Sky-Watcher U.S.A. Telescopes and OpticsProductsTelescopesEQ5M Manual Telescopes

EQ5M Manual Telescopes

Sort by: SKU Product Price Default SKY-WATCHER EQ5 PRO SERIES... INSTRMENTATION FOR THE SERIOUS AMATEUR ASTRONOMER We 21st century amateur astronomers not only revel in the awe and wonderment of the heavens as did the ancients, but today's technology allows us to also perform real science, making discoveries that advance the body of human knowledge. But before we take ourselves too seriously, let us not forget astronomy is a blast! Yup, it's a veritable fun factory for folks like us. We travel on star beams back in time to exotic worlds. Why not travel first class? A Sky-Watcher telescope will transport you to the stars in style with all the modern accoutrements, high-tech performance, and value you are looking for. Sky-Watcher's many unique design touches are quite impressive. You will be proud to own a telescope from Sky-Watcher, the global leader in the engineering and manufacturing of astronomical equipment. Learn More » See details EQ5M 102 AR SKU: S11500 Sky-Watcher 102AR EQ5 PRO Refractor: Screaming Performance for Just $525! Fortunate indeed is the amateur astronomer with a SW 102AR refractor on a clear night with transparent skies Market price: $525.00 Our price: $499.00 save 5% Quantity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 Buy Now

The flexible Sky-Watcher EQ5 PRO Series consists an 8" and 11" Schmidt-Cassegrain; a 200mm and 254mm Newtonian; 100mm, 120mm and 150mm achromatic refractors, and 100mm and 120mm ED APO refractors. These optical systems are mounted on the storied EQ5 PRO equatorial mount, a global best seller! One look at the technically sophisticated, rigidly constructed EQ5 PRO mounting system communicates that Sky-Watcher takes astronomy as seriously as you do.

Whether your desire is to acquire a rock-solid manually mounted telescope, or a telescope on state-of-the-art computerized observing and astrophotography platform, Sky-Watcher delivers the serious performance capabilities you are searching for. The equatorial mount is the most versatile telescope platform ever designed. Without question it is the most popular and utilized mounting system favored by amateur astronomers today worldwide. The 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 and 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 counterweights are cast iron, powder coated white. (Note: All SW EQ5PRO 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 EQ5 PRO 254mm Newtonian, and 11" SCT 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.

Advantages of the Sky-Watcher EQ5 PRO Equatorial Telescope Mounting System

The 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, textbook-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 nebulae. 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 renowned 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.

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.

Polar Alignment Made Easy

To help facilitate precise equatorial alignment of the SW EQ5 PRO mount, a polar alignment scope with diopter adjustment is installed in the center of the R.A. axis. A transparent etched glass screen displays the region about the north celestial pole. The screen shows the position of Constellation Cassiopeia, Ursa Major (Big Dipper), and the defining position of Polaris, the North Star. It also shows Constellation Octans whose star Sigma Octantis visually defines the south celestial pole. This feature is standard equipment from Sky-Watcher.