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Sky-Watcher, USA AZ4 Alt-Azimuth Mount with Steel NEQ5 Tripod
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We like this Sky-Watcher AZ4 Alt-Az mount! The mount and tripod head are made of cast-aluminum, and the pan handle moves on industrial-standard Teflon bearings for smooth movements across the sky.
- This tripod that comes with this model is the upgraded NEQ5, with 1.75" tubular chromed steel legs for heavy-duty performance.
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The superbly designed Sky-Watcher AZ4 mount is remarkably portable with heavy-duty, yet relatively lightweight construction, a veritable paragon of stability, perfect for demanding terrestrial and astronomical applications. A mount’s stability and ease-of-operation during the process of viewing stationary terrestrial or moving sky objects can make the experience a consistently enjoyable pastime, or render it perhaps momentarily brilliant, but generally frustrating as images appear to dance around uncontrollably in the eyepiece in a breeze, or at the slightest touch. Mechanical stability and fluid tracking are the keys to mount quality. The high-performance Sky-Watcher AZ4 mount excels admirably in both these important attributes. The Sky-Watcher AZ4 pan-handle mechanical tracking motions about both axes glide on large thrust-bearing surfaces lubricated by industrial-standard Teflon bearings producing smooth, fluid motion. Control knobs adjust the mount of drag (stricture) to ensure ease of movement without loss of precision. The mount and tripod head are constructed of rigid, cast aluminum. The AZ4’s altazimuth design also adds to the mount’s stability as the center of gravity is directly over the tripod. The heavy-duty NEQ5 tripod is made from industrial-strength, 1.75” diameter tubular chromed steel for optimum stability.
User Reviews
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Review Date: 1/22/2010
Reviewed By: Glenn Sullivan
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Almost perfect Alt-Az
It came to my door in almost perfect condition, the wing bolt that holds the telescope dovetail was slightly bent, no biggie the bolt is still usable. I also own a Celestron C5 that I am going to mount to the tripod. I will need to get an L-Bracket for the mount before the C5 will be usable with the tripod. The main problem with this tripod and telescope combo is that the viewfinder is on the bottom and the viewfinder is not usable. I was able to look at a few targets on the ground but that was about it. Even with the small amount of terrestial viewing I have done I find the tripod is extremely stable. I can move the telescope on the tripod from one target to another without any jerking or apparent vibration, the movement is buttery smooth. I can also lightly tap on the telescope or tripod and apparent vibration damps out in less that a true second. Overall I highly recommend this tripod... |
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Review Date: 12/30/2008
Reviewed By:
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AZ4 Alt-Az Mount
I used my new AZ4 for the first time the other night with my Orion 150mm Mak OTA. Works very well, and appears to be a good match for this approx 13 lb OTA. I like the ease of use in changing Alt and Az tension with the two knobs, and also the ease of use with the pan handle. Views damped out in about two seconds after rapping either the OTA or the steel tripod legs. Internally it uses a pair of PTFE (Teflon rings for bearing surfaces, the alt one riding against a ring of Ebony Star. There are also captive roller bearings and grooved washers between the tension knobs and the bearing hubs. Mercifully, they have very little of the wonderfully (? sticky Chinese grease to remove, which I immediately replaced with good marine grade white lithium grease. With the adjustable tension, it is very easy to keep the scope on target, whether near the horizon or near zenith. With this fairly w... |
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