The Strain Wave Telescope Mount REVOLUTION! 

My Wallet Trembles every time this guy uploads

AM5 user here. It’s a game changer. My old SW mount was 40 lbs head plus 11 lb counter weights. Now it holds all my equipment (smaller wide field refractors with cameras etc), and the mount weighs 11 lbs with no counterweight. Being a female its completely made it the hobby more enjoyable over night.

I switched to strainwave and can’t see ever going back. I have two, the Rainbow Astro RST135e with encoders and the Rainbow Astro RST300. The 135e tracking is unreal and can do 13.5kg or 18kg with counter weight. Mainly I use this mount with RASA8, Radian Raptor or Solar Lunt 60MT. The RST300 can do 30kg and 50kg (110lbs) with a counter weight… it’s for my Edge HD11. I think the key to these mounts is the tripod below them. I have a light weight carbon fiber for the smaller mount and find myself hanging either my backpack under it or a cider block just to keep the tripod firmly planted on the ground. For the larger mount I got the Supermount which is a beefy carbon fiber tripod with an adjustable pier. I don’t feel the need to hang something off that mount when the legs are extended but last night while testing new drivers had the legs not extended and slowly watch the mount and HD11 tip over on to the floor 😮😢. In slow motion and sadness. So make sure your tripod is grounded! To finish on a high note, the speed at which I can get going when I leave the mount polar aligned during streaks of clear sky’s is fantastic. Send both mounts to home, power in gear, pick target and go… no sky alignment needed like my old Celestron CGX.

Got into this hobby a few years ago and my first mount was a traditional EQ mount. My 2nd mount a year later was an AM5. Best decision I ever made. Will be looking at the SW strain wave mounts as I go to larger refractors moving forward

i would love to see a mini drive for super compact setups

I have been using AM5 for almost a year now. I am mostly using it on Askar 103 APO and Edge HD 9.25. It tracks really well. It has not disappointed me so far.

I use the Zeiss Jena C 63 / 840 Telementor tracking mount. Its manual with 2 screws to use. And the stand is wood. And works fine with the refractor telescope

Thanks Trevor for your videos. Been in the ZWO environment for several years and when I heard about the AM5 it was a natural to add that to my gear. Being able to transport this mount compared to my EQ6 is night and day. It is compact, lightweight, accurate, and works seamlessly with the ZWO program. Using the ZWO stacking on deep sky objects is perfect for those outreach events. I highly recommend this to beginner and advanced astronomers.

Had my AM5 for about 6 months and really enjoying having a light mount and telescope setup (Redcat 51) and have no problem getting up to 15 min exposures with 1 sec guide exposures. Nice to see more options entering the market.

I’ve had my AM5 since November 23 and bought an Askar 120 APO at 840mm focal length at Christmas and I’m so pleased with my setup. The PA and guiding is so easy and quick to get setup so there’s more time for imaging. Portability is great too 🌌🔭 Cheers Simon

Can’t believe Sky-Watcher finally released their own Harmonic drive mount! It’s been long waited

I live in the city so when I need to shoot I gotta haul my gear to the park or a roof of a friend's apartment building. With my Advanced VX mount and tripod with 2" diameter steel legs, and counter weight, and 102mm refractor, it was a whole production getting the cart I needed to use packed up and ready to go. With my AM5, carbon fiber tripod and no counterweight, it's all different. I was coming home from work one night, saw that it was unexpectedly clear skies, ran up to my apt, and within 15 min I was back on the street with all my gear in my HANDS! Using no cart isn't ideal, but the fact it was possible was incredible. Combine it with the ease of setup with all ASI parts (Camera, focuser, guidescope), within 45 min of me getting home, I was on my friend's roof and all set up. Total game changer.

Really excited to see some reviews of the wave 150i. I'm curious how the real world payload capacity compares to the AM5.

Pegasus Astro Nyx -101 is my first equatorial mount. I picked it for the ease of use / portability - but especially for the higher weight capacity. This is the mount I'll use as I work my way up from a small refractor to an EdgeHD. It's been fantastic over the last year.

