How well does the JUWEI-14 guide?

In my seven-mount showdown it averaged 0.98 arcsec total RMS over four targets (1.37 Andromeda, 0.91 Heart, 0.88 North America, 0.77 Veil), fifth of eight rows.

What does the laser button do?

A clear distinction to make is that the laser isn't constantly activated when the power is on. You have the control yourself to turn it on or off. The button sits on the side of the head opposite the ports.

Does the JUWEI-14 work with the ASIAIR and NINA?

It uses a USB-C port for the actual data connection. I mostly use it with my ASIAIR, but it works for everything, it works with NINA, uses OnStep software, and the guiding results of it have been very impressive. OnStep is the firmware it shares with the JUWEI-17 and the EM31 Pro.

What tripod does the JUWEI-14 fit?

I use it quite often on the carbon fibre tripod that came with my Seestar S50. I think it is the ZWO TC20, but literally I just plonk it on there, it screws in perfectly into the tripod. The base takes a 3/8 inch thread and the AM5's three-hole fixing.

JUWEI-14 or JUWEI-17?

If you're talking about pound for pound, the JUWEI-17 will probably be a better investment, but the amount of times I've taken the JUWEI-14s with me to go travelling and used it as my astrophotography mount is insane. The JUWEI-17 is rated 13 kg without a counterweight and 18 kg with, from a 5.15 kg head.

Which telescopes have you put on the JUWEI-14?

The Starfield 115 with a 1x flattener and the ASI533 in my review; the Askar 60F with ZWO mono cameras for my narrowband set; the Celestron C5 with the ASI533MC Pro; the Askar 91F with the ASI2600MM; and the ToupTek Hope D60 with the ASI585MC Air and the ASI4400MC.

JUWEI-14 review: pound-for-pound the best telescope mount

Where does it rank on our leaderboard

Nine of the 18 mounts on my board, against price
Rank	Mount	Stars for Your Buck	Recorded UK price
1	TeSeek NanoTracker	100 out of 100	£52
2	ClearSky ST25	94 out of 100	£1,259
4	MLAstro SAL-33	91 out of 100	£937
5	JUWEI-14	89 out of 100	£632
8	ZWO AM5N	71 out of 100	£2,099
11	ClearSky ST17 Mini	56 out of 100	£712
13	ZWO AM3N	46 out of 100	£1,599
17	Sky-Watcher GTi Mount	33 out of 100	£435
18	Celestron CG5	24 out of 100	£299

Contents

01 Where does it rank on our leaderboard
02 Specifications and features
03 In the hand
04 From my seven-mount showdown
05 What would you put on it?
06 How well does it guide?
07 What is it for? In my words
08 What it captured
09 Raw against finished
10 Watch the review
11 Every row of my showdown, and the readings behind each one
12 Should you buy it?
13 Questions and more about this review

In 30 seconds

Stars for Your Buck 89/100

Reviewed 18 Jul 2025 Updated 29 Sep 2026

Rank: #5 of 18 mounts
Verdict: Damon's pick

Written by Damon Scotting 10 min read

Buy it if

Your whole rig weighs under 8 kg and you want a strain-wave mount for about £600.
You travel with your mount and want it to screw straight onto a light 3/8 inch photo tripod.

Skip it if

Your dovetails are Losmandy, or you want a DC output on the mount to power the rest of the rig.
You want fast slews, or more than 13 kg with a counterweight.

“This may be pound-for-pound the best telescope mount on the market. It is the JUWEI-14 strain wave mount and it's available on websites such as AliExpress for just over 600 British pounds.”

