One Year Owning the Explore Scientific EXOS2 pmc-eight GOTO Mount.
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- Опубликовано: 13 сен 2024
- This is a quick overall opinion of the EXOS2 pmc8 mount after one year of ownership. I run through the cool features as well as some of the niggles I've experienced. One important thing I meant to include was the goto accuracy. I've never managed to setup accurate goto using the ExploreStar's 2-3 star alignment routine. I believe goto works much better with third party software via ASCOM.
EXOS2 pmc-eight mount:
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In depth look at the ExploreStars Software here: ruclips.net/video/ZMe7a3fklFU/видео.html
Hey Chris. New logo, trying to confuse me.. Again? lol..... Can't believe it's been a year since you installed the EXO, how time fly's hey? I love the little maintenance hatch for the belt, shows they put a lot of thought into the design of the mount, my kind of thing that :) And the bearings, wow, don't think I've ever seen them as smooth as that before. Looking forward to the mystery refractor :D Take care buddy.
Hi Jay, yeah sorry I fancied a change from the wine bottle logo, I'm not even a big drinker! lol I thought the partial eclipse was something a bit different :) Yeah it's a very well built mount considering the price, and the bearings are probably the most remarkable thing because as you know usually mounts have a touch of stiction. Mystery refractor coming soon! I don't think many people saw my Deep Sky Stacker tutorial last week, the algorithm really shunned it lol
@@Astrolavista I saw it, very helpful.
really tempted by this mount. thanks for the videos, would be nice to see some live imaging using this mount
Hi Andre, I'm sorry to say the mount kind of died only a few weeks after making this video, and I ended up gifting it to my local high school as a manual mount to use with their Vixen refractor. I've 'long term' borrowed an iOptron GEM45 from work at the moment. Just the luck of the drawer with mounts, and even more expensive mounts can go wrong, so nothing against the EXOS2.
@@Astrolavista oh dear i just ordered one from f.l.o so i hope it will last more than a year
@@andre-dx4yw His mount also had a motor issue, and he probably should have just sent it back in before the warranty expired. If your mount has that issue, do not hesitate.
Great Video chris!! Nice Review on the Mount!! Also Love The New Logo! Hope Your getting some Good Deep Sky images!
Hey Avanteesh, thanks so much :) I'll be testing out a new refractor shortly so watch this space .
Hey Chris! - Interesting to hear your views after a year of ownership mate! my ears pricked up when you started talking about buying a big mount and your on-loan mystery refractor I must admit, can't wait to see what you'll show us! :-D
All the best,
Luke
Hi Luke, thanks, it's an interesting mount and I might have a go at getting NINA to work with it before I move it on as the mystery refractor is lighter than the 200p, so it should play nice with the EXOS2 other than the Goto accuracy. I was annoyed at myself for forgetting to talk about the goto accuracy with the default software, and that's what I get for quickly throwing a video together rather than planning it out. Thanks for watching and the mystery refractor will be making an appearance soon in a very over the top way :D
Where can I find the ASCOM driver or do you don’t use one?
I had considered this mount, but as others have stated, it is rarely in stock. I'm looking forward to the next video since I love refractors. I wonder if it is the one I have my eye on as being my next purchase from FLO. The next time I'm in the UK, I'll have to buy you a beer instead of a coffee.
Hey Kevin :) I have a real soft spot for refractors also. Before the imaging bug hit hard I had a real thing for classic long focus achromats, and I still do thinking about it. I remember starting a refractor thread on Stargazers Lounge a few years back and we are certainly not alone in our appreciation considering how long the thread ran for. 124 pages and counting! stargazerslounge.com/topic/245216-show-us-your-frac/
I'm now also wondering if the refractor I have is the one you've got your eye on? I look forward to finding out the answer to that one. If you're ever over here I'll buy you several beers :) I take it you've been to the UK before?
Sorry to read about your mount dying Chris,,I've also had mine a year & totally love it. It seems to easily handle my 6inch refractor which with guide scope & cameras & batteries is bang on the limit , maybe just over. Good look with your new one.