Shout out to Rainbow Astro Drives, I have the 135E and love it

Hi Trevor and thanks. Happy to see other manufacturers jumping on the strain wave bus. Now we'll see some innovation

So glad I went with the AM5 over the EQ6, and not just for the weight. The AM5 paired with the ASIAIR is a perfect match for me. That said they all need to include as standard the ASIAIR computer in these bases as standard, as when you have a weather window, you just want it to work and fast.

Love my AM5... one year with it carrying a Redcat51, Esprit100, and just last week I got an 8"EdgeHD. No problems guiding the first two nights. In fact, the EdgeHD isn't any heavier than my fully loaded Esprit100 with EAF, EFW, and 294MM. Guiding is awesome. Also, it's so easy to take outside when it's clear to grab some Sun in Ha with a Lunt scope. Simple and smooth and for that I usually just use the hand controller and Am5 phone app.

I feel like this is a great time to be involved in astronomy. So many new devices and improvements in technology make it possible to get started and be successful quickly. I put the AM5 and AM3 in that category.

Thanks for the overview! Strain wave mounts have definitely changed the grab-and-go market and I have an AM5 myself that I use mostly for solar and shorter focal length imaging. As you point out though, they tend to have much larger and much more rapidly changing periodic error than worm gear mounts, with my AM5 charting 21.7" max (compared to 7" for an A-P Mach1 and 0.25" for the encoder equipped A-P Mach2). This requires rapid guiding, typically around 0.5 seconds. The 1000mm recommendation for the AM5 comes from the average guided performance of the AM5, which tends to be around 0.6" RMS unless you happen to have an exceptionally good copy. At 1000mm with an ASI2600 (3.67 u pixel), pixel scale is 0.78"/pixel, so most of your error will be contained within a single pixel. This is mainly significant for long exposure imaging of course, for planetary or solar with lucky imaging, not really an issue. Notably, the iOptron mounts like the HAE29 are equipped with high resolution encoders, and produce unguided periodic error of around 3-4".

I have an EQ6R-Pro. But I will get an AM3 for taking on trips. Having a travel friendly setup will just help me get to darker skies with less hassle.

I just set up and used an AM5 for the first time. I’ve used a Celestron CGX for a few years and it’s always been great but really, really heavy! The AM5 has blown me away. Super easy to set up and polar align and I was getting great guiding. With the CGX I usually managed 180 second exposures that were good and gave nice round stars. Anything more and everything started to go a bit egg shaped… Just for fun with the AM5, I just tried a 1000 second exposure. Not an egg in sight! Also got it WiFi communicating with the ASI Air so don’t need a cable between the two. Really pleased I got it, even if it was a bit on the pricey side!

I have only managed to use my new AM3 once due to constant rain in Aus. I did a rough alignment just using my phone and it tracked at .5 to .6 error al night. So far I am very impressed!

Love my AM5. Its a contradiction- light weight and portable, yet the best tool to mount on my backyard Primaluce pier. I have used a first generation RedCat51, an AT115, and a 6" SkyWatcher Mak on this mount. All three are outfitted with their own ASIAir, guide scope, and cameras, so change out takes less than 5 minutes. I just leave the AM5 on the pier and cover with a 13 gallon trashcan during wet weather. The AM5 stays high and dry; more importantly, polar aligned and ready to go.The only time I get out one of my HEQ5s is for a second telescope.

Upgraded from an iOptron CEMP25 to AM5….. wow! It’s taken my Astrophography to another level 😊

EM31,the pioneer product of harmonical equatorial mount in China is also one of the best choice. Its upgraded model EM31Pro has maintained an excellent reputation among Chinese astronomy enthusiasts for over two years and is known as the highest quality harmonic equatorial mount in China.

I switched from the EQ6R-Pro to the AM5, mostly because of what you stated in your video, Portability and quick setup. Even though the EQ6R-Pro Tracked just as well as my AM5. Currently I am running the Celestron Edge HD 8 inch with my AM5, and Have gotten very good tracking, some night averaging .4 with the OAG. Like I stated to you when I meet you at NEAF, Because of you and your channel, my poor bank account suffers.. lol Thank you again for your help to me with your videos and helping me stay inspired with Astrophotography. Clear sky's !

