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Sky-Watcher

Tracking mounts and the tubes that suit them

The mount comes first

The products on this site read as a mount catalogue with telescopes attached. A Star Adventurer photo set, its counterweight kit, its ball head adapter, a polar scope for the EQ5 and EQ6 — the tracking hardware is the spine of the range.

The tubes

A 130 mm FlexTube Dobsonian that collapses for transport, a 127 mm Maksutov on a Wi-Fi alt-azimuth mount, and a small refractor. Each is chosen for how it sits on a mount as much as for what it shows.

Two listings that contradict themselves

The Mercury-707 gives one focal length in its title and another in its bullets. The Star Adventurer counterweight kit publishes a counterweight mass and a package weight that cannot both describe the same object. Both pages report the contradiction and neither resolves it.

Reading a Sky-Watcher page here

Payload is the figure to read. A tracker’s usefulness is set by what it will carry steadily, not by the tube it is bundled with.

Sky-Watcher in this catalogue

Everything Sky-Watcher puts on these shelves

  • Sky-Watcher HM5 polar scope

    Sky-Watcher HM5 polar scope for EQ5, NEQ-5 and EQ-6

    A polar scope screwing directly into the polar axis of named Sky-Watcher mounts, with a reticle usable in both hemispheres.

    Reticle pattern
    The listing gives none
    Illumination
    Not mentioned
    Dimming
    Not published by the maker.
    Mount compatibility
    EQ5, NEQ-5 and EQ-6, named by the maker
    Fit
    Screws into the polar axis of the mount
    Retention
    Not published by the maker.
    Focus adjustment
    Neither is published
    Hemisphere support
    Northern and southern, per the maker
    Amazon reference
    B017NH3NYC (same reference on 3 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    6930096630154
    • Names the three mounts it fits rather than claiming universality
    • Works in both hemispheres, which not every reticle does
    • No accuracy, magnification or field figure

    Best for: An EQ5, NEQ-5 or EQ-6 mount bought without its polar scope

    ≈ £49
    Check price on Amazon
  • Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer ball head adapter in green

    Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer ball head adapter (S20550)

    A green ball head adapter for the Star Adventurer, listed with two different post lengths both labelled 3/8 inch.

    Profile
    Not published by the maker.
    Length
    Not published by the maker.
    Hole spacing
    Not published by the maker.
    Slots
    Not published by the maker.
    Material
    Neither is published
    Thickness
    The listing gives “0.95 cm (3/8 in)” in one bullet and “1.9 cm (3/8 in)” in another; both are reproduced
    Safety stops
    Not published by the maker.
    Accessory holes
    Attaches a ball head to the Star Adventurer
    Amazon reference
    B00YWPCNJU (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    0050234205504
    • The part that makes a photographic ball head usable on a tracker
    • Made by the manufacturer of the mount
    • Two different post lengths are given for the same fitting

    Best for: Putting a photographic ball head on a Star Adventurer

    ≈ $18 / £22
    Check price on Amazon
  • Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer counterweight kit in black

    Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer counterweight kit (S20540)

    A counterweight and threaded shaft kit for the Star Adventurer, explicitly excluding the GTi version, with two mutually inconsistent weight figures.

    Mass
    The listing prints 11.3 kg
    Bore diameter
    The listing gives none
    Locking method
    Not published by the maker.
    Coating
    Not published by the maker.
    Finish
    Not published by the maker.
    Compatible mounts
    A counterweight with a threaded counterweight shaft · Star Adventurer · Star Adventurer GTi, stated by the maker
    Overall dimensions
    Not published by the maker.
    Amazon reference
    B00XX646MG (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    0050234205405
    • The shaft is included, not just the weight
    • The incompatible model is named outright, which prevents a common mistake
    • The two published weights are inconsistent with each other

    Best for: A Star Adventurer carrying a lens heavy enough to need balancing

    ≈ $40 / £44 / €55
    Check price on Amazon

Any figure written into the body of this page was true on the day it was written. The amount shown next to each instrument is requested from the retailer as the page loads, and it is that amount, not the text, that stands.