AliExpress $842 Ad

Specifications and features

Against the harmonic mounts I have reviewed

Compare with

JUWEI-14 reviewed #5 of 18	TeSeek 11 #3 of 18	TeSeek 17 #6 of 18	JUWEI-17 #7 of 18	EM31 Pro #12 of 18	ZWO AM5N #8 of 18
Recorded UK price	£632	£252	£536	£669	£1,679	£2,099
Stars for Your Buck	89/100	93/100	88/100	85/100	52/100	71/100
Average guiding RMS	0.98 arcsec	0.92 arcsec	0.85 arcsec	0.40 to 0.61 arcsec on M 31, 1.52 to 1.57 on M 45	0.73 arcsec	0.99 and 1.10 arcsec
Best target in my showdown	0.77 arcsec, Veil	0.56 arcsec, Andromeda	0.45 arcsec, Heart	0.40 arcsec, Andromeda (M 31)	0.61 arcsec, Heart	0.66 arcsec, North America
Type	Harmonic (strain-wave) equatorial mount	Harmonic drive go-to equatorial mount, both axes	Harmonic (strain-wave) equatorial mount	Harmonic (strain-wave) equatorial mount	Harmonic (strain-wave) equatorial mount head with three modes on the maker's sheet: GEM, alt-az side and alt-az top (the VSF5 top-mode kit); OnStep control	Harmonic drive (strain-wave) head for equatorial and alt-azimuth use
No-counterweight payload	8 kg	5 kg (TeSeek); 4 kg is my working limit	13.5 kg	13 kg	15 kg	15 kg
Counterweight payload	13 kg	not recorded	18 kg	18 kg	20 kg	20 kg
Mount weight	3.4 kg	1.3 kg	3.2 kg	5.15 kg	4.0 kg	5.5 kg head
Periodic error	not recorded	not recorded	not recorded	Approximately 25 arcsec peak-to-peak in one owner's unguided, drift-corrected RA test; not a factory limit	not recorded	±10 arcsec
Gearing	RA 400:1; Dec 100:1	Harmonic reducers on both axes	Two size-17 harmonic gearboxes, 400:1 on both axes	Two size-17 harmonic reducers, 400:1	RA and DEC: 17-type 100:1 strain-wave gear plus a synchronous belt, 300:1 overall; a brake on the RA motor	Harmonic drive and synchronous belt, 300:1
Control	OnStep; USB-C to a computer or the ASIAIR; WiFi and Bluetooth; hand-controller and ST-4 port; a SNAP port for a DSLR	OnStep: phone app over Bluetooth or WiFi, ASIAIR, NINA and SharpCap	WiFi and Bluetooth app; ASIAIR	OnStep; WiFi, Bluetooth and USB; ST-4 and hand controller port	OnStep; ASIAIR in every session I recorded; my computer and StellaVita	ZWO app over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, USB, ASIAIR; hand controller in the box
Power	12 V DC, 3 A; 5.5 x 2.1 mm socket; no DC output	5 V, 2 A from a USB power bank	12 V, 2 A	12 V DC; no power output port	12 V DC at 5 A in, 5.5 x 2.1 mm; 0.3 A tracking, 0.6 A slewing (the maker's sheet); the port panel on my unit: status light, Type-C USB, DC 12 V, a round hand-controller socket	12 V DC, 3 A minimum (5 A recommended); DC out and USB-C on the saddle
Tripod or pier	3/8 inch photo tripod thread; AM5 three-hole fixing	38 mm Arca clamp underneath; a latitude adjuster and a tripod needed	Metal latitude base included; no tripod	GEM4 base; 125 mm diameter; 12 mm centre column	85 mm base, 3/8-16 fixing; optional EMTC44 tripod or EMH150 pier	Not included; ZWO's TC40 carbon fibre tripod is sold with it as a set
In the box	Mount head	The mount	The mount; no tripod	Head, data cable, counterweight bar, adjustment column, Allen key; no counterweight	Mount; hand controller; Vixen/Losmandy saddle; mounting adapter; 0.5 m and 2 m USB 2.0 cables; soft bag	Head, hand controller with 2 m cable, travel case, 2 m USB-B and 1 m USB-C cables, performance sheet, quick guide, M6 Allen key; no counterweight bar

In the hand

The port side

The Vixen clamp

The laser button

On the tripod

The polar laser

The pink JUWEI-14

From my seven-mount showdown

Two frames from my video

My final table: fifth of eight at 0.98 arcsec

The ASIAIR grid, the JUWEI-14 bottom left

What would you put on it?