I have an AM5 and it's such a great mount. Whenever I upgrade again I'll probably just go straight to an EQ8R

Nice, live in Florida and been to the WSP in 1999, haven’t been since but Chiefland Astronomy Village was my home away from home for some time. This is when Tom Clark of Techtron telescope lived there and the CSP was in his front yard. Speaking of a Yard i got to look through his yard scope 36” dob. Then years later his 42 inch dob in a dome. The dumbell neb looked like holding a Football at arms length wow.

The upgrade for me from the EQ6-R to the 150i is the wind resistance due to no backlash. That is the winner for me as I live next to the coast, so breezy nights are a real pain here.

Warpastron WD-17S user here. I love it! It's a game changer for me.. setting up dual 80mm's on it.

Well done video as usual Trevor. I did not think I would get a strain wave mount so soon but the AM3 was the perfect fit for my Askar FR300. Interestingly, I thought this was new technology and it may be for mounts, but it is anything but for other purposes. I was listening to a fantastic audiobook about the Lunar Rover program, "Across the Airless Wilds: The Lunar Rover and the Triumph of the Final Moon Landings", and the strain wave/harmonic system was used primarily for the Rover 60 years ago. Cheers Kurt

Hi Trevor, i just got an EQ6 R pro mount. I like the fact that if sometime I want to upgrade to the Skywatcher strainwave mount. The EQ6 tripod will work with it using an adapter that Kevin said yesterday they're working on. Pretty cool. Clear skies!!!

A plus side for those starting out imaging that don't mind the weight is that there will probably be a lot of really good, used German equatorial mounts on the market.

I've had my EQ6R Pro for about five years now, thanks to your recommendation, and I absolutely love it. However, it is a lot of weight to travel with and certainly not something I could fly with. I also dread setting it up because I try to leave things as assembled as I can so it's quick, but it's heavy and awkward to carry with the tripod and counterweights attached. The AM3 has been really enticing since it's release, considering my kit is all ZWO, but those new SkyWatcher options are tempting too. All I'm looking for is something that I can travel with and that doesn't break my back when trying to set up every clear night at home since I don't have a permanent observatory. I was starting to lean toward the AM5 but you showed a few photos of an AM3 carrying a setup that looked heavier than what I run (Askar 103). I think I'll settle for the AM3 since I'll be keeping the EQ6. Only reason I haven't pulled the trigger yet is because I think I want to go monochrome first, but man you made these mounts so tempting when you showed the clip carrying out the AM5 to your yard. Tough choice!

I'm saving up for an SWG but not to replace my EQ6-R but to supplement it. I will be permanently mounting my EQ6 and will use the SWG mount as a portable mount for traveling to dark sky sites or just moving around my back yard.

I've taken my old LX200 10" SCT off of its fork mount and put it on the AM5 with 8lb counterweight with absolutely no problems.

I went with a iOptron HAE29 works great, and is almost silent compared to my Edge HD's AltAz mount.

Hello, I'm just an ordinary follower. Personally, I love astronomy and astrophotography, but my financial situation doesn't even allow me to buy a basic telescope. However, you compensate for the lack I feel, and I've learned a lot from you about things I hope to achieve in the future. So thank you, and keep going until you achieve your goal.

I have used the AM5 with a C11 at a fl of 2000mm. It works.

This was great to hear. I am just getting into the hobby and I was indeed wondering if I would be better off buying a heavy German equatorial mount. It helps to understand there may not be much advantage in spending more on a heavier kit, and that the strain wave mounts are a progression of economy and performance.

I don't drive, so my options for a full setup were limited prior to harmonic drive options becoming popular. Now that I have a HEM15 (5.5lb) mount, it's not hard to use transit to carry my Sharpstar 61 EDPH III refractor, Asiair Plus, Asi533mc Pro camera, 120mm guide scope, asi120mm guide camera, Celestron Lithium Pro battery, Surface Go (for PA and flats), and all the cords and other pieces I need to get it up and running. Wild that if I chose to use the CW, this tiny mount would have a payload equivalent to the much, much larger HEQ5 Pro.

