Exciting HEQ5-Pro delivery, free cloud
Since discovering that I was definitely into astrophotography I’ve been saving. And saving… and saving.
First on my upgrades list was a stable mount that would be suitable for long exposures, while also being reliable and seeing me through at least the next 5-10 years.
After a lot of research, reviews and talking with different astrophotographers – or looking at their images and equipment – I settled on the SkyWatcher HEQ5-Pro. This is a frequently-recommended and widely used mount, but since the start of the pandemic it’s also been harder to obtain than gold-dust.
Long story short – having finally saved enough to purchase, I’d been waiting another 3 months for stock – somewhere… anywhere! Anyway, bit of luck and a friendly pointer and I’d ordered one. Now, two months later, it finally arrived.
I am not at all disappointed – this really is a fantastic bit of kit. From lifting the tripod out of the box to connecting it all up it – it’s solid, stable and the axis movement is silky-smooth.
Connection to Ekos/INDI was completely painless, and I had my dedicated Raspberry Pi astronomy controller controlling the stand within seconds of connecting the USB.
It really is a thing of beauty… completely over-shadowing the old CG-3 manual mount – pretty much beneath the tripod.
As with all astronomy equipment the delivery was foretold by the arrival of masses of cloud. After a month of glorious, unseasonal, fine weather in April the contrast is quite striking.
Just waiting for clear skies to let this rip on the night sky 🔭🌃🌔🌌