The JUWEI-14's 8 kg and 13 kg ratings under a rig you can change part by part, then the same rig on six other mounts

How well does it guide?

My seven-mount showdown: the published average and per-target figures, and every ASIAIR reading I could read off the frames

“I've had zero issues with it and its guiding error is generally between 1 to 1.5 arc seconds, which is absolutely delightful.”

“Just make sure you accurately polar align it and you will be golden.”

“My beloved JUWEI-14 mount squeezes in just under one RMS and does exactly what it says on the tin. Nothing special, just gets the job done.”

About this visualisation

This visualisation illustrates the guiding figures on this page: the published RMS for each target and the ASIAIR readings from my showdown. It is not the JUWEI-14’s precise recorded tracking, and the moving traces are drawn to those figures, not replayed from the mount.

What is it for? In my words

Four things it is for

The ports

Firstly, as you can see from the side of the mount head itself, we have a 12 volt DC power input for the power supply, a port for the hand remote control, a SNAP port for you to add your DSLR camera, and then a type-C input that will connect your mount to your computer, your StellaVita or your ASIAIR. I'm surprised to see a DSLR input. I'm yet to see that on another mount.

The laser on the far side

But the real surprise is what lies on the other side. A single button all alone in the centre of the mount head. Now, naturally, after using the JUWEI-17 and the AM5s, this button can only do one thing logically, and that is power it on. So, imagine my surprise when I plug in the mount on one side and then press this button on the other to see a huge green laser shoot out from the mount towards the heavens above, almost perfectly pinpointing the North Star Polaris. It turns out this switch is used to activate an inbuilt green laser pointer that helps you swiftly align your mount towards the North Star. Now, via using this method, you are not going to guarantee yourself the most precise alignment on Earth, but you are certainly going to put yourself well within the ballpark, which is going to save you a lot of time when it comes to more precisely polar aligning your setup.

Within the 8 kg

As you've seen throughout the majority of these clips, the JUWEI-14 mount is carrying the biggest and heaviest telescope, which is the Starfield 115 telescope that weighs 6.88 kg when you also include the tube rings and dovetail bar into the total weight. Add to it a one times flattener and the ASI 533 colour camera and you are still within the 8 kg payload limit for tracking without a counterweight bar. So, I'm hoping this acts as a relatively decent visual demonstration of just how capable even the least capable strain wave mount is when it comes to carrying your telescope gear.

Tracking and slewing

The max rate of this mount is 2.4 degrees per second as opposed to the 6 degrees per second of the AM5 mount, which isn't exactly that big of an issue, because the only time I really noticed that it was slewing at a slower rate than the AM5 mount was because for a split second I thought the mount wasn't slewing at all, because it's so unbelievably quiet. Like, seriously impressively quiet, which is a huge difference to the mounts of old, which in the dead of the night would just scream.

What it captured

Six targets

Horsehead Nebula (IC 434), ASI533MM Pro, HSO narrowband

Integration: 1 h 30 min (10 x 180 s each of Ha, SII, OIII)
Field: 1.56 x 1.56 degrees
Telescope: Askar 60F
Camera: ZWO ASI533MM Pro
Mount: JUWEI-14
Target: Horsehead Nebula (IC 434)
Type: Dark nebula
Location: Bortle 6.8 (in my garden)

M 101 Pinwheel Galaxy, ASI533MC Pro

Integration: 30 min (30 x 60 s)
Field: 0.63 x 0.42 degrees
Telescope: Celestron C5
Camera: ZWO ASI533MC Pro
Mount: JUWEI-14
Target: M 101 Pinwheel Galaxy
Type: Spiral galaxy
Location: Bortle 6.8 (in my garden)

IC 1396 Elephant's Trunk Nebula, ASI2600MM

Integration: 3 h 45 min (HSO narrowband)
Field: 2.2 x 1.5 degrees
Telescope: Askar 91F
Camera: ZWO ASI2600MM
Mount: JUWEI-14
Target: IC 1396 Elephant's Trunk Nebula
Type: Emission nebula
Location: Bortle 6.8 (in my garden)

