The Skytee-2 is a robust alt-azimuth mount with two Skywatcher/Vixen type dovetail saddles enabling two telescopes to be mounted together.
Precise manual slow motion controls are provided on both axes. A counterweight bar is also included that accepts Sky-Watcher counterweights.
Available with or without Sky-Watcher 1.75" stainless steel tripod (the same tripod supplied with EQ5 and HEQ5 Equatorial mounts).
Average Rating (19 Reviews): | |
08 December 2024 | Tony
I got this mount so i could use my 6" f5.9 widefield view refractor with it. The Skytee2 easily holds the scope without issue. But as with others, I purchase a better saddle, as the ones that come with the mount are small, while they still holds my scope, I feel a larger saddle is more reassuring.
I love this mount as a grab and go set up. No mucking around with leveing the mount, i just plonk it down in the garden and attach the scope and I am ready.
My Skytee 2 came with a 2.5kg Counter weight.
SkyTee-2 Alt-Azimuth Mount - One Word... Wow! 15 December 2023 | Carl
Before I write this review I'll say I'm not an experienced Astronomer (more intermediate if there's such a term to use).
I've been looking to upgrade some of my equipment and was doing a lot of research on mounts to use, I've had a few in the past (Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer, Explore Scientific EXOS_PMC-Eight) which were all very good for the type of applications they were designed for but I wanted something very basic that I can setup quickly and was sturdier enough to handle fairly heavy OTA.
I stumbled across the Sky-Tee 2 and after comparing it to similar ones this one ticked more boxes than the other makes.
First of all it can handle more payload according to the specs 2x 15kg OTA's on either side and although in my current setup my heaviest was 5kgs Celestron C8 this was the best option, FLO only had the mount only option in stock so I purchased Sky-Watcher 1.75" EQ5/HEQ5 tripod to go with it.
Both arrived well packaged and the service from FLO was again first class and beyond they'd even put instructions which I'd asked for to ensure the 2 parcels were handed to the recipient at the address and not left outside.
The mount is quite large compared to what I've used in the past and fitted perfectly onto the EQ5/HEQ5 but I had to take time screwing in the locking bolt which also supports the accessory tray from the tripod gradually as it was a tight fit, this wasn't a manufacturing fault it's just that there was some paint inside the mount thread hole so it was just a case of turning the bolt a few turns (careful not to cross thread) then backing it out again.
Once I reached the required depth it went together very nicely with no play and the whole thing put together is very sturdy and weights quite a bit but not too much that you can't move it into place of view prior to adding counterweights and OTA.
It came boxed with only one 1.8kg approx counterweight so I'd previously ordered additional weights so that I can balance everything as best I can, I say this because unlike German Equatorial Mounts this isn't as straight forward there was no instructions but once I'd assembled everything indoors I turned the mount so that the OTA on the end and the counterweights were parallel above two of the legs. Then using a set of weighing scales I put under the leg with the scope above and made a note of the reading, then moved the scales over to the other leg that had the counterweight above and adjusted the weights until I reached almost the exact reading.
I'm not sure if that's a correct way and/or if there's an easier method but once done the azimuth motion seemed really well balanced and I'm able to move it in left/right directions with ease/one finger.
There have been other people mentioning they found the motion a bit stiff but the lubricant used is meant to provide dampening as well plus in the cold weather may be a bit thicker I'm not sure but overall the build quality is excellent.
I'm really happy with this mount as being fully manual I can focus my attention on learning the night sky and getting more familiar with the operating the mount than letting GOTO or computerised mounts do the work for me, those will come in time maybe.
Big Shout Out to First Light Optics for their help and support I'm really grateful for their service.
Merry Christmas and Clear Skies,
Carl
07 October 2023 | Krishna
Received the item in excellent condition with very good packaging. The delivery was also very quick with good tracking of the shipment. I have paired this with my 2 inch tripod and GSO 6 inch f5 Newtonian. The mount is very stable and its a joy to use as now I can observe being seated while using the slow motion controls. I got an additional counter weight shaft fabricated so that I can now balance on both axis which is needed when observing near the zenith with the Newtonian as the focuser is offset from the two axes. Also I feel it is better to always balance the scope on all the axes of the mounts lest some clutch gets loosened by mistake. Upon receiving the mount, I had to rotate it on the axis multiple times (~40) to smoothen the grease and the movements. Now the axis are very smooth and also have little damping which is wonderful resulting in precise movements. One point I noticed is that the azimuth clutch touches one of the azimuth slow motion control knobs and azimuth rotation is stopped at that point and we have to reverse the rotation direction. Little more clearance in the design would have helped. Thanks to FLO for the wonderful product and overall purchase experience.
