Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro GOTO Mount With Rowan Belt Mod

The incredibly popular HEQ5 Pro GOTO mount and tripod but with the Rowan Engineering belt mod already fitted!

This kit replaces the factory spur gear drive train with timing belts. The pulley modification reduces the spur gear errors that are typical and therefore reduces tracking errors. The belts also make slewing much quieter eliminating the 'grinding' noise that the standard spur gears produce.

Please note delivery times on the modded mounts is approx 2 - 3 days. Please contact us for more information.

PRO-SERIES is the name for the new generation of professional quality telescopes and mounts of the Sky-Watcher range, targeted at the most discerning and critical observers.

PRO-SERIES products are manufactured to extremely high levels of optical and mechanical precision, undergoing very strict quality control procedures and testing by specially assigned technicians, to ensure the highest standards of quality and performance are consistently maintained.

Designed for amateur astronomers seeking superior equatorial control and the ease of a precision computerized GOTO system, the HEQ5 PRO SkyScan is your answer. The Sky-Watcher HEQ5 PRO SkyScan is designed with the novice user in mind. With the user-friendly pushbutton hand control, locating and viewing the treasures of the night sky becomes as easy as a walk in the park. The hand control allows you to point the telescope at a specific object or even tour the skies at the touch of a button. The user-friendly menu system allows automatic slewing to over 13,400 objects. Even an inexperienced astronomer can master its variety of features in a few observing sessions. HEQ5 PRO SkyScan
The computerized SkyScan hand controller.

Features
The HEQ5 SkyScan also comes with features that advanced astronomers can appreciate:
Positioning Accuracy up to 1 arc minute. Accuracy enhanced by software collimation error (mount mechanical error) compensation.
Stepper motors with 1.8° step angle and 64 micro steps driven.
Slewing speed up to 3.4°/sec (800X).
Auto Guider Interface for astro-photography.
Guiding speed selectable from 0.25X, 0.50X, 0.75X, or 1X.
Object database containing complete M, NGC, and IC catalogues.
Minimal vibration for steady long-exposure photography.
Periodic error correction (PEC).

There is a pole-finder telescope supplied with the HEQ5 Mount that can be used for accurate polar alignment. This method of polar alignment is sufficient for virtually all visual use of the telescope.

Optional Accessories
Thera are some accessories that can be used with this mount including:
Pillar tripod support for HEQ5.
Power Supply Unit (17AH) for EQ6 and HEQ5.

Auto-Guiding
You can use this mount as part of an auto-guiding system for astrophotography. Other components that you will need are:
A computer to control the telescope mount (e.g. Windows 2000/XP/Vista).
Auto-guider control software such as:
AstroArt is a good commercial solution, because it can control multiple CCD cameras (e.g. for guiding and imaging) and it can be used for image stacking, processing, photometry, etc.
A computer interface and cables to connect the computer to the telescope mount:
Shoestring GPUSB auto-guider USB Connectivity Kit, through the computer's USB port.
Shoestring GPINT-PT auto-guider Parallel Port Connectivity Kit, through the computer's Parallel Port.
CCD camera for auto-guiding :

Mount Specification
Model Sky-Watcher HEQ5 PRO SkyScan
Mount Type German Equatorial
Telescope Mounting Tube Rings
Slow-motion Control R.A. & Dec (motor controlled)
Tripod 1.75" Diameter Stainless Steel Pipe
Tripod Height 97-121cm
Tripod Weight 5.6kgs
Counterweight Shaft Diameter 1.8cm
Counterweight Shaft Length 21.5cm
Counterweight Shaft Material Stainless Steel
Mount Weight 10Kgs
Mount Height 35cm
Counterweight Two, 5.1kg each
Total Weight 15kgs (counterweight not included)

General Specification
Model Sky-Watcher HEQ5 PRO SkyScan
Power Supply 12 VDC 2Amp (Tip positive)
Motor Type Micro step driven 1.8° stepper motors
Resolution 0.144 arc sec (or 9,024,000 steps/rev.)
Slew Speeds 2X, 8X, 16X, 32X, 64X, 400X, 500X, 600X, 800X
Gear Ratio 705
Tracking Rate Sidereal, Lunar, Solar
Tracking Modes Dual Axis, R.A. Tracking
Alignment Methods One-star Alignment, Two-star Alignment, Three-star Alignment
Database 25 user defined objects. Complete M, NGC, and IC catalogues. Total 13,436 objects.

Some items that are showing as in stock are in stock at our holding warehouses, not at the shop. To double check the stock levels at the shop, please contact us on 01909774369 or sales@rothervalleyoptics.co.uk.

The delivery times for most items is 1 - 2 days but again, please double check stock levels on important orders before placing an order via the website.