Soul Nebula (IC 1848), ASI533MM Pro, HSO narrowband

Integration: 1 h 30 min (10 x 180 s each of Ha, SII, OIII)
Field: 1.56 x 1.56 degrees
Telescope: Askar 60F
Camera: ZWO ASI533MM Pro
Mount: JUWEI-14
Target: Soul Nebula (IC 1848)
Type: Emission nebula
Location: Bortle 6.8 (in my garden)

M 13 Great Globular Cluster in Hercules, ASI533MC Pro

Integration: 57 min (57 x 60 s)
Field: 0.63 x 0.42 degrees
Telescope: Celestron C5
Camera: ZWO ASI533MC Pro
Mount: JUWEI-14
Target: M 13 Great Globular Cluster in Hercules
Type: Globular star cluster
Location: Bortle 6.8 (in my garden)

Veil Nebula (NGC 6960 and NGC 6992), ASI2600MM Air, HSO narrowband

Integration: 1 h 30 min (10 x 180 s each of Ha, SII, OIII)
Field: 3.13 x 2.09 degrees
Telescope: Askar 60F
Camera: ZWO ASI2600MM Air
Mount: JUWEI-14
Target: Veil Nebula (NGC 6960 and NGC 6992)
Type: Supernova remnant
Location: Bortle 6.8 (in my garden)

Raw against finished

Watch the review

The 4 targets, the raw combined stack against my finished image, each with its integration, the camera and the palette:

M 101 Pinwheel Galaxy: 30 min (30 x 60 s) of light, ASI533MC Pro, the raw combined stack with one automatic stretch
Horsehead Nebula (IC 434): 1 h 30 min (10 x 180 s each of Ha, SII, OIII) (30 x 180 s) of light, ASI533MM Pro, HSO narrowband, the raw combined stack with one automatic stretch
M 13 Great Globular Cluster in Hercules: 57 min (57 x 60 s) of light, ASI533MC Pro, the raw combined stack with one automatic stretch
Soul Nebula (IC 1848): 1 h 30 min (10 x 180 s each of Ha, SII, OIII) (30 x 180 s) of light, ASI533MM Pro, HSO narrowband, the raw combined stack with one automatic stretch

Is this the BEST value ASTRONOMY Mount?! (I BOUGHT the £600 JUWEI-14 Mount!) · published 18 July 2025 · 7:17 · Watch on YouTube · 24,405 views, 673 likes on 2 Oct 2026

Jump to

1:05 The mainstream market: the 150i, the AM5N and their smaller brothers
1:54 The same payloads as the ZWO AM3
3:05 The ports
3:27 The laser on the other side
5:03 The Starfield 115 rig, within the 8 kg
5:34 Tracking, slewing and the quiet
6:15 The azimuth knobs, and the conclusion

Transcript of the review video 1,152 words · 8 chapters · searchable

Press a time stamp to play from there.

0:00 Pound-for-pound the best telescope mount on the market

0:00 This may be pound-for-pound the best telescope mount on the market. 0:06 It is the JUWEI-14 strain wave mount and it's available on websites such as AliExpress for just over 600 British pounds. 0:13 It can take payloads up to 13 kg with the help of a counterweight but without a counterweight, just like this, it can still handle payloads of 8 kg and that is incredible. 0:24 In today's video, I'm going to be testing out the cheapest strain-wave mount on the market to see how well it holds its own against the big boys and whether or not this should be your go-to mount for the future. 0:40 Now, you may have seen one of my previous videos in which I review the JUWEI-14's larger brother, the JUWEI-17. 0:45 A more than capable mount when it comes to handling payloads and certainly affordable when it comes to buying a tracking mount. 0:51 But is the JUWEI-14 an even smarter option than the JUWEI-17? 1:01 I've received a lot of feedback from my previous review where people have since bought the mount and are really enjoying it.

