895.00

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• AMZ Online
• Hayneedle

The SW EQ5 PRO Computerized MountThe Sky-Watcher EQ5 PRO equatorial mount is a premium-grade observing platform utilizing quality mechanical and electronic component materials throughout:Equatorial Body. The elegantly appointed equatorial body is cast from virgin aluminum and powder coated in classic scientific instrument white. The professional fit & finish of the SW EQ5 PRO mount is abundantly obvious from the very first minute the mount is uncrated. The large polar and declination castings provide large stable thrust bearing surfaces with tight tolerances. Setting-circles are provided in both RA and Dec. axes. All gears motors and electronics are internalized within the equatorial body or separate motor-controller chasse box. The counterweight shaft is made from solid stainless steel. The provided two 11 lb. counterweights are cast iron powder coated white. (Note: All SW EQ5 PRO Series telescope models come with optical tube mounting rings and/ or dovetail attachment brackets of cast aluminum)Motors Gears & Bearings. Sky-Watcher EQ5 PRO computer models utilize high-torque DC stepper motors with 1.8? angle steps yielding resolution of 0.28764 arc-seconds. The advanced Allegro IC-driver is a DMOS dual full-bridge micro-stepping PWM motor driver with power savings feature. A 12vDC car plug adapter is provided to connect to a user supplied power supply (Power requirement: 12V DC-power 2000mA mini w/2.1mm tip positive plug). Bronze-metal worm-gear control systems enable precise incremental mechanical movement with minimal gear backlash in RA and DEC. Gear size in R.A. and DEC. is a robust 72mm (2.83) with 144 teeth. Sealed ball-bearings are used on load-bearing surfaces in RA and DEC. Mount tracks celestial objects in R.A. axis when equatorially aligned.Mechanical Surface Controls. Thumb-locks are provided in RA and Dec. to allow swift manual orientation of the optical tube assembly. Micrometric elevation and azimuth controls are provided to help achieve precise polar alignment. For manually operated SW telescope models deluxe spring-steel cable control knobs are provided in R.A. and Dec. to enable precise manual tracking of sky objects.Rock-Solid Tripod and Payload. Every SW EQ5 PRO mount includes a metal tripod commensurate in rigidity and load-bearing capacity to the EQ5 PRO mount itself. Tripod legs are made of industrial strength tubular steel of 1.75 diameter except for the SW 250N EQ5 PRO and SW 11 SCT EQ5 PRO which are supplied with 2 diameter legs. The tripod head is rigid cast aluminum. A spreader-bar with tension-lock is integral to the tripod to help insure optimum rigidity. The mount and tripod support a hefty payload of up to 25 lb.Computer Operation. Sky-Watcher GO-TO telescope models include the revolutionary SynScan Computer Controller. The SynScan's remote hand-controller plugs into SW motor-control panel. The easy-to-read 2-line 16-character backlit LCD display will operate to approximately minus 10-degrees F?. Astronomical object location has never been easier or more fun. The telescope responds instantly to keypad commands at the touch of a fingertip. Serial PC connector/ Hand-controller phone-jack plug computer interface cable included.Motor Speeds Tracking Modes and Alignment Types:The operating versatility of SynScan provides guiding speeds of .25x .5x .75x and 1x. Slewing speeds include 1.25x 1.5x 1.75x 2x 8x 16x 32x 64x 400x 500x 600x 800x or 3.4? per second. SW tracking modes offer Lunar Solar and Sidereal rates. Sky alignment choices are One-star Two-star and Three-star. Mount is compatible with operations in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres.Astrophotography:Sky imagers will appreciate the auto-guider port for guiding using a PC via the RS-232 port (if the software supports ASCOM). SW firm-wear includes a programming algorithm for periodic error correction (such error is common to all worm-gears). In addition programming is provided for RA and Dec worm-gear backlash compensation to keep slewing and tracking response prompt and uniform. SW can also be controlled remotely by PC using popular planetarium software via a RS232 connection on the hand-controller. There is even a GPS upgrade option to facilitate entering precise time date and location.Database: The SynScan computer includes a celestial database of over 30000 objects including all the crowd pleasers like planets the Moon Messier objects and interesting double stars. In addition the library includes objects for advanced studies cataloged within the CNGC IC Caldwell and other lists plus 25 user-defined celestial favorites.Advantages of the Sky-Watcher EQ5 PRO Equatorial Telescope Mounting SystemThe equatorial mount is the most versatile telescope platform ever designed. Without question it is the most popular and most utilized mounting system favored by amateur astronomers today worldwide. There are several important reasons for its popularity:Versatility. In the process of becoming serious amateur astronomers observers at some point often desire to vary their viewing routine. More often than not this involves changing the optical configuration used for observing between reflective refractive or compound systems. It is a well established fact that no one optical design serves every situation perfectly. The SW EQ5 PRO mount for instance will hold a large SW 6 refractor offering pristine text-book-like images of subtle planetary surface phenomena. It will also carry a SW 10 Newtonian reflector with huge light-gathering capability for observing faint gaseous filamentary structure in galaxies and nebulas. The versatile SW EQ5 PRO mount will also house a SW 11 Schmidt-Cassegrain optical tube assembly. In contrast fork-mounts typically work with one telescope optical configuration only – there is no flexibility for changing optical tubes based on observing needs or preferences.Portability. Equatorial mounts like the Sky-Watcher EQ5 PRO also offer great convenience to observers seeking portable equipment that disassembles into manageable components that can be easily lifted and carried. This is especially helpful with larger aperture optical systems. In contrast one-piece optical tube/ mount configurations can be surprisingly heavy to lift and awkward to transport by one individual.Stability and Balance. The equatorial mount is renown for stability and ease-of-use in achieving mechanical balance of the optical tube and mount. The SW EQ5 PRO is mechanically rigid and mechanical motions are smooth and inherently vibration-free. An industrial strength tubular steel tripod is standard equipment.Computer Operation. The SW EQ5 PRO Series offers manual or computerized operation. The revolutionary SW SynScan computer works seamlessly with the SW EQ5 PRO mount to facilitate effortless automatic tracking and object location of over 30000-objects.Astrophotography. The equatorial mount is also the preferred platform for astrophotography. Why? An equatorial alignment facilitates astronomical tracking in just one axis which is the best physical orientation for imaging the sky. Computerized altazimuth mounts track the sky in two axes but this introduces undesirable field rotation. Field de-rotators have not proven to be particularly practical. Serious amateurs who own fork-mounted altazimuth telescopes for instance buy equatorial wedge adaptor plates to place between the tripod and mount. They then switch the telescope's tracking mode to equatorial. If you are seriously contemplating astrophotography an equatorial mount is your best bet for insuring quality results.

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