The ZWO AM5 Hyperbolic Harmonic! mount finally arrived after 5 months on backorder.  They are starting to trickle in.  I knew it was risky buying something so new and different, but my CGEM70 is getting a bit heavy for me to travel with and is more than quirky.   The AM5 is rated to carry 13kg (28 pounds) without a counterweight and 20kg (44lbs) with.  It came with a counterweight bar, so I installed it.  I’ve found that it will take Celestron CGEM weights <= 5kg.  The total weight of the mount and tripod is 8.7kg (19.2lbs).  I can arm curl it!  It is advised to put a weight in the tripod sack for added stability which I did.  Interestingly, it does not come with a power supply, but fortunately I have several for backup.   Spoiler alter – expectation exceeded!  

Night 1:  I used my 81gt at 8.6kg (19lbs).  Setup is quick.  Weirdly you do not balance.  There are no clutches on RA or DEC.  ZWO says there is no need to balance.  Polar alignment was quick using the ASIAIR which controls everything.  There is no need to star calibrate the mount as the AIR plate solves.  Guiding started out good with total RMS at 0.7, but then went crazy 10+.  I fooled around with it, but then shut down.  Very disappointing and troubling .

Night 2: After watching a ZWO setup video (as no manuals came with the mount.  That’s not unusual these days), I discovered I needed to sync the AM5 with the AIR.  This step is not need when I run the AIR with my CGEM70 or iOptron CEM70.  This night I also ran my WO102GT on my trusty CEM70 to compare guiding.  Seeing was good.  The AM5 was polar aligned, camera focused, guiding and imaging quickly.  Total RMS for the night ranged between 0.6 and 0.28!  This was the same values for my comparison rig.  I was elated 😀.  

Night 3:  Last night I thought, well the AM5 can handle the weight of my 81gt, but can it handle my 102gt at 10.6kg (23.4 pounds).  Up and running even quicker.  Total RMS for the night was between 0.7 and 0.4.  My comparison rig, CEM70 with the 81gt, total guiding was between 0.5 to 0.25.  Good seeing for my bortle 7 skies.  I was surprised again.  I figure with a small counterweight on the AM5 with the 102gt, it will perform as well.  Actually, with the 102’s focal length of 714mm and pixel size of 3.76, RMS of 0.7 is as good as I need.  

So there you have it.  My expectations were exceeded.  I’ve got to add that slewing is amazingly quick, smooth and quiet.  These hyperbolic mounts have great torque.  They are a game changer for those who travel or those of us who are getting too old to handle 35lb mounts.  I will need to buy a pier extension for the mount to avoid hitting the legs…on back order of course.

Anyone in the greater LA area want to buy a used Celestron CGEM70 that's been hyper tuned?