1:05 The mainstream market: the 150i, the AM5N and their smaller brothers

1:05 When looking at the current mainstream market, you are given the choice between mounts like the Sky-Watcher 150i or the AM5N, which, let's just face it, for the vast majority of us are simply not affordable. 1:16 It's not even close. 1:17 These mounts are capable of significant payloads, but at the end of the day, how many of us are actually using telescope rigs that weigh more than 10 kg, let alone 20 kg? 1:37 In fact, both the Sky-Watcher 150i and the AM5 mounts have smaller brothers that handle payloads of 15 and 13 kg with counterweights and 10 and 8 kg without counterweights. 1:48 But again, they still come with a hefty price tag, both of which costing more than £1,500.

1:54 The same payloads as the ZWO AM3

1:54 Interestingly, the AM3 mount from ZWO has the exact same payload capabilities as the JUWEI-14. 2:00 But what's more interesting is that once you account for the UK 20% import tax, the amount is still only a little over £700, which is less than half the price of the AM3. 2:25 Number one was to use the AliExpress limited time codes that seem to appear once a month for about 2 weeks. 2:31 Seriously, they are that frequent. 2:32 Number two is to use a cashback website like Top Cashback. 2:35 I'm not sponsored to say this, by the way. 2:56 So, at this price, the mount isn't just the cheapest wave mount on the market, it's also the cheapest go-to tracking mount.

3:05 The ports

3:05 Firstly, as you can see from the side of the mount head itself, we have a 12 volt DC power input for the power supply, a port for the hand remote control, a SNAP port for you to add your DSLR camera, and then a type-C input that will connect your mount to your computer, your StellaVita or your ASIAIR. 3:05 Amazing. 3:22 That's everything that we need and then some. 3:24 I'm surprised to see a DSLR input. 3:26 I'm yet to see that on another mount.

3:27 The laser on the other side

3:27 But the real surprise is what lies on the other side. 3:31 A single button all alone in the centre of the mount head. 3:34 Now, naturally, after using the JUWEI-17 and the AM5s, this button can only do one thing logically, and that is power it on. 3:42 So, imagine my surprise when I plug in the mount on one side and then press this button on the other to see a huge green laser shoot out from the mount towards the heavens above, almost perfectly pinpointing the North Star Polaris. 3:56 It turns out this switch is used to activate an inbuilt green laser pointer that helps you swiftly align your mount towards the North Star. 4:03 Now, via using this method, you are not going to guarantee yourself the most precise alignment on Earth, but you are certainly going to put yourself well within the ballpark, which is going to save you a lot of time when it comes to more precisely polar aligning your setup. 4:16 A clear distinction to make is that the laser isn't constantly activated when the power is on. 4:20 You have the control yourself to turn it on or off. 4:35 I know this is going to sound dumb, but this is by far the coolest improvement of a telescope mount I've ever seen. 4:41 It's basically a $20 laser pointer inbuilt into the mount. 4:44 So, the reality of it is it's not exactly that innovative or costly, but it's a very cool and efficient way of lining up your mount faster than ever before. 4:53 I probably shouldn't be giving this as much time and praise as I am, but yeah, I love it and I think it's mad that the cheapest of all the strain wave mounts on the market is the only one to utilise this feature.

5:03 The Starfield 115 rig, within the 8 kg

5:03 As you've seen throughout the majority of these clips, the JUWEI-14 mount is carrying the biggest and heaviest telescope, which is the Starfield 115 telescope that weighs 6.88 kg when you also include the tube rings and dovetail bar into the total weight. 5:16 Add to it a one times flattener and the ASI 533 colour camera and you are still within the 8 kg payload limit for tracking without a counterweight bar. 5:25 So, I'm hoping this acts as a relatively decent visual demonstration of just how capable even the least capable strain wave mount is when it comes to carrying your telescope gear.

5:34 Tracking, slewing and the quiet

5:34 Its tracking and slewing capabilities are top drawer. 5:36 I've had zero issues with it and its guiding error is generally between 1 to 1.5 arc seconds, which is absolutely delightful. 5:44 Just make sure you accurately polar align it and you will be golden. 5:47 The max rate of this mount is 2.4 degrees per second as opposed to the 6 degrees per second of the AM5 mount, which isn't exactly that big of an issue, because the only time I really noticed that it was slewing at a slower rate than the AM5 mount was because for a split second I thought the mount wasn't slewing at all, because it's so unbelievably quiet. 5:47 Like, seriously impressively quiet, which is a huge difference to the mounts of old, which in the dead of the night would just scream.

