The Sky-watcher EQ6 Heavy-Duty Equatorial Mount is the first of its kind, it is a precision instrument capable of carrying massive loads but at the same time it is very reasonably priced.
The EQ6 equatorial head has a black powder coating finish and weighs 17 Kg. It comes equipped with a removable counterweight shaft with a diameter of 18 mm. The Equatorial head also features a built in polar finder scope with focusing eyepiece. The polar finder is non-illuminated. However, several after-market illuminators fit the mount perfectly, making this upgrade easy and very cost effective. Both axis are locked down with 2 robust hand clamps.
The height of the mount from tripod support to the top of the saddle plate is 406mm. The lowest possible height with the tripod 1179mm(updated) and the maximum extendable height with the tripod is 1714mm(updated). The saddle plate on the top of the mount accepts generic dovetail bars made by Sky-Watcher and many other companies. The dovetail bar is held securely by dual hand clamps. Setting circles are provided on both axes.
The mount is equipped with a built-in dual axis drives. The drives are controlled by a hand paddle with a switch for both Northern and Southern hemisphere operation and slewing speeds of 2x, 8x, and 16x the Sidereal rate.
The tripod is made from stainless steel and has tubular legs making for a very sturdy system. The tripod is adjustable in height from 85 cm to 147cm (updated) using quick release clamps on each leg. The weight of the tripod is 7.4 Kg. An accessory tray is also provided which also adds overall stability to the mount. Two (2) counterweights are included, each weighing 5.4 kg.
Out of the box, the EQ6 is designed to accommodate telescope payloads up to 40lbs and is excellent for visual observations and short term unguided CCD imaging with most telescopes of conventional design. It will easily handle refractors up to 200mm and classic Newtonians up to 14" in aperture. Larger aperture custom telescopes in light-weight graphite tubes can also be accommodated on a case by case basis.
If your interest is long-exposure astro-photography, EQ5 SkyScan features a PEC (periodic error correction) function, as well as an autoguide interface for autoguiding or CCD imaging. See more information about the EQ5 SkyScan.
