Is an EQM-35 a good choice?

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Tailspin45
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Is an EQM-35 a good choice?

#1

Post by Tailspin45 »


I'm back into astronomy, for the third time around, actually.

First time was with a homemade 10" bought for $100 in 1973 from the guy that made it.

Second entry, years later, was a Meade ETX-90 and then an LX-90 8" with CCD camera, etc etc, etc (meaning $, $, $). Sold everything for a pittance 15 years ago when my eyes failed.

But eyes are fixed and I headed down the rabbit hole for the third time determined to spend the absolute minimum. See my One Day At Time series here.

But, as someone else pointed out, buying cheap equipment is buying frustration.

My 4.5" Orion StarBlast isn't bad, I have a cheap SV305 camera (although I haven't admitted it yet), and I've solved my red-dot finder problem with an affordable right angle finder. But the mount is driving me f'ing NUTS! So much so that I've endured SWMBO's wrath and said I want to buy a used Skywatcher EQM-35 for $550.

Ignoring my connubial issues, what do you think of the EQM-35 mount and price? (Don't tell me I need a better scope, that's another issue. Or wife, she's a keeper for many other reasons.)
Tailspin Tommy
Mount: Skywatcher EQM-35 mount,
Scopes: Celestron Omni 102 XLT ƒ/10, Orion 4.5" ƒ/4 reflector, Meade 80mm ƒ/5 refractor
Cameras: Svbony SV-305, QHY5LII-M.
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JayTee United States of America
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Re: Is an EQM-35 a good choice?

#2

Post by JayTee »


What role do you foresee for this amount? AP only, or visual only, or a mix of AP and visual. At 22 lb payload capacity you should realistically only load it up to 11-12lbs for AP.

Cheers,
JT
∞ Primary Scopes: #1: Celestron CPC1100 #2: 8" f/7.5 Dob #3: CR150HD f/8 6" frac
∞ AP Scopes: #1: TPO 6" f/9 RC #2: ES 102 f/7 APO #3: ES 80mm f/6 APO
∞ G&G Scopes: #1: Meade 102mm f/7.8 #2: Bresser 102mm f/4.5
∞ Guide Scopes: 70 & 80mm fracs -- The El Cheapo Bros.
∞ Mounts: iOptron CEM70AG, SW EQ6, Celestron AVX, SLT & GT (Alt-Az), Meade DS2000
∞ Cameras: #1: ZWO ASI294MC Pro #2: 662MC #3: 120MC, Canon T3i, Orion SSAG, WYZE Cam3
∞ Binos: 10X50,11X70,15X70, 25X100
∞ EPs: ES 2": 21mm 100° & 30mm 82° Pentax XW: 7, 10, 14, & 20mm 70°

Searching the skies since 1966. "I never met a scope I didn't want to keep."

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Lady Fraktor Slovakia
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Re: Is an EQM-35 a good choice?

#3

Post by Lady Fraktor »


A better visual mount than for any serious AP.
It would work well if you just want to mount a DSLR/ telephoto on it for nightscapes or wide field.
See Far Sticks: Antares Elita 103/1575, AOM FLT 105/1000, Bresser BV 127/1200, Nočný stopár 152/1200, Vyrobené doma 70/700, Stellarvue NHNG DX 80/552, TAL RS100/1000, Vixen SD115s/885
EQ: TAL MT-1, Vixen SXP, AXJ, AXD
Az/Alt: AYO Digi II/ Argo Navis, Stellarvue M2C/ Argo Navis
Tripods: Berlebach Planet (2), Uni 28 Astro, Report 372, TAL factory maple, Vixen ASG-CB90, Vixen AXD-TR102
Diagonals: Astro-Physics, Baader Amici, Baader Herschel, iStar Blue, Stellarvue DX, Takahashi prism, TAL, Vixen flip mirror
Eyepieces: Antares to Zeiss
The only culture I have is from yogurt
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Tailspin45
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Re: Is an EQM-35 a good choice?

#4

Post by Tailspin45 »


JayTee wrote: Sat Feb 15, 2020 3:47 am What role do you foresee for this mount? AP only, or visual only, or a mix of AP and visual.
Primarily AP since I like to share and know a camera can see much more than my eyes. But large, bright Messier objects always attract me and the 4º wide-field view and f/4 focal ratio of the StarBlast lends itself to that with my CMOS camera, I believe. Or does it?

JayTee wrote: Sat Feb 15, 2020 3:47 am At 22 lb payload capacity you should realistically only load it up to 11-12lbs for AP.
My scope's OTA only weighs 3.7 pounds, so with rings, dovetail, and a camera it shouldn't challenge the mount's weight capacity. Even if I upgrade someday to a refractor, it should still be around your recommended 11-12 pounds, yes?

Lady Fraktor wrote: Sat Feb 15, 2020 4:33 am A better visual mount than for any serious AP.
Yike, maybe I need to rethink this choice. Why?

One review I read said it only began to drift off a star after 25 minutes, and planetary and lunar tracking were just as good. With my camera and local light pollution I'll probably be stacking a lot of short (~2 second) captures or even .AVI frames.
Tailspin Tommy
Mount: Skywatcher EQM-35 mount,
Scopes: Celestron Omni 102 XLT ƒ/10, Orion 4.5" ƒ/4 reflector, Meade 80mm ƒ/5 refractor
Cameras: Svbony SV-305, QHY5LII-M.
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Re: Is an EQM-35 a good choice?

#5

Post by Lady Fraktor »


The mount has a small capacity (20lb) for doing anything more than casual AP, most people find that a EQ-5 is a good starting point (30lb) once you start adding all of the gear on.
Visually you can run the mount up to their full capacity and still expect reasonably stable views as long as the telescope is not to long for the mount to deal with the extra moment arm.
See Far Sticks: Antares Elita 103/1575, AOM FLT 105/1000, Bresser BV 127/1200, Nočný stopár 152/1200, Vyrobené doma 70/700, Stellarvue NHNG DX 80/552, TAL RS100/1000, Vixen SD115s/885
EQ: TAL MT-1, Vixen SXP, AXJ, AXD
Az/Alt: AYO Digi II/ Argo Navis, Stellarvue M2C/ Argo Navis
Tripods: Berlebach Planet (2), Uni 28 Astro, Report 372, TAL factory maple, Vixen ASG-CB90, Vixen AXD-TR102
Diagonals: Astro-Physics, Baader Amici, Baader Herschel, iStar Blue, Stellarvue DX, Takahashi prism, TAL, Vixen flip mirror
Eyepieces: Antares to Zeiss
The only culture I have is from yogurt
My day was going well until... people
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