaller payload) but I think I'm past weird stuff and into consistent repeatable sub arcsec guiding now.
I think the problem is with the speed the ASCOM server is able to communicate at it seems to lag at times, which would explain why the AIR works better…
At this time the ascom driver was trash. It works perfect now. They had a lot of weird things happening and not happening. Especially around the meridian
I have an AM5 as well as a carbon fiber and AVX tripod. I have two telescopes I currently use the AM5 with and they are my small Radian Raptor 61 and my huge C11. I was considering buying a second tripod extension from ZWO so I could more easily "hotswap" the AM5 between tripods using the same silver head plate. I would mount the tripod extension to both my carbon fiber and AVX tripod. That way when I want a smaller lighter setup I can use my carbon fiber tripod with my Raptor and then swap the AM5 head over to the AVX tripod when I want to use the C11. Do you think adding the pier extension would be an issue in terms of balancing?
just get one or 2 of the solid extensions..not the rodded one like i had..and get it only if you need it..as in you can slew your mount and clearly see you will hit the tripod leg. less is more ..the avx is super solid for me and stilluber light so i sold the CF tripod. only downside is now i am limtied to one setup..but here in ohio its just not worth having multiple rigs and spending all that cash for 30-40 nights a year. id rather pay for some remote time on a prime rig. thats my thninking these days
thank you craig. i am using the redcat right now but about to swap to the rc8 for some galaxy hunting! be sure to check out my am5 playlist for all the ins and outs. there are some gotchas!!
@@Daniel_DP83 i setup in the driveway and could see vibes from cars driving by in my phd2 log. to be fair i could see them with the avx tripod but nowhere as bad
One user put a 25 pound cow bell weight in the cloth weight holder and his tracking improved a lot.
Appreciate real world information, seems to be a lot of fanboy reviews of this mount with supernatural results…. Nothing is perfect, so there’s a lot more value in knowing some of issues than just how light it is…
agree..the point this time is that they are kind of right. this thing just works for me..especially after theyve fixed the ascom driver issues. i cant recommend it enough to anyone. just soooo easy to deal with and just works.
The mount is very sensitive to seeing and wind so I add a 10lb weight into the basket. On very clear nights, I get .29 to.5rms. On fair seeing from .5 to .75 and terrible hazy nights above 1 to 1.75. FYI-PHD2 in algorithm is set to PEC with 431 steps. I have 1sec subs with aggressive RA25 and DEC25 with 1500 movement. I have 20lbs load in bortle 9 skies. Hope it helps somebody .
thank you
@south Bronx. That WAS my initial experience as well. That's carbon fiber tripods for you! I really tried... I put 22.5kg ballast in, upgraded the tripod feet, replaced my dovetail with a losmandy one, and all that made a 'tiny' improvement to a horrible shakey user experience. Then I discovered that the AM5 itself on a decent tripod (or pier) is *absolutely* solid. I'm carrying a 12.5kg 130APO 910mm fl on an EQ6 tripod (+PE200+AM5) now. It's good without counterweights or ballast, and is not especially sensitive to wind. This is far far lighter than the EQ6 rig (that put me out of action with a busted my back twice this year). Its qicker and easier to setup, and guides about twice as accurately as the EQ6. Also note that if you switch to an AVX/EQ6 tripod you don't need any ballast, so it actually comes in *lighter* than the TC40 + 20lbs. I now keep my OTA double bagged in soft luggage too, (instead of the heavy flight case), and in total I have shed over a third of the all-up weight of the rig. Hopefully that's a goodbye to back hernia for a few more years!
New AM3 owner, thanks for this video. First light did pretty well but I forgot to change the RA to Hysteresis. It still managed less than 1 arc second for the most part, not sure how I lucked out there. I did witness a few minutes of random - it lost it's mind - drift.
These things just work so good you almost don’t believe it. I literally quit looking at guiding graphs after my am5 purchase. And remember I came from a fully modded and hyper tuned rq6r pro.
Was happy with what I got using an AIR Plus out of the box (.8 RMS) but read a lot of the advice on the boards as well. Have had one night out with the new settings and ran .59 RMS over 4 hours. May test some more but living my AM5 right now
Great to hear!
I have 2 SW EQ6-R-Pro rigs. Love that mount. It just works. I have an interest in a harmonic mount but not ready for prime time, IMO. For travel I use a Sirius EQ mount. Not as convenient but again...it just works.