The only issue I have is with this is calling strain wave gears a "new type of technology." The strain wave gear was inverted in 1957 and first used in 1960. It is sometimes also called a harmonic drive, which is actually a brand name. It is used in all sorts of industrial robots and drives where high torque and/or high accuracy is required. I have been in semiconductor manufacturing equipment maintenance and field service since 1987 and this technology is used on nearly every piece of equipment. It's not a new technology, but it's use in astronomy is new.

Great overview! Thank you! As an owner of both an Avalon M-Uno and a ZWO AM3, I am actually waiting for SWG-based mount without the meridian flip. BTW, missing the Sharpstar mounts and the original RST’s.

Yep gotta say I switched to an AM5 last year for astrophotography. Was using a Celestron advance vx mount but now just using that one for visual astronomy. Have gotten great tracking out of my AM5 but I still struggle with the polar alignment though. But if SW would have come out sooner I probably would have looked at those mounts as well before buying a strain wave mount.

My AM5 literally changed the game for me. It cut in half the total weight of my setup from an eq6. I find myself going out a lot more since I’ve had it.

Trevor, thanks for the overview. I was looking athe the AM5 but may consider the new sky-watcher 150. Great video ascalways.

Thanks for the video. I’m thinking of picking up the AM5 from my buddy, I’ve tested it on my Coronado and it was slick. So, I’ll probably pick it up. Very informative video, thanks again. Clear skies.

I will be buying a strainwave system at the end of this year. I currently have a HEQ5Pro and I love it but the weight is always an issue when moving it. I plan to do some travelling in the near future ( retirement) and am looking at buying the Askar V system for portability and an AM5 would tick the box as far as a mount goes. Now that Skywatcher has released their system, I might even consider the 150i as well for my home when I put in a pier.

Have to look into this..... I'm digging the form factor.

I used to love my HEQ-5 but it seemed like I threw out about 1/3 of the frames due to guiding issues. I’ve used my AM-5 for about a year and I rarely throw out frames at all. I haven’t used the HEQ-5 since and will probably try to sell it. I recently bought an HAE-43 for a larger refractor and am really looking forward to using it once the weather improves.

Love our am5…it’s super, clear skies Trevor and Ashley

I just ordered an AM5 last week. So count me in on the revolution 😁🔭

Hey Trevor, great video as always. Just a thought, it would be nice if you could run a little experiment with AM5 with a SCT and evaluating the results for deep space images, especially with tracking and guiding. Not a lot of video exists on YT, and the CN forums have divided opinion on SCT-AM5 setups. Cheers

Could you do a test in a friction drive mount? They claim incredible accuracy and huge payloads at relatively affordable prices

I will stick with my heq5 mount. I have no problems with this mount and it tracks and runs accurately very well. Great mount.

For me right now, the wave 150i is my option, if I had a backyard like yours, for sure I will go at least for the Skywatcher 350, but as I have to move from Bortle 8 sky to the fields and find a bortle 4 sky, portability is what I need, and it will hold an 72ed and also a C8 with counterweight. But will try to wait till the end of the year to get it, and see reviews an comparison with others. I'm NINA user, and won't move to ASIair

thank you for this video, as a beginner i´ll have it in mind when the time comes to purchase a mount

Thanks for sharing!! Also using an AM5. Waiting for the AM7 observatory class mount ;)

My AM5 and tripod covers all of my current needs w/o a counterweight, provides superior guiding and weighs less than half that of my, now retired, iOptron CEM 23EC and their rock solid, but very heavy tripod. Where I used to be happy if I could guide at 1", I now get upset if I exceed 0.7", and typically get < 0.65, and with good seeing, between 0.38 and 0.5”. Now, I wonder if I could sell my old mount and tripod for more than $150! Strain wave mounts RULE!

A staradventurer sized strain wave mount, with both RA and DEC tracking would be something.

Guides consistently around 0.5 arc seconds with a SW 130PDS and now the new CarbonStar 150 from Apertura.

Loving my ZWO AM3.. it works SO WELL.. obviously I still have my big ones.. EQ6, Celestron AVX, but... the AM3 is so good.. and I will most likely get an AM5 at some point when I need to upgrade or additional rig. The skywatcher seems alright, but I don't see any big benefits over the ZWO versions in regards to cost, or capacity.