Thanks Jason :) I don't think mine was a very good example by the sounds of it, but I'm glad others such as yourself have had more success :) The GEM45 I've borrowed seems promising after the dabbling I've done so far, fingers crossed :)
Hi Jason, I have skywatcher 120mm this mount would work ? Thanks
@@juancarlosdelasotta6375 Yea,,my whole set up was just short of 25 lb ,,just on the limit for astrophotography,,so if yours is lighter than that. No worries 👍
@@spaceinyourface thanks
Nice review Chris & a nice mount too looking forward to what more goodies you'll review 😃
Thanks 👍 more coming soon.
You can install very easily a terrans onstep kit for less than 200 euros to that mount and It works much better than the pcm-eight.
Winter time observation with a tablet is a pain. You get lots of dew on your screen and the cold sometimes effects the battery.
I always had trouble with the native app's goto function, so much so that the mount sat unused for almost a year. It wasn't until I got it set up using KStars/Ekos that it was usable. With that set up, not many complaints on the hardware end.
Now you might take my words against the software as a strike against it, but this mount is made with the open source community in mind, and they have help this product mature. Would I have recommended this mount 3 years ago...probably not, but now...yes.
Why does the latitude base decorative black and orange cover have the Celestron symbol?
The Celestron Symbol is less stripy and more circular but I guess it does look similar.
Hey Astro my exos 2 turned up yesterday and after spending most part of the day to get it communicating it has a knackered RA motor, i mean its graunchy and nasty, didnt even last a day!!!!!! at least you got a year from yours. i will get on to first light optics as soon as they are open, and i may even put up a video, cant believe it
Sorry to here that Andre. it's very frustrating when that happens. it's very hit and miss with all brands of mounts in the sub 1k category I've found which is why mounts are always something I buy new for the warranty. FLO will arrange to collect the mount and will either replace it or refund you. Technically I could have sent my EXOS2 back as it was under a 2 year warranty but FLO have done so many good things for me over the years including giving me a job I thought I would give them a break.
Woukd you recommend this for someone with no experience, looking to get I to astrophotography? Currently own nothing but a DSLR camera.
There are better options out their in this price bracket I feel. The tracking broke shortly after this video was made and I donated it to be used as a manual mount to a local school. I had Sky-Watcher mounts before this and preferred them in hindsight but it was worth trying something new just in case: www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/ref/astrolavista/
I bought the Scopetech 80 mm f/15 refractor from First Light. an
instant classic. I hope that's what they loan you
It's not, but I do have a soft spot for long focus refractors :)
Imaging load capacity is higher than the HEQ5 Pro, considerably so.
Also note that the latest software allows simultaneous connection via both WiFi and serial cable
Hi Terry, Yes on paper the imaging payload is 1.7kg more than the HEQ5 (11kg verses 12.7kg), although I can only talk of my experience with both mounts. I wish the EXOS2 didn't grumble as much when my 9kg 200p is fractionally out of balance. I initially thought this could be down to QC, but then I read other people reporting the ratcheting sound: explorescientificusa.com/pages/what-is-that-noisy-ratchet-sound-i-hear-from-my-mount-why-wont-my-mount-move. Maybe if I feed the mount more Amps it might help? I just know this never happened with the HEQ5 or my AVX. Don't get me wrong though as you can probably tell from the video I've been happy with the mount and feel it's a lot of mount for the money. I may keep with the EXOS2 for a little while and see how it goes with the refractor FLO have kindly loaned me. p.s. good to hear about the direct cable update, Jerry from ES does seem to be re active to any problems that arise, he seems like a good guy : )
@@Astrolavista My mount doesn't grumble with my 200pds and all the guiding gear plus laser for alignment and dslr
@@terrybrooks395 Are you saying there could be something wrong with my mount after all ? Are you using the supplied 12v 2A power supply like I am, or a different supply. I'm wondering if the motors struggling could be lack of Amps?
Nice Chris never seen this mount.
I'm not sure you have these in Oz, just checked Bintel and can't see them there.
nice vid thx! would you suggest buying lately?
Hi, the mount died about a month after this review so my experience wasn't quite as rosy in the end. I'd probably opt for a sky-watcher in this price bracket in hindsight.
Hi there, great review! This partly convinced me to snatch it on a black friday deal. Did the package include the batteries?
Thank you! It comes with a battery pack and a mains adapter but no batteries are included, these need to be bought separately.
