any news / reviews on the ioptron iEQ45?

orly_andico · Post by **orly_andico** » Sun Oct 10, 2010 1:27 am

initial reports.. are not encouraging:

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/iopt ... essage/125

andeelym · Post by **andeelym** » Mon Oct 11, 2010 12:00 pm

Oh no... i was hoping to buy this as my first EQ mount. And to replace my SmartStar-G.

orly_andico · Post by **orly_andico** » Mon Oct 11, 2010 12:02 pm

Well, that's just one guy. I know there's at least one iEQ45 floating around here in SG... hence would like to know the owner's experiences with it.

mch3898 · Post by **mch3898** » Mon Oct 11, 2010 2:57 pm

@andeelym.

My first EQ mount is an Orion Sirius EQ-G. You may want to have a look at this as your first EQ mount also. With the software EQMOD (open source, freeware) as a plug-in to the mount, it becomes very versatile.

It may not be the best mount there is but it is a well-tested mount, having been in the market for quite sometime and is designed for max load of 30lbs.

It can be adjusted for use at our latitude.

I use PHD to autogude with it and has at least met my use as someone who is picking up astrophotogaphy only the past year or so.

andeelym · Post by **andeelym** » Mon Oct 11, 2010 3:10 pm

@mch3898:
How many stars does it need to get aligned? iOptron is able to do a 1-star alignment which is great for me.

I am willing to invest in a mid level mount as I would like to expand my gears so it may get more than 30lbs in the future. And i would rather spend more now than to try to sell and buy another later.

tungkian · Post by **tungkian** » Mon Oct 11, 2010 3:38 pm

don't be too happy at the 1 star alignment...

the 1 star is determined by the hand controller, and they have a few to select from, but if all the stars happened to be blocked or somehow out of sight, then the 1 star alignment fails horribly and you're stuck..

then u have to do plan B:
point north, do a rough slew with GOTO to a target, if target is not in the FOV (usually isnt), manually adjust the RA DEC by pressing the hand controller to centre target, press align.

and for this plan B, u need to choose the brightest star..seriously brightest brightest, else all looks the same...

orly_andico · Post by **orly_andico** » Mon Oct 11, 2010 3:59 pm

besides 1-star align requires that you're at least competently polar-aligned...

andeelym · Post by **andeelym** » Mon Oct 11, 2010 5:54 pm

@tungkian
So far so good... with Google Sky map, its even easier to find them.

@orly
Been using AA mount, so no polar alignment issues yet.

mch3898 · Post by **mch3898** » Mon Oct 11, 2010 11:21 pm

andeelym wrote:@mch3898:
How many stars does it need to get aligned? iOptron is able to do a 1-star alignment which is great for me.

I am willing to invest in a mid level mount as I would like to expand my gears so it may get more than 30lbs in the future. And i would rather spend more now than to try to sell and buy another later.

@andeelym:

That's the beauty of the Sirius with EQMOD. It allows n-star alignment. I link it with Stellarium, the wonderful freeware skymap, and you can use almost any star that is visible in the sky for alignment - no more restricted to what is in the handcontroller. (i did a rough polar alignment with a cheapo compass first).

Yes, 30lbs is not a lot but for astrophotography, you can get decent images with small scopes - at least for a beginner like me. And the Sirius is quite a grab and go mount and so get used frequently. I use the WO90 and autoguide with the Kwik scope - all pretty light weight. And the Meade DSI Pro.

andeelym · Post by **andeelym** » Mon Oct 11, 2010 11:51 pm

@mch3898
Oh is it? You gotta really shed more light on this to me.

I am using a meade LX50 8" SCT with a Canon 5D Mark II via a 2" system. My heaviest setup will be the above with a 2" WO Diagonal and a Baader 8-24 clickzoom and a 2" filter. Eventually, i'll add a refractor to the fray for guiding... so frankly, i am not sure of the eventual weight. But I definitely wanna get something that is over and above what I currently have with some buffer to expand.