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I think I'm reaching the limit of my Rowan-modded HEQ5 Pro ... I've got 15Kg of counterweights and about 11Kg of payload. It seems to be coping, although the DEC axis may be struggling a bit. I know we are only supposed to go to about 1/2 the rated load, but just wondered if anyone else has taken it this far?
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I have the same mount and use two counterweights for my 8' ACF, works well. But for DSO imaging I would not go over 10-12 kg with the scope, camera etc. Balancing the scope is a very important thing, always do that before imaging.
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I have about 10 kg payload . The only problem is wind. It starts wobling almost instantly when it is windy. (More than 1-2 m/s) I supose in the long run it means shorter life expectation too.
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Bulky Newtonian are prone to wind  ACF with big dew shield too.
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I had my RASA 8 + accessories on my HEQ5. It worked okay. Tracking became unreliable 30 min before and after the meredian flip. Total weight was likely about 20-21 lb (9.5kg). I used 2 counterweights right at the limit. I could have used more and spread it out, but I realized I needed a bigger mount.
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Hello, On my HEQ5 (rowan) : T200/800 UNC + tube rings + camera + corrector = less than 8,5 KG (finder scope 0,5 Kg is useless and not installed --> astrometry ) / No tripod --> "fixed column" / OAG / RMS between min 0,35" and max 0,9" - often between 0,5" & 0.7" (depending on seeing and polaris distance at 7 meters altitude & dew)/ polar alignment with sharpcap / PHD2 guiding / OAG requiered a (very) long adjustment period in order to obtain a "good guiding " : really "sensitive" for PHD2 algorithm (round stars in corners & edges + guiding camera focus - altair 178M ) Between optical adjustment (OAG & F/D 4...) & Payload limit , I wonder where is the "max" payload of my mount (photo) : under 1" RMS today, even on celestial equator . Wind < 15km/h seems to be a limit (for T200/800) 1,20" = imaging camera (échantillonnage) so "it's OK", the less RMS is the best it is (long exposure 720" , and more are Ok : limits are camera's exposure limit , not guiding ). If payload would be > 8,5 Kg , I think that it could be "a little bit more" difficult to get a RMS < 1,20" at celestial equator (but "not elsewhere") requiered by imaging camera It also depends on tube lenght (cantilevered / porte-à-faux) . RMS value is a good indicator for testing payload. It could be a good test to build a kind of "weight belt" placed around the tube center for checking max payload in fact. Sorry for english, hopping it's understandable  |
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I run a touch over 10kg of OTA, guide and camera equipment. I did a Rowan belt mod and changed my bearings to better quality ones. I also polished my RA worm drive so a fair bit of time was spent improving things. It now runs at 0.6 - 0.7 RMS max and most times it is around 0.3 - 0.4. Dispite all the effort though, any wind that is more than a breeze is not worth imaging in.
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My not modded Heq5 pro has a payload of 18 kg. The Quattro 10"Steel tube is mounted since Summer 2018 I operate the mount with 13.5 Volts. The walls of my observatory protects against wind up to about 20 km/h.  |
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My not modded Heq5 pro has a payload of 18 kg. There is nothing to explain, it works. I bought the mount 7 years ago second hand. I replaced the grease and adjusted the backlash in both axises. That's all I did, and than I didn't touch it again. The image below is from 2015, the Heq5 on tripod with Meade 10" SCT (payload 16-17 kg)  |
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I briefly had an 8" RC weighing in at about 26lbs. It was a temporary arrangement but I was able to get up to 90s subs with it.
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OK, you guys with heavier loads have filled me with confidence about my meagre 11Kg. I'm going to try manually adjusting the DEC backlash now on my mount to see if that improve things. Thank you for your help. [Update] Thanks again: DEC backlash now down to a quarter of what it was before and very confident that the HEQ5 Pro is handling my 11Kg payload. FWIW: The 11Kg is made up of: Skywatcher 200PDS OTA ZWO ASI1600MM Pro ZWO 8x1.25inch/31mm filter wheel SSAG Autoguider and 162mm scope ZWO EAF 5V Skywatcher 0.9x coma corrector |
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Andy Wray: I have a similar setup. A very old black HEQ5 which last night was carrying a SW Quattro 200pds Newt, filter wheel, TEC cooled camera, 60mm guide scope etc. Probably 12KG I think but I have 3 counterweights very nearly at the bottom of the bar (I think the old bar is different)and I was actually taking 2 minute unguided subs. IIRC it will do 2 minute subs @ 2350mm with my C925 as well I recently spent weeks rebuilding and tuning it though: goto upgraded, Rowan belt mod, Geoptics grease and new bearings. Take your time rebuilding these things and they really can perform beyond their spec. Before I rebuilt it it could barely haul its own weight around but 20 year old grease was defo the problem. I certainly wouldnt say there was anything wrong with the bearings Does your dec struggle more one way that the other? I found dec can be impossible to balance properly until someone gave me the advice to put the focusser at the top |
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I've successfully guided and imaged on my HEQ5 pro with about 13kg ish. Was my esprit 120 + everything else. No rowan mod. 5min subs successful. I did add 5lbs of CW. It did better than the CEM70G could ever dream of out of box. That's for another discussion though. This was short lived as I was waiting for the larger mount to be shipped. I'd imagine this wouldn't be good for long term. |
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As addition Guiding test-shot, exposure time : 20 minutes Heq5 Pro SW Quattro 10"S (focal length : 1000mm) Guiding Lacerta Mgen2 / 9x50 guidescope(fl : 180mm) Camera : Moravian G3-11000c RAW image out of the camera. Not debayered, Not calibrated, not processed in any kind  |
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I'm using a 115/800 triplet with ASI2600, EFW, EAF, OAG 1x corrector, losmandy for about 10,5 kg. Using the OAG i'm able to do 30 min exposore without problems. OAG saves me because using a 60/240 i cannot go over 180-240 seconds exposures.   |
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@Michele Campini It looks like you have some nice upgrades on your mount. I see improved dec axis knobs, a losmandy mount adapter and new clutch knobs etc.. Would you mind telling me where you got those please?
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@Andy Wray , here some info for u: - clutch knobs i design, simple print and mount > https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5074090 - alt adustment u need this and a M10 threaded rod to cut > https://www.amazon.it/gp/product/B07PGPZC1V/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 - losmandy mount adapter was in my mount that is one year old, starting from 2 year ago they come with that. About alt adjstument knobs i suggest them a lot, the time to do polar alignment is drastically reduced. |
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OK, it's cloudy and cold so I decided to see how my guiding was with the heavy load from my dining room. No way to really polar align as I only have about twenty degrees of view to the east out of some old slightly blown double glazing. I managed to at least drift align the altitude and guessed the azimuth. Despite all of that, the mount with my Orion SSAG guider managed sub arc-second guiding Hoping for even better once we get clear skies here in the UK. If anyone has any tips for me on the guiding based on the plot below, please feel free to critique. |
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 Hi, here is a guiding result on NGC7365 (north...) with a "balancing" method on the flow (tube rotation&translation) , not on mount, to detect gravity center of the tube (with cameras , corrector installed etc...) . better balance adjustment . This night (03/09/2022), RMS was very often between 0,20 & 0.35" (around 8,8 kg payload with EAF) . PPEC is alsow a very good guiding algorithm. CS |