Hey Chris. You are my guide since I own an exos2-gt myself and there are no videos about the mount in detail. Do you think you will be able to create a tutorial on how to polar align this mount. Please. I am so confused reading the manual and also no clarity in the explore scientific groups either.
Good news and bad news. Bad news first. My EXOS2 died last week :( Despite a couple of nights trying to get it to work it just refused to track. I've since gifted the mount to my local high schools science club, and they are going to use it manually with a Vixen refractor to show the kids the planets and the Moon. I've borrowed an iOptron mount in the meantime whilst I save for a new mount. Good news. I can talk you through polar aligning :) There is a free app called polar finder, down load that and it will show you where the star Polaris is on it's orbit. Use the adjustment on the mount to point the polar scope towards Polaris, then simply match the view on the app with the view through the polarscope. You'll see a circle on both the app and through the polar scope, so just match the dot on the app with the star through the polar scope. Job done :)
@@Astrolavista awesome. Thank you Chris. Sorry to hear your mount died. That is strange. Did you talk to Explore Scientific ? I will give your instructions a try and keep you posted. We have a lot of cloudy nights, so it will be a while.
Great review! Amazed by the bearings for balancing! How is it for tracking ? Does it respond well with guiding ?
Thanks Ed, I've owned quite a few mounts now but the bearings on the EXOS2 are on another level. For the DSO imaging side of things I've only live stacked and lucky imaged with this mount so far, although I'm going to try and get NINA and PHD2 going for longer exposures before I decide fully whether I'm keeping it. Unguided we're talking 60-90 seconds @ 1000mm with a crop sensor with a keep rate of 2/3rds.
Have you changed anything on it? Regrease or change bearings etc?
Very cool. I'm still after an exos2 myself.
Hey Steve, thanks. I understand mounts are hard to come by at the moment with the chip shortage.
@@Astrolavista it's just outside my budget at the moment. Won't be long though.
I am about to make a decission about purchasing one of them, soooo would you recomend it? Or better to spend a few £££s more and get HEQ5 Pro?
Hello again Andy :) In some ways the EXOS2 is better i.e. it has really nice bearings and the belt drives make it a lot quieter than the standard HEQ5 (Yes HEQ5, I'm talking about the coffee grinding noise when you start and stop slewing), plus it's obviously £200 less than the HEQ5. However the HEQ5 is so tried and tested that there are probably instructions on how to sort out any possible issue that could ever arise out there for it lol It's not an easy decision to be honest. There is something comforting about the HEQ5 but the EXOS2 is very good value for money for it's spec.
Hey Chris great year review and interesting what you say! The price looks to be great and WiFi too.
A new refractor from first light optics so I wonder what refractor. It's always good to get new gear and testing it.
I was camping and got 100x zoom image of full moon with Samsung s21 ultra and wow it turned out wonderful. Impressed with this image from a phone. I'll let you know when I'll upload shot on my channel so you can see it.
Thanks for this honest review buddy and stay safe plus clear skies!!!
Thanks John, You'll see which refractor it is soon :) I look forward to seeing your phone pic, is it on Insta? I didn't know you had a Samsung? I have the S20 FE.
@@Astrolavista Hey Chris I've just bought the Huawei p40 smartphone and soon I'm getting the Huawei p40pro. Not on Instagram yet but soon I'll get it. Aye I've got the Samsung s21 ultra and it's very good for astrophotography and 100x zoom on camera. Moon shot looks great I took when I was in Glencoe camping.
You ever thought of trying smartphone astrophotography? Huawei p40pro is fantastic for it and star trails too.
Remember astrobiscuit did video on smartphone and binocular astrophotography and got great images of M31 and M42 and he used deep sky stacker! He knew he could get great images and he did.
Stay safe buddy!
@@Astrolavista hi Chris hope your well and safe. I've uploaded video with moon shot I got when camping recently. I sent message few days ago and I know you've been busy. It's my best moon shot with a smartphone and deep sky hunter saw image. Did you see the aurora last week? I photographed it and it was so nice to see even tho light pollution is here. Hope you got image from new refractor and clear skies buddy!
Would you recommend this to someone with zero experience and only a DSLR who wants to get into astrophotography?
