iOptron HAZ31 Alt-Az Strain Wave Mount

Telescopes Canada had the best price for this, and delivery was fast and efficient. I love this thing. The HAZ31 is very compact, solid and precision made. It comes in a nice foamed transport case. The manual is only available online, and it is inadequate. But I subtracted a rating star not for the documentation but because the 'Level and Go' marketing claim, for mine at least, was false. Still, the mount works splendidly, although buyers should know about the following quirks, which I report here because I am the servant of Truth. These issues may or may not affect any other example of the HAZ31.

First, the bubble level on mine was useless. No matter how it was adjusted, when the bubble was centered in one orientation, slewing the mount made it vary wildly. The solution was to remove it and cast it far away into outer darkness, which left a nice flat spot on top of the mount to rest a phone with a properly calibrated level app to use instead.

Second, my mount auto-aligned itself way off by about 45 degrees in azimuth, and the reason is most likely that its magnetometer compass is not shielded from the drive motors. If you bring a real compass close to the mount while it's on, that too shows a wrong reading by the same amount. Without a proper compass reading the automatic alignment software is unable to do its mojo. I suspect iOptron knows about this because their manual says 'if the Alignment Wizard produces poor results, do this instead...' and then describes the alternate procedure.

Which turns out to be faster and better. Use a hand compass or phone app, clear of the mount, to align the saddle plate to the West. Then raise the OTA to vertical with the scope capped and place your level on the cap to verify it's pointed straight up. You then set this position as the zero point using the hand control, pick an alignment star, use Select and Slew followed by Sync To Target, and Bob's yer uncle.

The third issue pertains to use of the Wi-Fi with Sky Safari V7. That software's instructions say to use the Sky Safari preset for iOptron's earlier Alt-Az mount, the Az Mount Pro. In my case this did not work, despite being the given procedure. The effective procedure is to complete a star alignment first with the hand control, then try the other iOptron presets in SS7 if the AZMP preset does not produce a connection. I found the iOptron CEM-120 preset worked for me. You may need to find an alternate preset as well.

My minor cavils, however, are all easily bypassed with phone apps and using the HAZ31 turns out to be a real treat. It's chunky for its size but lightweight considering it can bench 31 pounds. You can freely switch between either the hand control or your Wi-Fi control, once you set it up, at any time during a session -- handy for finding a target, then using the slow-mo arrows on the HC to prowl around.

I also like this mount because it's quiet. My previous mount, a Celestron Evolution, made a funny noise. It sounded like, 'KNOCK IT OFF OUT THERE! DECENT PEOPLE ARE TRYNA SLEEP! S'WRONG WITCHOO?' The HAZ31 doesn't make that sound. Just a thin whine as it slews, and then a barely audible ticking-over as it tracks.

So: Is this thing worth working through its little issues to use it without the Alignment Wizard? Yes. Is it worth three grand? Yes.

Kudoes to Telescopes Canada for their customer service, which helped guide me as I worked the hardware problem. You sure don't want to buy something like this from someone who doesn't have your back. Also a shout-out to Simulation Curriculum Corp., writers of Sky Safari, for their help re SS7.

David Silburt, Brampton, ON
davidsilburt.com