StellarDrive AVX-RZ

£549.00

£499.00 inc. tax

£415.83 ex. tax

? Tax based on United Kingdom.

Unleash the performance of your Celestron AVX by upgrading to our improved StellarDrive AVX-RZ. Customer Feedback is sub-arcsecond imaging, and 15-20min subs with ease and capable of more!

Call or email Dave for more details - 02392 570283 / dave@darkframe.co.uk

Please either pay via the website or when you arrive if you're dropping it off to us.

To use our Easy 2 Way option for £39.00 (we collect and return your mount) or our Easy 3 Way Option for just £39.00 (UK only) (We send you the box and packaging, collect the mount and return it to you when completed).Please choose your preferred option at the end of the checkout process.

We are proud to announce that we offer a 2 year limited warranty on all StellarTuned Celestron EQ and AZ Mounts, re-engineered to our enhanced Bonneville Build Type.

Celestron Equatorial mounts by nature are precision made products. However, due to mass production and to keep the prices lower, they are often not fettled to the best of their ability due to the variances in each mount. Various improvements can be made to transform the performance of your mount from what is a median production, build this will save you the need to upgrade to a more expensive mount, providing you are happy with the payload you have.

We have redeveloped a faster and more accurate way to tune the mounts with consistent results with the new AXX-RZ. The GOTO with a 4+2 Calibration after tuning is amazing. We have been testing CG5-GT's ,AVXs and CGem's as well as a CGE-Pro/II, to shakedown all the issues with these mounts over the past few years, in an effort to replicate the performance envelope we have with the Sky-Watcher's. The AVX-RZ improves on our AVX-R, with further advances made regarding the sleeve gear-rings. The stiction is less than before which makes telescope balancing far easier, and more precise.

The Celestron mounts generically suffer from drivetrain harmonics which affects its periodic error which is well documented. I have largely been able to reduce this by reworking the reduction gearboxes, and reprocessing some of the internal components to eliminate internal stiction. It's a different architecture to the Sky-watcher's which we have had so much success with, and I'm now focusing my energies in doing the same with the Celestron EQ Mounts. There is a lot more engineering work needed with all the Celestron EQ mounts, and this makes them more labour intensive (but have to say more interesting) as the way the drivetrain works makes it harder to get a desirable PE profile for guided or unguided work. That said, it is possible to go up to 45min exposures with the use of QHY Polemaster.

EQ mounts are subject to being outside and often working in the damp, so renewing the grease is often a first port of call, using a better type of grease more suited to our climate can help reduce friction. This means the motors can drive the mount a lot more accurately both unguided and guided compared to a stock mount. We service the gearboxes from what we have developed with our Ambient tuning techniques, and in doing so make them run quieter and smoother.

Also, with much more care in adjusting the worm-gears and motor drive train, they can often be made to run smoother and quieter throughout, which also benefits better tracking and periodic error reduction.

Check out how your mount compares in our performance charts.

Our tuning methodology provides a more detailed approach, using higher performance lubricants that help the mount perform better, which have been tested extensively over several years.
We also clean up the castings and can upgrade the worm-gear bearings for a better drive response.

As part of all our builds, we also load test the mount and take soundform™ profiles, as well as stripdown/rebuild photos and video as part of our tune-up record.

What difference does your Tuning make?

Our tuned EQ mounts become nearly twice a responsive responsive to guiding due to a lack of stiction in the mount, requiring less quide command input. Our unparalleled experience in EQ mount tuning comes from a scientific approach to development over the past three years. It's not black magic or just a bit of grease! It is engineered to be better, with data to prove the difference. The new Celestron CG-X moves the game on but is an expensive option to upgrade to and presents its own challenges. That's why tuning an AVX makes economic sense for many owners.

We have independent customer/owner supplied PHD data and images that demonstrate these facts across a broad spectrum of EQ mounts on a variety of payloads and real world data. So, if you're happy with the payload you currently have, we can improve the mount you already have and save you hundreds, if not thousands of pounds in buying a new more expensive mount upgrade. More importantly, you save more images and time! Please check out how your mount currently compares in our performance charts, especially if you're thinking of a more expensive move upwards.

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PEC Data of NEQ6 to Build Type 6.3.2 (Bonneville).

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What's the lifespan of your tuning/servicing?

EQ mounts need checking seasonally depending on use, but most mounts we service are usually 3 years old or more. By 5+ years every mount we have come across has amassed considerable backlash and other issues associated with age, such as greases drying out or becoming contaminated, so losing their lubrication and dampening qualities. With the work we do, your mount should be fine for three years or more, and we warranty them for two. New tuned mounts should be fine for 5 years. The condition of our 2 year old Reference Mounts support this timescale after a recent Build Type upgrade to v6.3.xC (Bonneville).

When can I have my mount back?

Our builds are meticulous. If it doesn't pass our test routines, it's doesn't ship until it does. We tend to get busy from the Spring onwards, and we limit our production to keep build quality high, so booking in advance is advised. Typically, turnaround is 4-5 weeks if there are no issues with your mount. We offer an easy two way courier service for £29 or our three way collection and delivery service for £39 UK only. We send you a reinforced box, collect your packed mount and deliver back your smoother, better performing EQ mount.

Celestron AVX-RZ (2021) Tuning Notes:

The AVX (Advanced GT) is a successor to the popular CG5-GT. An AVX mount typically runs at 20-30 arcsecs from new unguided in independent tests but has often found to be much higher. The AVX-RZ improves on the AVX-R, based on a recent job for an owner called Petter Razzell, who we named the RZ after. He ordered a StellarDrive 6R, and wanted his AVX to mimic his new StellarDrive. So we redeveloped a better way of getting the sleeve bearings to work with the same fluidity as the 6R with the clutches off.

Our new gearbox treatment, makes the mount track much smoother rand slightly quieter than before.

Product Code: AVXRZ-stelladrive

Brand: DarkFrame Tuning

Product Condition: New

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