@@PantherSpawn I went for skywatcher 72ed ds refractor and I bought skywatcher 50ed guidescope for astrophotography and little guidescope 50ed is tiny and yet so good. Little guidescope can attach to star tracker. Star tracker and guidescope are so portable. You can take both camping in dark location. The guidescope you can attach your dslr and photograph deep sky objects. I wanted a setup that's portable in backpack and that's very good quality. 👍
The mount makes a really good impression in this video with that illuminated polar scope and the smooth bearings.
One big question remains though: How accurate is the guiding? Looking forward to see what you get.
Hi, you know how life is full of surprises, well erm my EXOS2 mount died literally less than a couple of weeks after making this video! :( I've just given it to my local high school science club so they can use it as a manual mount for a Vixen refractor to show the kids the Moon, planets and Sun spots etc, so at least some good came from the whole disaster! Work has kindly loaned me an iOptron GEM45 mount which I'm just getting up and running.
@@Astrolavista oh wow, thats a real bummer. But really great move on your side handing it to a school!
Surely the GEM45 is big step up. (It should be with 3x the price)
Oops, re posted to @Koeber123 question
@Koeber123 Ive had one for about a year and a half and it's still working fine, but has/had some quirks - one I've never dealt with yet is a lot of slop/backlash in the DEC but the RA is very tight .. I'm really pushing it with C8 SCT at 2030mm focal length and a M 4/3 sensor which is half the size of full frame so it has an effect of making everything appear TWICE as big and I have a noticeable RA periodic error that cycles very precisely every 2 minutes i.e. at the start of the "cycle" a perfectly centered star is at center (of cross hair reticle in my capturing app), at one minute it has moved about 10 pixels to the right and at 2 minutes it's moved back to about where it started.
ruclips.net/video/IeXGX7t4aME/видео.html
So if I'm shooting15 second frames about 60% will be usable, if I try to go beyond 30 seconds most are unusable ALTHOUGH with a wide-field refractor it may not be a problem at all. I've never done the "software upgrade" and maybe that will help also but I suspect it is a limitation of the granularity of speed control of steppers motor and of course the more poles it has and other possibilities it could be better but then it would cost more money... I think it's a good value overall. Here's samples of work I've done with it at CN www.cloudynights.com/gallery/album/18788-mc-ds10c-osc-camera-c8/
Hi Chris, thanks for the update, looks like the mount has worked well, it really seems to have everything both internally and externally (apart from dodgy goto!). It looked like you have the turn the locks anti-clocwise in order to lock the axes - is that true or just a trick of the video? :)
Hi Rob, it's a good mount for the money but not as plug and play as some mounts because I feel you really need to make use of third party software to get the Goto working as it should. I think my phone was flipping things round because it's clockwise to lock the clutches. Thanks for watching :)
What is the mounting rail variety on this mount? I’m trying to figure out what tube would fit it.
Hi Chris, it's a standard Vixen fitting only. I know some mounts have the dual Losmandy/Vixen fitting but you will need a telescope with a Vixen rail for the EXOS2.
GOOD VIDEO... love the shed
Thanks Shaun, I'm happy with how it turned out and it's made from mainly recycled materials.
Excellent video. I am planning to upgrade to a go-to mount from my star adventurer. I want to mount short refractors/lenses as well as my Celestron C8. I am considering a few options like Celestron AVX, The Exos 2 PMC8 or the HEQ5pro ( More expensive). Do you think mount performs better than an AVX for guided tracking ?
Thanks Davesh. I think if you get a good example the EXOS2 would give better guiding results than the AVX. I used to own an AVX and it's a nice looking mount with a decent payload, but it uses a reduction gearbox that can create backlash and oscillation. Also it uses servo motors rather than stepper motors and doesn't have much in the way of axis bearings. It did have a charm about it, but I think it's better for lucky imaging and EAA rather than long exposure DSO imaging. The EXOS2 has very free bearings for accurate balance and belt drives for reduced backlash so I'm fairly certain side by side it would out perform the AVX. The GOTO however was much much more accurate on the AVX, it's useless trying to use the ExploreStars for accurate goto's, but I believe third party software is better, and it does support ASCOM for other software. My EXOS2 actually died just weeks after this video and I gave it to my local school as a manual mount. I'm now using an iOptron GEM45 which is incredible, so little periodic error that I don't really need to guide, however it's expensive. Thanks for watching!
