I tried the Sky-watcher EQM-35, Is it any good?

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[alandyer]

I had pointing error issues with the EQM-35 until I did a factory Reset on the hand controller. After that it worked fine. Before that, using the EQM-35 with a hand controller from an Orion StarSeeker (the hand controllers are identical) also worked fine. So something was amiss with the EQM’s hand controller out of the box. Resetting it is worth a try.

[olivierrethore]

EQM35 + Z61 + ASIAIR PLUS + EOS 6D + ZWO mini guide + ASI120 = FUN for years ! Thanks Nico.

[PagsPayback]

Small tip from an owner of the EQM-35s smaller Brother, the EQ3-Pro-synscan. A big "problem" a lot of these cheap mounts have, is the fact that they don't use ball bearings. They are very dependent on being well greased. Unfortunately they use a relatively low grade grease in the factory. Which can result in a relatively sticky axis. That can be really bad for autoguiding and for pointing accuracy. Tracking is affected as well, but surprisingly not as bad as the other two.
By regreasing all the important parts with a high quality teflon grease, and being carefull not to tighten the nuts too much after reassembling you can get those mounts down to sub arcsecond guiding and extremely accurate pointing. I'm guessing at least part of that is due to much more precise balancing (which is hard if you have a sticky axis).
Regreasing yourself is relatively easy, but I wouldn't recommend it to someone who is not compfortable with disassembling and reassembling relatively complicated objects. However many Astroshops offer to service mounts for a hundred bucks or so. That is definitely an alternative to an EQ6 or similar expensive mount, if it is not yet necessary due to weight of telescope etc.

[Creeno]

I've got this mount and can basically confirm this review. I too was a bit disappointed with the GoTo errors. But being diligent when leveling the scope and polar aligning it, means the world.
Having said that, I use this mount in conjunction with a Stellarmate. So it's kind of a moot point for me now.
I have had a bit of trouble with backlash lately. Quite often Stellarmate cannot initiate guiding because backlash prevents accurate tracking. But this is my fifth year of using it, so a bit of tightening up is probably long overdue anyway.
I like this mount because it is affordable for amateurs who are not yet committed enough to buy thousands of dollars worth of equipment. But good enough to let your hobby grow into the advanced field of it. It affords a good solid base from which you can build your kit. Bigger scopes, guide scopes, cameras, filters, heaters, and computers. The only limitation is its payload. But it's a limitation all mounts run into at some point.
Because as all amateur astronomers know, the ideal amount of telescopes is n+1. Where n is the number of telescopes you currently have :).

[DaKl]

Just bought this mount a couple of weeks ago and its tracking is indeed impressive!

[mwales]

I have been using my EQM-35 for over a year now and just love it.. At first it was having some play issues and after some research I found a video of tearing the mount down to re-lube it and adjust the worm drives and that made all the difference. I use it with a Astro-Tech AT65EDQ scope and ZWO ASIAIR Pro and small tablet an this setup has taken some great photo's over the past year. The best thing about this setup for this 61 y/o is I can carry the entire setup (minus the weights) out into my back yard without having to break it down. Nice video...

[olgaw.ismael]

This mount is really great- I think personally that low-end equatorial mounts can be even a greater alternative than trackers for people that need something on a budget. Personally, as an EQ3-2 user, in my case, I got double axis guiding, go-to and a greater payload for less than the price of the Star Adventurer.
Usually, the pointing accuracy won't be so great- but this is why platesolving with ASTAP exists. Another problem is that working without guiding can leave star trails even when perfectly polar aligned, caused by the periodic error. Once you get it working with guiding, you will be able to get as much time as you want! There are some versions that come without the stock motor in the kit. This way, you can adquire improved DIY motorizations, like the OnStep and AstroEQ and run it via computer.
I'd suggest anyone who owns a cheaper mount like the EQ3, EQ3-2, EQ5 or EQ-35 to invest on guiding, even if it's guiding with a webcam and a diy telescope.

[brentfugett]

With the money saved on this mount I was able to add the ASIAIR Pro (you touched on at about 5:30) with a guide camera. A killer combo for relative portability and accuracy. Just a note for anyone doing this (and it took me a lot of head banging before I found the solution) when tracking and plate solving DO NOT sync the plate solve to the mount after success. For some reason that messes it up. Since getting that straight I've been in AP nirvana. Thanks for the review!

[liviulazar]

Very good review, thank you! I really enjoy my EQM-35 Pro, guided by ASIAIR PRO, it is just like I discovered a wonder. But I have to say I first tuned it, cause I had some friction in the axis, and after bearings were changed and the factory grease removed and replaced by a quality one, now it works nice and smooth. I just reached 15 min. guided, still having the stars round. Usually, I use 3 or 5 min. My setup: EQM-35 Pro, scope TS80/560, guide tube TS50/204, ASi1600MC-Pro, ASI120MC-S and ASIAIR-PRO.

