Tried and True Workhorse – The “EQ6” Mount

I realize there are a lot of amateurs out there that have moved on in their mounts. Whether they are using ASTROPHYSICS and their line of high-end mounts, ZWO light to medium duty strain wave drives, etc. There is plenty of story telling and even some good workmanship that goes into these mounts. A mount is not a status symbol but for some it is.

Every image on the Gallery displayed on the main page of this website was done with a used NEQ6 that is pushing 20 years old (at least).

How much do you want to spend? You can get anything you want if you spend enough. There is no shortage of things to spend lots of money on these days. The retailers rely on us to spend lots and will market to the end of the Earth to get us to part with money.

The EQ6 has been a reliable staple for many years. It has a decent carrying capacity for small to medium sized instruments, delivers reliable results in the tracking department, enjoys widespread support in the industry even today, and has lots of third-party hardware that will work with their drivers to communicate to it. You know what you are getting when you buy one.

You don’t have to break the bank to own one either. Yes, there is some mass to them, and the counterweights for it and more. It does take some effort to use it. No fear of it tipping over, even in a brisk wind, unlike some of the newer mounts today that require ballast to lower the center of mass for stability. And don’t forget to install the safety stop on the counterweight bar on your eq6, because if a weight ever comes off and falls on your toes, you might lose them all.

I picked up my EQ6 used in 2017. I have never looked back since getting it. They have doubled in price since then, but the market may open with some nice used items soon as people rush to lighter weight mounts for ease of use and smaller refractors for imaging. The fact is, the EQ6 is a workhorse, and if you ever want a mount to do the job, I highly recommend the Skywatcher EQ6, EQ6Pro, NEQ6, and AZEQ6 line of mounts.

Check out the specs I got from their website.

• Mount Type: German equatorial, computerized GoTo.

• Payload Capacity: 20 kg (44 lbs).

• SynScan Database: 42,900+ objects.

• Motor Type: 1.8° stepper motors with 64 micro-steps.

• Tracking Modes: Sidereal, solar, lunar.

• Tripod: Stainless steel with 2-inch diameter legs.

• Saddle: Dual Vixen and Losmandy.

• Power: 12V DC @ 4A.

• Weight (Mount Head): 38 lbs.

• Weight (Tripod): 16.5 lbs.

• Weight (Fully Assembled with weights): 76.5 lbs.

• Counterweights: Two 11 lb counterweights included.

• Other Features: Built-in polar scope, auto-guiding port, Permanent Periodic Error Correction (PPEC).