I'm young but poor, I'll just keep buying used traditional mounts as everyone with more money upgrades. Have a CEM26 and EQ6R so far for much less than the cost of a new AM5.

After using the AM5.... i really dread ever setting up my CGX-L again. I basically just don't use my 11" RASA anymore lol!

And the battle of "which one is better" on Cloudynights - starts anew :) Yet none of these new mounts were the first on the market. I am curious to hear long time users of Hobym or similar. They were very expensive proposition. At the same time, while I was dreaming of upgrading my AVX to something more... better, and even contemplating spending $13K+ on 10Micron - the ZWO came along and made me re-think my priorities - ease of use, how tiresome is to drag all gear - set it up etc. I had to face the reality, and now I am looking at these mounts.

I want to buy one. I really do. You’ve seen what I can accomplish with my AVX, and it’s not without major headaches that come with a lower end eq. If I could afford to buy an am5, I would have by now :(

Yeah, I've been using my AM5 with a C8 at 1280mm with no issues. Not sure why ZWO says the limit is 900mm

Now let’s see if the parent company Synta keeps the strain wave mounts just under the Sky-Watcher brand or spins off versions of them to Celestron as well. And will Orion/Meade ever develop new mounts? The times are changing to be sure! Nice overview! Thanks!

Haha, a pleasure to see Kevin on here, love you guys!

ZWO was recommending keeping the scale of your setup 1"/px or greater when using the AM5 - probably due to the inherent periodic error of the strain wave system. Of course, assuming you can get good enough guiding, you could certainly use setups with < 1"/px. I still use my old CEM40, though I've definitely had my eye on the new strain wave options. Having the same or greater payload capacity at a reduced overall weight? Yes, please.

Comprehensive, fair-minded, and interesting review video. Thank you!

One day soon I will own an am5 or am3. Either or doesn't matter because I'll defiently be under weight with even up to a 90mm refractor. But saving up that cash for that mount and tripod, yeesh, will be tough but hopefully.

I'm not totally ready yet, because my EQ6r pro works better it has ever worked after I did a tune up and maintenance last year. I did think about getting a smaller strainwave mount, but it's just so new and maybe I'll just wait until the vers. 2.0 of all of these mounts. The Skywatcher does interests me, because they got a proven record and my seal of approval, but regardless it's still their first versions of them. Having 4 years of experience in astrophotography and about 15 years as a visual observer, I am very skeptical about equipment, I've been shaken down with poor quality products sold for premium prices while denying me the option to return the product for RMA, despite their claimed warranty.

Hi Trevor. Asiair user, I'm waiting for a ZWO AM7 to hold my 160FL apo refractor !

Having an EQ6-R Pro and an EQ8-R Pro I am interested in these now, I never paid much attention to the AM5, but the new Sky Watcher mounts have got me curious.

Looking for a mount for my new 6" Quattro rig. I really hope this new Skywatcher mount fits the bill.

:53 seconds in. High end mounts? The AM5 is definitely not a discount or low end mount..

It would be awesome to see this tech come in some sub $1k options, but regardless I must say I am interested. I live along the west coast, so I often find myself only having a few clear hours per month during the winter, so shorter setup times are quite desirable. Being super light with no counterweight is probably the biggest tempting factor.

I have two harmonic mounts. AM5 and HAE69ec. Can't imagine using anything else.

i dont really think ill buy this new mount but i guess its worth to try. Respect AstroBackyard

Strain drive is all the vast majority of amateur photographers need. Small, compact, light and enough payload for most.

I use my Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer GTi for light loads and my Celestron CG-4 with an installed Astro Gadget go to conversion kit for medium loads. I am too old and feeble to drag a heavy load into the back garden.

I am not in a position to upgrade at this point in time, but since I have an older Celstron AVX, anything is an upgrade to that. I think that I would want to go with an iOptron over the ZWO, primarily because I can plug a hand controller into the iOptron (the same applies for the Skywatchers), and I like that. However, any of them should do an amazing job. The one thing that no review that I've seen so far has touched on it rated weight capability versus the old '50% rule.' Because of the design of the mount, are we limited in using only 50% of the rated capacity for astro photography, or can we expand that out to 75, or even 80% (or higher) of the rated capability without degradation of the images in long length images.