@@Astrolavista Thank you for your response. I ended up purchasing this mount. I wanted to buy an HEQ5 but it is expensive and almost always out of stock. Based on your other comments, I knew go-to capability would be a problem. I have an ASI air and hope I can couple the two together for better accuracy. I don't think I am going to get into the explore stars app. How was your imaging accuracy with the big Newtonian on the Exos 2? I have a C8 which is 11 pound (OTA only). Complete setup might be 15 pounds give or take. Do u think this mount will handle it well at 2000 mm f10?
Thanks a lot!
@@Astrolavista would you still recommend the mount after yours died?
Good afternoon, this may be a bit off topic but what is your pier made out of and what parts do I need to make a likewise pier?
Hey, sorry I've only just spotted your comment. I made a video all about the pier here: ruclips.net/video/ND_4DRxUvCc/видео.html
@@Astrolavista How is it being held down to the aluminum plate?
@@Astrolavista Also thank you for the video.
Also do you have any indication of what caused it to die, and did Explore Scientific have any sort of warranty?
Hi Aaron, I had two years warranty through First Light Optics, but I work for them so it felt a bit weird sending it back to us so I just gave it away to the local school for their after school science club. They are using it manually with a refractor to show kids the planets and Moon etc. Not sure why it died but I know others have had better luck :)
@@Astrolavista What "died"..? Does it not power on at all?
Would this mount be easy to travel with? Something like a grab and go?
It's too heavy for grab n go I would say, maybe look at the Ioptron CEM26 or GEM28 when it comes to portability.
@@Astrolavista Do you think that the iExos-100 would support a Nikon d750 and an 80mm scope?
Your 200p does have 8,8 kg. You said that the mount is sufficient up to 7kg for Astrophotography. Does it work for Astrophotography?
It completely broke a couple of years ago and I gave it away to a local school as a manual mount
@@Astrolavistawould you recommend it for a 200p or which mount would you choose instead?
I know you said you had trouble with the go-to and could never get it to work.
Do you think that was a problem with the software? Have you seen others report this problem?
I just bought this mount and am expecting next week, but I hope I didn't buy a lemon.
Yeah others have mentioned the Explorestars goto accuracy but it's just the software and the EXOS2 is fully ASCOM compliant so you can use third party software which is supposed to work just fine. It's a lot of mount for £769, barely more money than an EQM35 but larger payload and belt driven. In the sub 2-3k price bracket QA can be hit and miss with any brand of mount, I think I was just towards the unlucky end with this mount. I had a two year warranty through FLO but decided just to give the mount to my local high school so they can use it as a manual mount to show the kids the planets with their Vixen refractor. Others have been happy with the EXOS2, especially for the price so I would see how it goes :) I work for FLO so they loaned me a GEM45 which is a 2k+ mount. It's astonishingly good in every respect, super accurate goto, quiet, and very low periodic error to the point that I was taking 10 minute exposures unguided the other night. It was a real lesson in getting what you pay for but not many of use can afford such a mount.
Thanks for the reply. I'm hoping mine does good. I'll have to look into the other software options.
Hi Aaron, im also very interested in this mount. Did you already had the chance to test it?
LOL I bought mine a year ago and barely got it. thanks!
Hi , How you shut off the PMC? I just bought this mount and I don’t see on off button, it have a reset bottom only . Thanks
Hi Juan, there is no ON/OFF button on the PMC8, when I owned this mount I just unplugged it.
@@Astrolavista ok , thanks for replay.
Hi this is rocky. I buy pmc 8 same your kind but I have problems when I target find click in go to app they going different side. So can you make videos with details with plug-in and mount balanced please and thank
Hi Rocky, the ExploreStars software isn't accurate enough for gotos, I've never managed accurate goto's with it either (I have a full Explore Stars tutorial in the pinned link above). You need to look at third party software like plate solving with NINA to find targets, this is what I'm trying next. As I plan to sell the mount at some point I'm not sure how many more videos I'll be making about this mount. I have a list of other videos people want me to make so I can't promise anything I'm afraid, sorry.
How much is the payload capacity
12kg (28lbs) for imaging according to Explore Scientific.
Sorry to be off topic but what size are your glasses
I'm happy do measure them for you, which dimensions do you want?
***cough cough Stellamira 90mm ED cough cough***
Shush you 😆😉