20 May 2023 | Mazin
Excellent
SkyTee-2 Alt-azimuth mount 06 April 2023 | Julie
Great piece of kit, works well
Strong, flexible, steady as a rock and quite heavy! 20 March 2023 | Richard
So I understand that products accompanied by relatively low costs, come with a caveat of potentially somewhat sketchy quality control. My first Skytee-2 was delivered missing a pin that allows the included weight to be locked in place and with one of the three M4 bolts used to secure the main saddle puck being stripped. Luckily and as usual FLO were amazing in getting this replaced for me and the second mount is perfect.
So onto the review.. It literally has zero vibration meaning its a joy to use for visual astronomy. The slo-mo controls work well and move the mount without creating any 'judder'. I have the mount setup with my 4.5kg Starfield ED102 on the main saddle, with my Nikon P1000 on the other end, mounted on a L bracket. I'm actually using the camera as a very expensive finder and for lunar photography and the scope for visual stuff. If seeing ever improved it would be an amazing setup. (good old UK skies)
One slight caveat, its relatively heavy, so potentially not ideal as a quick grab n go option. if you are looking for a light weight AZ option for grab n go stuff, I highly recommend the Skywatcher AZ4. That's purely a personal thing, but something to be aware of.
20 May 2022 | Peter
Having never seen one in the flesh, I was pleasantly surprised by the size and solidity of the Skytee 2, much bigger than anticipated. What mount though, absolutely rock solid and no quivering like a jelly that my poor old Celestron DX exhibited! Seems well put together and, after fiddling around and finding what level / knob does what I am finding its pleasure to use. I was going to later get the remote brands for the slow mo controls but I'm finding that I like the directness of the actual control knobs and they fall quite easily to hand. When ordering, I didn't look at the specs closely enough to see that it came with one counterweight and ordered the Sky watcher weights thinking I'd need them, oh well! I gave it 4 stars as my example came with some paint gouges in the top surface of the RH puck, now covered with the mounting bracket. Impeccable FLO service as usual.
27 April 2022 | Peter
I’m going to comment on two things.
First the SkyTee 2 mount has to be one of the best values in heavy duty telescope mounts. It’s rock solid. It allows you to mount two telescopes at the same time. The controls are smooth and I especially like that on one side you can mount your scope with the vixen dovetail underneath rather than sideways.
Second, FLO has become one of my favorite online stores for astronomy equipment, even though I live in the US. They often have stock when other stores don’t. They ship things promptly. Above all, the customer service is excellent as I found out when I had a problem with an item I had bought.
Sturdy and serious piece of kit 23 November 2021 | Laurence
Tried the AZ5 manual mount first on a camera tripod. Didn’t like it much. Flimsy. Unstable. This SkyTee is vastly superior. It’s really solid. It also fits my 10 year old skywatcher tripod and has Takahashi 35mm m8 holes on a circular mounting plate! Ace!
There is some play in the horizontal rotation, but I’m sure it can eradicated.
Great manual mount!
Does what it says on the tin. 17 June 2021 | Robert
Really pleased with this mount, yes it's just a basic no nonsense mount, I bought both tripod and mount kit, light enough to move around and handles my Explorer 150 PDs with ease.
Read all 19 customer reviews...
Q1. Is the SkyTee-2 mount manufactured by Sky-Watcher?
We are often asked this.
The SkyTee-2 is imported and made available by Sky-Watcher's UK distributor, but it is not manufactured by Sky-Watcher.
However, if you choose the 'Mount with tripod' option, you will find the tripod is a Sky-Watcher product.
Q2. Is the SkyTee-2 same as the StellaLyra Dual Alt-Az Mount?
Both mounts are sourced from the same factory. The only noticeable difference is the StellaLyra version includes two 2 lb counterweights.