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Reliable Strain Wave mount: AM5 or Proxisky UMi/Ragdoll?

ZWO AM5 Equipment Equatorial Mount Buying Advice
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With limited budget (below $2k) looking for a reliable travel mount that is capable to carry if needed up to a 10" Newtonian.
Found working examples with the AM5 here on astrobin, however this is at the very top end of my budget. I wonder, may I expect the same reliability/trouble-free work from the Proxisky mounts? Is the onstep system at least as reliable as ZWO's own?

Meridian flip/collision issues, any other show-stroppers?
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andrea tasselli avatar
andrea tasselli avatar
From what I read around the mechanical parts are pretty reliable and some suspect the reducer is just the same. I guess a 10" f/4 is within their capabilities if a counterweight is used. As for OnStep I can vouch for it as I have several of them and they all work brilliantly, with or without NINA. Bottom line: if I were in the market for a computerised goto travel mount I'd go for Juwei-17, pricewise it can't be beaten. But I'm not as I'm using a Vixen GP for that. Or a Fornax LightTrack II if I'm travelling backpack.
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I do have a Lightrack but it goes for sale soon: adding up wedge, strong ballhead, mount ends up heavier than a fully functinal SW mount. Feeling a little wary about the cheapest Juwei kit, Proxysky seems a bit more established.
Jan Erik Vallestad avatar
Jan Erik Vallestad avatar
My AM5 has been rock solid and I'm very pleased with it on all accounts. I bought a Juwei during the summer as well that I've paired with a large SCT that I'm about to get out during the weekend hopefully. So far it's been very impressive mechanically, in some regards even better than the AM5. I think the real question is how the electronics hold up against the more expensive mounts. I've heard reports  from people who have neded board replacements etc, but vendors have been very compliant and helpful as well. I can't speak for how it performs yet. 

UMI/Proxisky have a large number of mounts available now and seem to be very reliable.


EDIT: Just a little added context to my "better than the AM5" statement, I'm talking about mechanical features like the saddle adjustment knobs, RA/DEC adjustments and so forth. 
As of now it sits inside with my C8HD mounted on a pier extension and HEQ5 tripod, it's rock steady. Initial testing with NINA inside has been successful as well. It has a few quirks, but it seems good. I'd advice you to head over to the CN thread about it to see some more hands on experiences.
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andrea tasselli avatar
andrea tasselli avatar
I do have a Lightrack but it goes for sale soon: adding up wedge, strong ballhead, mount ends up heavier than a fully functinal SW mount. Feeling a little wary about the cheapest Juwei kit, Proxysky seems a bit more established.


*That would surprise me but I haven't done comparisons with other tracker mounts, be they SW or others. Suffice to say that imagining with the Lightrack didn't need guiding. I take all these strain wave are basically the same with only cosmetic differences between them and maybe some customization in the OnStep core firmware.
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andrea tasselli:
I do have a Lightrack but it goes for sale soon: adding up wedge, strong ballhead, mount ends up heavier than a fully functinal SW mount. Feeling a little wary about the cheapest Juwei kit, Proxysky seems a bit more established.


*That would surprise me but I haven't done comparisons with other tracker mounts, be they SW or others. Suffice to say that imagining with the Lightrack didn't need guiding. I take all these strain wave are basically the same with only cosmetic differences between them and maybe some customization in the OnStep core firmware.

SW = Strain wave, not Skywatcher, LoL
Sure it doesn't need guiding, but setting it up properly is a pain, without motorized DEC you can forget about dithering, and again, it is larger and probably just as heavy as an AM5 with all the obligatory gizmos (wedge, ball head). Moreover, my 90/600 APO would need a counterweight on it.
andrea tasselli avatar
andrea tasselli avatar
Sure it doesn't need guiding, but setting it up properly is a pain, without motorized DEC you can forget about dithering, and again, it is larger and probably just as heavy as an AM5 with all the obligatory gizmos (wedge, ball head). Moreover, my 90/600 APO would need a counterweight on it.


I just measured them (tracker, wedge and heavy duty ball head with annexed L-bracket) and they came in at 2.5 kg, less than half of the AM5. And it isn't larger by any stretch of the imagination, just the opposite. But yes, no dithering in Dec but I couldn't care less. And yes, big lenses or scopes would require the counterweight bar but it's a tracker so there you go.
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True, you are right about the weight of the basic Lightrack setup, but even my smallest scope would need a full counterweight kit. And I expect profiting in productivity by using a fully fledged mount with goto, QUICK polar alignment, etc. And of course the option to carry bigger scopes.