6:15 The azimuth knobs, and the conclusion

6:15 So, my biggest issue with the mount is that it's quite difficult to adjust the azimuth with the knobs provided. 6:21 But that's basically it. 6:22 That is, in conclusion, my full summary of the JUWEI-14 mount. 6:26 And if you can get it for the price I managed to get it at, it's an insane bargain. 6:29 And if you can only get it at full price, it's still a really, really good deal. 6:33 I've attached a link in the description below where you can find a JUWEI-14 mount yourself. 6:37 And I'll do my best to update the description with codes whenever they become available. 6:50 Thanks for watching. 6:51 I'm Damon Scotting and this was Astronomical.

Check out more videos on the JUWEI-14

This £299 Telescope Mount Just Beat the £2,260 Mount

16 Oct 2025

What is the BEST Telescope mount? (£600-$2500)

22 Jul 2025

Every row of my showdown, and the readings behind each one

The 8 rows of my showdown: each mount with its Stars for Your Buck score, the published total RMS per target and the average in arcsec; hover or focus a row for the ASIAIR readings
Mount	Stars for Your Buck	Andromeda	Heart	North America	Veil	Average
1 ClearSky ST25	94/100	0.66″	0.69″	0.48″	0.80″	0.66″
2 EM31 Pro	52/100	0.91″	0.61″	0.68″	0.73″	0.73″
3 TeSeek 17	88/100	1.19″	0.45″	0.83″	0.93″	0.85″
4 TeSeek 11	93/100	0.56″	1.47″	0.90″	0.76″	0.92″
5 JUWEI-14	89/100	1.37″	0.91″	0.88″	0.77″	0.98″
6 ZWO AM5N (second group)	71/100	1.68″	0.85″	0.66″	0.78″	0.99″
7 ClearSky ST17 Mini	56/100	1.17″	0.86″	0.77″	1.56″	1.09″
8 ZWO AM5N (first group)	71/100	1.53″	1.28″	0.74″	0.86″	1.10″

JUWEI-14

0.98″ average, 5th of 8

89/100 Stars for Your Buck

Target	Readings	Mean	Range	RA	DEC
Andromeda	30	1.35″	0.73″ to 2.21″	0.70″	1.14″
Heart	15	0.93″	0.74″ to 1.09″	0.65″	0.66″
North America	12	0.87″	0.77″ to 1.05″	0.60″	0.63″
Veil	16	0.81″	0.69″ to 0.98″	0.51″	0.56″

Watch the showdown video

Should you buy it?

89/100 Stars for Your Buck

Pros

“Its tracking and slewing capabilities are top drawer.”
“It's very well made, durable, and has travelled with me a lot over the last 6 months.”
“It's a very cool and efficient way of lining up your mount faster than ever before.”
“I absolutely love its tiny size. It really does pack a punch.”

Cons

“My biggest issue with the mount is that it's quite difficult to adjust the azimuth with the knobs provided.”
“The only con I can think potentially of the JUWEI-14 is that the dovetail mount here is only suited for Vixen mounts, whereas all of the others have a much wider alternative in case you want to mount Losmandy on it instead.”
“I just wish there was an additional DC port so I could supply different elements on my setup, because I don't like the idea of having to plug in two different 12 volt power supplies.”
JUWEI has no official complaint or help department if something goes wrong.

If you can only get it at full price, it's still a really, really good deal.

Who the JUWEI-14 is for

Budget-conscious imager with a rig under 8 kg

Buy

“If you are budget conscious, which I'm sure the vast majority of us are, then I would say without a doubt, get the JUWEI-14 mount.”

Traveller who wants a small, light mount

Buy

“All four of these mounts are incredibly travel friendly, but none more so than this. It literally cannot get any better than this, right?”

Owner of a heavier refractor, up to 13 kg

Buy

“Even a little baby mount like the JUWEI-14 can handle the payload of the Askar 140, provided you use a counterweight.”

