Sky-Watcher Wave 100i mount and tripod

Want a whisper-quiet, lightweight and effortless mount? This could tempt you

- TIM JARDINE

The Sky-Watcher Wave series of telescope mounts is designed with harmonic drive motors, a significant upgrade from traditional worm-gear mounts.

Our review model, the Wave 100i, is the smaller of two mounts available and includes the optional carbon-fibre tripod. For convenience, we also received the optional tripod extension tube.

The Wave 100i is designed for easy portable astronomy and, as luck would have it, the perfect opportunity to test it arose soon after it arrived.

A local family mentioned how excited they were by media reports of the 2025 planetary alignment due later that evening. We had a 30-minute window to set up the unfamiliar equipment to survey the skies, so there was a little pressure as we didn't want to disappoint the fledgling astronomers.

Thankfully, the Wave 100i's simple design, clear instructions and fast set-up time enabled us to provide the enthusiastic family with their first-ever views of Venus, Jupiter and Saturn. We were impressed by the efficient assembly and capability of the Wave 100i straight out of the box, especially as time spent setting up equipment during rare clear skies is time that could be better spent at the eyepiece or camera.

Time to get Messier

Our next sessions were more formal, with the clear goals of testing the mount in both altaz and equatorial mode, which would include alignment routines, tracking accuracy and performance when linked to a guiding camera. With the mount configured for altaz viewing, we turned it on, noting with approval that the power button is the flat or recessed type, so unlikely to be accidentally activated. There's a cigar-socket-type cable supplied to power the mount, but you'll need your own 12V DC supply with at least 2A capacity.