Hi Trever, I bought the Apertura AD8 Dobsonian 8" telescope that you recommended in your beginner telescope video. I also recently bought a DSLR camera as well. I tried buying one of the connectors to put my DSLR through the eyepiece, but when I did, it would not focus, I would adjust the focus knob all the way in both directions, but it wouldn’t focus enough to see anything. I was contacting you to see if you can send me the name and possibly a link to the one you use to connect your DSLR to your Dobsonian. The camera is a Cannon Rebel T7 if that means anything.

I've ran my edge HD8 on my am5 several times without issue. I'm not sure what the focal length limit was all about. Mine has always performed wonderfully.

SWG-mount with clutches!!!! Finally :-)

Great Mount, add to cart 🛒

I'm waiting for a strain wave kit to come out that I can attach to older mounts using custom adapter plates.

Wonder if that skywatcher mount could have an over the top C shaped bracket fitted and fit some very large binocular to it?

I'm searching for such mount for carring my 8"/F 4.0 Newtonian with a image train around 15 kilo (33-44 lbs). Transportating to a dark sky locagtion is imported because i can't see the Polar star from my balconys, PA with asi-air won't work because to little stars for aligment.

As always, awesome video Trevor. I was wondering, is anyone using a strain wave mount as a permanent observatory setup? My future intent is to acquire one of these mounts, but I will use it for a backyard observatory.

Could you make a youtube video where you can show that German equatorial mount is better than strain wave at tracking? You mentioned that with auto-guiding it is as good as german equatorial. Personally, I've used SW EQM-35 and then upgraded to ZWO AM5. With AM5, I've gotten guiding error down to 0.5-0.7 RMS easily. Whereas, with EQM-35, under good non-breezy night, I get 0.7-0.9 RMS. So AM5 has a slight edge despite both have same payload limit. AM5 is also relatively easy to setup.

My first goto mount (tracker), was SW SA GTI. Inexpensive, lightweight, portable. This and asiair allowed me to do real imaging. In bortle 8-9 it's tough to find objects star hopping. 18 months later and I thirsted for a longer (heavier), scope. The AM5 was my goal. This years galaxy season forced my hand. I can't believe the tracking accuracy, thus, far less settling time and fewer wasted subs. Right after the AM5 purchase, ZWO offered a free tripod with AM5 or AM3 purchase as a NEAF promotion. I bought an AM3 as well. Darnn them😂. Anyone want to buy a SW SA GTI?

The AM5 in the video looks awesome on that Starfield pier. Does that provide more stability over the ZWO tripod the AM5 comes with?

thank you very much indeed for mapping these new Wave Mount, I am quite convinced to step in. I dare to ask you the model of autoguide OTA you put over C8 (like mine) at minute 2 of the video? I am tryin gto pratice with autoguide with C8 Edge HD. Thanks again and best wishes

I keep hearing that strain wave mounts don't use worm gears, but how do they work? How are they different? What are the tradeoffs? I certainly can (and will) investigate this for myself, but social media channels that continue to avoid explaining this are simply regurgitating marketing copy rather than providing useful technical information. Semi-tangent: ZWO (don't pander to us 'muricans, keep saying zed instead of zee!) is a non-starter for me. As a software developer and contributor to open source software, I can't imagine buying into such an obviously shady walled-garden ecosystem. Stealing the hard work of both software and hardware developers by reselling free software and a Raspberry Pi for a huge markup while not supporting other devices would be a hilarious gambit except for how well it seems to be working. Buy a Raspberry Pi and astroberry (astroarch if you want RPi 5 support), save a ton of money, and then have full access to the wide ecosystem of devices available.

I have been suffering with the Ioptron HEM44 for over a year now. The mount will freeze up in the middle of the night and fail to slew. Ioptron has sent a new hand controller and mother board without solving the problem. I am discovering in the forums that other folks have experienced this problem also. My next mount will be Skywatcher or ZWO.

No doubt this kind of mounts are great and here to stay but still too new to know how durable they are.

The problem is that there nothing for smaller budgets with strain wave mounts.