Owner of Losmandy dovetails

Skip

The saddle takes Vixen dovetails only; the JUWEI-17 takes both.

Imager whose rig will grow past 8 kg

Skip

Pound for pound the JUWEI-17 is the better investment: 13 kg without a counterweight.

Buyer who wants a big company behind the mount

Skip

There is no official help department if something goes wrong; the ZWO AM5N comes with that backing.

Three alternatives I have reviewed

Questions and more about this review

Reviewed by

Damon Scotting

The Telescope Man Verified

BSc (Hons) Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology, Loughborough University PGCE / QTS, University of Nottingham

About Damon About Damon Damon Scotting is The Telescope Man. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology from Loughborough University and a PGCE with QTS from the University of Nottingham, and taught physics in secondary schools before becoming an astronomy creator. He is a contributing writer for BBC Sky at Night Magazine and the author of 42 Wonders of Our Night Sky, and his photograph of the galaxy M100 with the dwarf planet Ceres was Highly Commended in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2024 competition run by Royal Observatory Greenwich. He has appeared on the BBC's Blue Peter. More than 750,000 people follow his astronomy channels on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, and he has reviewed more than 140 telescopes, mounts, cameras, filters and accessories hands-on for this site. More about Damon · How I test · Damon's book

I review all kinds of gear: most of it I buy, some is gifted and some is loaned, and all of it is reviewed the same way. How this site is funded

Seven questions, answered

Questions about the JUWEI-14

Reviewed 18 July 2025 ·Updated 29 September 2026

I review all kinds of gear. Most of it I buy, some is gifted and some is loaned, and all of it is reviewed the same way: no company sees or approves a review before it is published. Shop links marked Ad are affiliate links: I earn a commission when you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. How this site is funded

How much can the JUWEI-14 carry? It can take payloads up to 13 kg with the help of a counterweight but without a counterweight, just like this, it can still handle payloads of 8 kg and that is incredible. The same 8 kg and 13 kg are on my spec card in my seven-mount showdown. From my video review What would you put on it? ↓
How well does the JUWEI-14 guide? In my seven-mount showdown it averaged 0.98 arcsec total RMS over four targets (1.37 Andromeda, 0.91 Heart, 0.88 North America, 0.77 Veil), fifth of eight rows. How well does it guide? ↓
What does the laser button do? A clear distinction to make is that the laser isn't constantly activated when the power is on. You have the control yourself to turn it on or off. The button sits on the side of the head opposite the ports. From my video review What is it for? In my words ↓
Does the JUWEI-14 work with the ASIAIR and NINA? It uses a USB-C port for the actual data connection. I mostly use it with my ASIAIR, but it works for everything, it works with NINA, uses OnStep software, and the guiding results of it have been very impressive. OnStep is the firmware it shares with the JUWEI-17 and the EM31 Pro. From my dictated take on the JUWEI-14 The specifications and the comparison table ↓
What tripod does the JUWEI-14 fit? I use it quite often on the carbon fibre tripod that came with my Seestar S50. I think it is the ZWO TC20, but literally I just plonk it on there, it screws in perfectly into the tripod. The base takes a 3/8 inch thread and the AM5's three-hole fixing. From my dictated take on the JUWEI-14 The specifications and the comparison table ↓
JUWEI-14 or JUWEI-17? If you're talking about pound for pound, the JUWEI-17 will probably be a better investment, but the amount of times I've taken the JUWEI-14s with me to go travelling and used it as my astrophotography mount is insane. The JUWEI-17 is rated 13 kg without a counterweight and 18 kg with, from a 5.15 kg head. From my dictated take on the JUWEI-14 The specifications and the comparison table ↓
Which telescopes have you put on the JUWEI-14? The Starfield 115 with a 1x flattener and the ASI533 in my review; the Askar 60F with ZWO mono cameras for my narrowband set; the Celestron C5 with the ASI533MC Pro; the Askar 91F with the ASI2600MM; and the ToupTek Hope D60 with the ASI585MC Air and the ASI4400MC. What I captured ↓