The HEQ5 mount from StarWatcher complete with the Rowan Astronomy drive belt upgrade kit fitted suited my requirements. So I went ahead an ordered one complete with computer interface cables and many other goodies from First Light Optics.
What's in the box?
Or what's in the boxes. There were three boxes delivered from FLO.- The first one was a long box containing the tripod, counterweights, clamp bar and spreader spider.
- The second one contained the head itself with clamp bolts, SynScan V5 controller and two cables.
- The third one was the extras I had ordered.
The long box
So opening the long box. The 2 x 5KG counterweights were removed. These are in StarWatcher white with a central 25mm hole. Inside is a plastic tube with 18mm inside diameter which runs on the counterbalance shaft (more of that later). There is a nylon tipped M8 x 75 long clamp screw with a decent hand knob attached.I'm not 100% sure what the material is (cast iron or steel) but they are well made.
The tripod was removed next. This is a substantial affair with telescopic legs. The legs are made from stainless steel with 3/8" wall thickness. The extending legs are tipped with rubber feet which have points on. There are single clamp screws in each of the legs to fix the telescopic extensions.
The height of the tripod when the lower legs are retracted and the legs spread is 865mm (34.1/8")
The height of the tripod when the lower legs are extended and the legs spread is 1200mm (47.1/4")
So ample adjustment for a Newtonian or refractor.
This box also contained the clamp shaft and spreader spider which doubles up as an accessory tray - both seen on the image.
Box #2
The second box contains the HEQ5 mount itself. It was well packed in expanded plastic with everything securely held in place.
There were 2 altitude bolts which were packed loose in a ziplock bag, the SynScan hand controller in bubble-wrap, the hand controller cable (RJ45 either end of a coiled cable) with ferrite ring on one end and the power cable - a 12 volt cigar lighter plug with a right angle socket on the other end.
There was a medium length dovetail bar wrapped in tissue paper. This was in the latest SkyWatcher green anodised finish.
Also there were two manuals, one for the tripod/mount and the other for the SynScan. Interestingly the SynScan manual was Version 5 (2017) but at the time of writing this blog (June 2019) only Version 4 was available in PDF format on the SkyWatcher global website.
So it all seems good to me so far.
Box #3
The other box contained 2 pairs of 235mm inside diameter tube rings, a longer 330 mm long green dovetail mount and a few other things which are not relevant here.The tube rings are cast aluminium complete with 1/4" UNC x 1" long hex bolts. These are used to fit the dovetail to the bottom of each ring. One of each pair is also fitted with a 1/4" UNC thumb wheel to secure standard camera accessories.
I now have 4 x 235mm tube rings as two will be used for the dovetail itself and the other two will just be used to hold the OTA in place while it is rotated. When a Newtonian is used on an equatorial mount like the HEQ5 the view finder can get into some strange positions so it is essential to be able to rotate the OTA into a more comfortable position.
There are many ways to achieve this and the internet is full of good ideas. I just bought another pair of tube rings so I didn't have to fabricate something.
I had also purchased the Lynx Astro FTDI EQDIR USB Adapter for Sky-Watcher Mounts for connection to a PC.
Also in this box was the long Sky-Watcher Vixen dovetail. Again wrapped in tissue paper with a green anodised finish - the picture shows it in black.
There is a great set of videos on Youtube from the channel Astronomyshed https://www.youtube.com/user/astronomyshed/about showing a Complete Mount & Scope Setup. I think he is near to me in Northern England. So I won't go into setting up the mount.
Next post I will show the modifications I have done to mount the scope and an SLR camera using its own lens.