The delivery costs for courier next day are for mainland UK only. If you live in the Scottish Highlands/Islands, Channel Islands or Northern Ireland, then a shipping surchage will apply. please contact us for prices. Smaller items can still go 1st class via Royal Mail.

Please note that if you are wanting to take advantage of our Saturday and Sunday timed services or next day pre 12 or pre 10:30 services, you MUST check that the stock is here at the shop before placing orders. Also, orders using the Saturday and Sunday services must be placed before 1pm the previous working day. Also, please remember to check that the stock is here at the shop before placing orders. If the stock is not at the shop, we won't be able to ship on any of the timed services. 

Please note International customers will need to contact us for a shipping price prior to ordering via the website. We don't ship all items internationally. It is at our discretion what we ship outside of the UK. This all depends on the size and weight of the items. Please get in touch with us for any postage costs. Please note we do NOT ship telescopes or heavy items outside of the UK. This is due to massive postage costs and problems regarding returns.

If you have any questions regarding stock levels or delivery, please get in touch.

Zygo Interferometer Testing For ED Refractor Telescopes!

We are extremely pleased to announce our Zygo Interferometer is now installed and ready for use! Our experienced staff can test refractor lenses up to 120mm aperture and provide a comprehensive 2 page report showing the optical quality and Strehl ratio, plus much more information. We are using the very latest Zygo MX software to provide a more detailed report compared to other standard reports.

The interferometer is essentially a measuring instrument. Within the interferometer is a calibrated laser that is pointed through the optical test surface, then onto a high quality reference sphere, then back through the test subject then to an internal camera which gives us the measurement on the screen. From this, we can adjust the position of the test optic and the reference sphere to obtain a perfectly calibrated system. The more central the laser to the test optic and then on return, the better and more accurate reading and measurement we can take. This takes a lot of adjustment to get the best results from the optical surface. Once the measurement has been taken, we are provided with a series of results that show the optical quality of the surface plus other information. Continue reading for an explanation of the individual values and you can also see a test report that was done on one of our RVO Horizon 60 OTAs. 

We are offering certain telescopes with a Zygo test at an extra cost. Mainly ED doublets and triplets. All available telescopes with a Zygo test report are listed here. Just select Zygo Test Report from the drop down box at the top of the listing and we will test the optics in house and provide a full 2 page report with your scope. This will show you the optical quality of your telescope optics. We can also offer this service on your refractor telescope. Please get in touch for more details about this. 

At Rother Valley Optics, one thing we pride ourselves on is customer service and quality of our equipment. When we test your telescope, we will ensure that it is of the highest quality otherwise, we will reject the scope under our strict quality control and test another model for your peace of mind. One of the main values to look at when testing a refractor is the Strehl ratio. The higher this number, the higher quality lens you have. At Rother Valley Optics, we will guarantee the highest possible Strehl ratio for your telescope.  We will aim to provide 0.95 Strehl or higher on Takahashi, RVO Horizon, William Optics and many more! Generally, the higher the Strehl ratio, the lower the Astigmatism and Coma meaning a better image quality from your instrument. 

Other measurements such as the PV and RMS are important too. With these measurements, the lower the number the better as it shows less curvature on the lens. The flatter an optical lens, the better it will perform. The PV rating (Peak To Valley) is a measurement from the highest point (Peak) to the lowest point (Valley). From this we get the RMS (Root, Mean, Square). This is a similar figure to the PV and measured exactly the same way. The RMS is basically an average height difference from the PV so again, the lower the better. As you can see form the example below, we measured an RMS of just 0.027 wave which is a very good value.

We also measure the Power with our systems which is essentially the error from the reference sphere to the test optic. The reference sphere we use on our system is a very high quality sphere so the closer to zero the Power, the less error between the 2 elements thus ensuring a higher quality optical surface. 

You will also see some more values such as Astigmatism and Coma. Again, these are measured by the interferometer when we take measurements of the optical surface after adjustment. These are values which ideally would be at 0 but as our test optics are all curved lenses, there will always be astigmatism and coma present. The lower the number, the less of these aberations you will effectively see but with most refractors, you can buy field flatteners which will compensate for the coma anyway. The astigmatisms value is explaining the error between the symmetrical curvature of the lens. Basically, no lens will be perfectly symmetrical, the lower the astigmatism, the more symmetrical the lens surface is. 

Once the Zygo test report has been completed, the optical alignment is thoroughly tested and tuned to ensure they are spot on before they leave us. 

All available telescopes are on the website at the link below and ones we've tested already that are available straight away are also listed.

https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/zygo-tested-refractors.html

Here is an example of the test what we provide. This was a test on one of our Horizon 60 ED OTA's.

For any questions about this amazing new service, please either call 01909774369 or email sales@rothervalleyoptics.co.uk.

Are you interested in this product but would like to speak to someone with some more information? Simply fill in the form below and we will get back to you as soon as we can!

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