Thanks for this update. Love the portability for sure.
Right onthats sound plan. i am enjoying the am5 and the weight savings a lot
This is really good user experience, thank you for sharing. Hoping the skies clear up for you soon.
Thanks James. Hasn’t been all rainbows and butterflies but it seems to be dialed now. Zwo tech support has been very lack luster as well. I’m also really confused about asi air and why it works so well. It has to be using some kind of special settings when you select the am5 despite what they acutely report?? Still don’t regret the process since it’s very light even with the tripod
Good stuff from AM5 but I would wait for second revision on this one 😀
Fair enough! ive done a lot of testing on the new beta version software and its def improved a lot
I assume you are using a separate guide scope (i.e., not an Off-axis guider in the focal plane), yes? What is the focal length of your telescope and guide scope? I use an OAG on a 2032mm fl Celestron 8" SCT and am considering buying an AM5. (I tried to use a iOptron cem40 with this combination, but had chronic oscillation problems which iOptron was helpless to fix. They refused to replace the mount. I really got screwed with iOptron.)
just the WO mini guide
Heat and miss is hallmark of any Chinese product, including Astro products. You get what you paid for.
True
Thanks for this! I've been running my AM5 on an EQ6 tripod with the PE200 pier and ASIair. It run PHD2 but doesnt offer exactly the same configuration options. So yeah its been a two month journey and some wasted cash and effort with the TC40 (I'll find a use for it with a smaller payload) but I think I'm past weird stuff and into consistent repeatable sub arcsec guiding now.
good to hear!!
Just put à weight un the tc40´s basket. I have my lifepo4 battery in it and it super stable.
it works for sure but i had an avx tripod so i put it to good use :)
I think the problem is with the speed the ASCOM server is able to communicate at it seems to lag at times, which would explain why the AIR works better…
At this time the ascom driver was trash. It works perfect now. They had a lot of weird things happening and not happening. Especially around the meridian
I'm sorry, but that was funny. When you said "it's extremely sturdy" and shook it with you hand, and it was shaking like a leaf in the wind. 1:59
hmm..lol well its dang better then the tc40 thats for sure and its all performing very well now
I have an AM5 as well as a carbon fiber and AVX tripod. I have two telescopes I currently use the AM5 with and they are my small Radian Raptor 61 and my huge C11. I was considering buying a second tripod extension from ZWO so I could more easily "hotswap" the AM5 between tripods using the same silver head plate. I would mount the tripod extension to both my carbon fiber and AVX tripod. That way when I want a smaller lighter setup I can use my carbon fiber tripod with my Raptor and then swap the AM5 head over to the AVX tripod when I want to use the C11. Do you think adding the pier extension would be an issue in terms of balancing?
just get one or 2 of the solid extensions..not the rodded one like i had..and get it only if you need it..as in you can slew your mount and clearly see you will hit the tripod leg. less is more ..the avx is super solid for me and stilluber light so i sold the CF tripod. only downside is now i am limtied to one setup..but here in ohio its just not worth having multiple rigs and spending all that cash for 30-40 nights a year. id rather pay for some remote time on a prime rig. thats my thninking these days
Nice review. What kind of telescope do you use with the AM5
thank you craig. i am using the redcat right now but about to swap to the rc8 for some galaxy hunting! be sure to check out my am5 playlist for all the ins and outs. there are some gotchas!!
The AVX (mount + tripod) has 16 kilogram. The AM5 (mount + tripod = ZWO TC40) has 6 kilogram - its arround 2/3 lighter!
true but way more stable for me
@@easyastroimages5818 ah yes? It Look like not so stable if its has his legs out.
@@Daniel_DP83 i setup in the driveway and could see vibes from cars driving by in my phd2 log. to be fair i could see them with the avx tripod but nowhere as bad
User error is always a thing. It’s always easier to blame equipment.
true
Did I hear that you use an IR/UV cut filter in your guiding train? Does it make a difference?
helps make the stars a little sharper since binning a wide field rig in phd2 is not recommended. it seems to help..its a cheapo amazon one
I like what I see with AM5, but for so much money, I worry about it coming from a country that can have political problems with support in the future.
True. But it’s nearly every astro product comes from there.
LOL! Russians produce great astro equipment. You could try those ones.