[robertstuck]

Being new to the hobby I don’t have anything else to compare to but I love my EQM-35 pro. I did struggle with manual polar alignment at first too but once I added my ASIAIR PRO astrophotography became really fun. I would recommend the mount but I would suggest the ASIAIR pro too go with it. Great info on the review

[santi]

About the pointing accuracy - Skywatcher released a motor firmware update (v3.15) about 2 weeks ago that fixed it having incorrect gear tooth counts. My pointing accuracy improved after that, although it's probably still not as good as a higher class mount.

[danielbirgy]

Thanks Nico. Your videos are awesome and so helpful for a beginner like me. I bought this mount in may 2021 (it has the USB connector). I use it with a SW 72ED refractor, a guide scope and a DSLR. I never managed to get rid off the backlash in Dec, but I’m now quite happy with little EQM-35. I get precise PA with SHARCAP and my guide camera. Pointing and meridian flip are a breeze using plate solving with NINA/ASTAP. Guiding is almost always better than 1 arcsec (generally 0, 7). The only thing I can’t do is dithering. Backlash doesn’t allow to dither in DEC and I get walking noise when I dither only in RA. So I’m completely OK with your conclusion Nico. Keep on with the good work and sorry for my poor English…

[Wolfie]

Great information thank you. I have also experience the inaccurate go to with several mounts. I recently bought a HEQ5 Pro. I do a super accurate polar alignment with SharpCap. I have also reduce cone error using Conesharp. That is less than a few arc seconds now.

After set up I do a goto and a plate solve and sync. After this every GoTo puts the star almost dead centre frame. This works even when the mount does a flip. I can't get that good with an AZ-EQ6 so perhaps I have an unusually good 5.

[astroaprilia]

You are spot-on with the pointing accuracy. I got this mount in April (my 1st tracking mount) and I love it! But, as you stated, the pointing accuracy is somewhat lacking. At first I thought I was doing something wrong: maybe my polar alignment was off or I was not aligned properly doing my star-align. But I came to the conclusion that this was just a "flaw" with the GoTo system. I now can just study the area that I want to image/view with the help of Stellarium and pretty much get my target dead center, or wherever I want to in the frame, and I don't and have never used any computer connection. That time will come. Hopefully after the new year.
I find that 2 minute subs is pushing the limit without guiding with my camera lens. 90 seconds has been my limit with my 1325mm Mak-Cas OTA. Any longer introduces trailing.
Overall I think this is a great mount for the money and would recommend it to anyone getting started, like me. Just put a little effort and have patience with the pointing accuracy and it will be worth your while...and money.
Clear Skies to ALL!

P.S.
High Point Scientific customer support helped me out so much. Thanks to that whole team!

[patrickbretelson]

I purchased a used Orion SkyView Pro which I think is equivent to the EQM-35 mount. I have to say this video and comments has put me at ease. I am also having the same exact issue with goto accuracy that you and many have mentioned here. My whole plan was to get an Asiair Plus for astrophotography and to have better accuracy. I am so happy many and yourself have comfirmed this is the way to go. Once I am on a taget, tracking works great. I do not have the USB port on the motor controller but was able to hookup an RJ11/USB cable to the hand controller and computer and have Stellarium controlling the mount but, goto accuracy is stil off as I am using the 2 star alignment from the hand controller. I am going to research how to hookup the Asiair directly to the motor controller. I will also look into that motor control update that was mentioned here. I am looking forward to using the Asiair to solve all of this. Thanks again for a great video and all the good information posted here!

[MrJacobrezac]

I use this mount and I’ve been able to take 10 minute subs with a Skywatcher EVOSTAR 100 with no trailing at all. I was blown away with how good the tracking was but I do agree that the pointing accuracy could be off from time to time.

[andrewwellum]

Excellent video again Nico, we need the full length comparison video for mounts, waiting patiently.

[Bridgestreetnursery]

I bought the EQM-35 Pro about 2 plus years ago and never could get the goto working. The Cloudy Nights forum has a great thread about issues with fixing a ton of issues. Since mine was well out of warranty I went through the scope with a fine tooth comb. That didn't help. Neither did up dating the firmware. I bought a new hand controller (v. 5) but haven't tried it yet. Instead, I bought a Celestron AVX mount because I wasn't going to invest a bunch more time in the EQM. The AVX works well. I'll probably try and mount the Sky Guider Pro on the tripod just for kicks. In my opinion, the EQM-35 makes a great boat anchor.

[matijajakicevic]

I used an eq3-2 with onstep as the goto option for almost two years. I used it with my explorer 150p, 60mm guidescope and usually a dslr which overloaded it by a few kilos. When it worked it was phenomenal, but I had to spend most of my nights fixing it up. I'm sure it would work beautifully when in payload capacity. Great little mount.

[Westlake]

Great review Nico! Had mine for 18 months or so and works great!
Never used the controller except for switching into pc mode where both
Stellarium and Nina can control it for targets and platesolving via a mini pc.

Bought it after using the Star-Adventurer but didn’t have any plans for
heavier mounts/bigger set-ups. Using it with DSLR and a W/O 61mm with guide camera, etc.
Been very happy with it!
Zip ties and velcro straps and a USB hub have come in handy for cable mgt
to allow only two cables (1 ac power, 1 usb) back to the workstation.