JUWEI-17 review: AM5 payloads for half the price
Where does it rank on our leaderboard
| 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 |
| 5 | JUWEI-14 | 89 out of 100 | £632 |
| 7 | JUWEI-17 | 85 out of 100 | £669 |
| 9 | ZWO AM5 | 58 out of 100 | £2,099 |
| 10 | ZWO AM7 | 58 out of 100 | £2,599 |
| 15 | Celestron CGX | 38 out of 100 | £2,469 |
| 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 the review video
- 05 What would you put on it?
- 06 How well does it guide?
- 07 What is it for? In my words
- 08 Watch the review
- 09 Should you buy it?
- 10 Questions and more about this review
In 30 seconds
Stars for Your Buck 85/100
Reviewed 1 Dec 2024 Updated 24 Sep 2026
- Rank
- #7 of 18 mounts
- Verdict
- Damon's pick
Written by Damon Scotting 6 min read
Buy it if
- You want AM5-class payloads, 13 kg without a counterweight, for less than half the price.
- You want a quiet mount that works with the ASIAIR, NINA and StellarMate.
- You use both Vixen and Losmandy dovetails.
Skip it if
- You want a UK or US shop and a big company to fall back on.
- You want a lighter head for 13 kg: the TeSeek 17 weighs 3.2 kg and the ClearSky ST17 Mini 2.7 kg, against 5.15 kg here.
“It is in fact half the price and almost as good. It's certainly not better than the AM5 mount, but it is astonishingly similar.”
Specifications and features
Against the harmonic mounts I have reviewed
Compare with
| JUWEI-17 reviewed #7 of 18 | TeSeek 17 #6 of 18 | ClearSky ST17 Mini #11 of 18 | ZWO AM5N #8 of 18 | EM31 Pro #12 of 18 | MLAstro SAL-33 #4 of 18 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recorded UK price | £669 | £536 | £712 | £2,099 | £1,679 | £937 |
| Stars for Your Buck | 85/100 | 88/100 | 56/100 | 71/100 | 52/100 | 91/100 |
| Average guiding RMS | 0.40 to 0.61 arcsec on M 31, 1.52 to 1.57 on M 45 (my JUWEI-17 review, 8:06 to 9:12) | 0.85 arcsec | 1.09 arcsec | 0.99 and 1.10 arcsec | 0.73 arcsec | 0.7 to 0.8 arcsec |
| Type | Harmonic (strain-wave) equatorial mount | Harmonic (strain-wave) equatorial mount | Harmonic (strain-wave) equatorial mount | Harmonic (strain-wave) equatorial mount | Harmonic (strain-wave) equatorial mount with alt-azimuth modes | Harmonic (strain-wave) mount, equatorial or alt-azimuth |
| No-counterweight payload | 13 kg | 13.5 kg | 13 kg | 15 kg | 15 kg | 15 kg |
| Counterweight payload | 18 kg | 18 kg | 20 kg | 20 kg | 20 kg | 20 kg with a 5 kg counterweight |
| Mount weight | 5.15 kg | 3.2 kg | 2.7 kg | 5.5 kg | 4.0 kg | 5.3 kg |
| Periodic error | Approximately 25 arcsec peak-to-peak in one owner's unguided, drift-corrected RA test; not a factory limit | not recorded | not recorded | plus or minus 10 arcsec | not recorded | not recorded |
| Gearing | Two size-17 harmonic reducers, 400:1 | Two size-17 harmonic gearboxes, 400:1 on both axes | RA 17-100 harmonic, speed ratio 500, with brake; Dec 14-100, speed ratio 500 | Harmonic drive and synchronous belt, 300:1 | 17-type 100:1 strain-wave gear plus belt, 300:1 | Low periodic error 17:100 harmonic drives on both axes |
| Control | OnStep; WiFi, Bluetooth and USB; ST-4 and hand controller port | WiFi and Bluetooth app; ASIAIR | ASIAIR | ZWO app over Bluetooth; hand controller; ASIAIR | OnStep; hand controller; ASIAIR | OnStep X; WiFi, Bluetooth and USB; ASIAIR |
| Power | 12 V DC; no power output port | 12 V, 2 A | not recorded | 12 V | 12 V DC, 5 A | 12 V DC, 3 A minimum, 5 A recommended |
| Tripod or pier | GEM4 base; 125 mm diameter; 12 mm centre column | Metal latitude base included; no tripod | not recorded | Not included; ZWO's TC40 carbon fibre tripod is sold with it as a set | 85 mm base, 3/8-16 fixing; optional EMTC44 tripod or EMH150 pier | 3/8 inch thread and three M6 holes, as the ZWO AM5 |
| In the box | Head, data cable, counterweight bar, adjustment column, Allen key; no counterweight | The mount; no tripod | 1 x equatorial mount | 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 | Mount; hand controller; Vixen/Losmandy saddle; mounting adapter; 0.5 m and 2 m USB 2.0 cables; soft bag | The mount head only; no power supply |
In the hand
With the Askar SQA85
Tracking at night
Under the Moon
The head and saddle
The port panel
Status lights
From the review video
Five frames from my videos
My review rig on a frosty morning
Guiding on the Pleiades: 1.57 total
Guiding on Andromeda: 0.50 arcsec
Payload without a counterweight
Beside the JUWEI-14, EM31 Pro and AM5
What would you put on it?
The JUWEI-17's 13 kg and 18 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 guiding figures for the JUWEI-17, target by target
“That's 10 minutes' worth of tracking. 1.5 to 1.6 seems to be the average value, which is fine. I can work with that.”
“Far smoother numbers. Look at that, we're bordering take-my-money numbers.”
“I don't think you can complain about those numbers. It certainly tracks as well, if not better than my AM5N mount.”
| Target | Total RMS | RA | DEC | In my video |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pleiades | 1.57″ | 1.16″ | 1.06″ | Watch |
| Pleiades | 1.53″ | 1.16″ | 1.00″ | Watch |
| Pleiades | 1.52″ | 1.14″ | 1.00″ | Watch |
| Andromeda | 0.50″ | 0.42″ | 0.27″ | Watch |
| Andromeda | 0.52″ | 0.34″ | 0.40″ | Watch |
| Andromeda | 0.61″ | 0.45″ | 0.42″ | Watch |
| Andromeda | 0.58″ | 0.47″ | 0.34″ | Watch |
| Andromeda | 0.40″ | 0.28″ | 0.28″ | Watch |
| Andromeda | 0.40″ | 0.31″ | 0.26″ | Watch |
What is it for? In my words
Four things it is for
Suspiciously quiet
I believe this might be the reason the JUWEI-17 is quiet. Like, suspiciously quiet. It's already happened on multiple occasions where I've set the mount up to polar align it, and as I've watched my phone tell me the mount is slewing, my ears believe otherwise, because I can't hear a thing.
A choice of colours
This part will mean more to some than others, but look at that: you get a choice of colours. It's not often you see that in astrophotography gear.
It takes the ASIAIR
The JUWEI-17 also has an app that you can control it with. It's very basic, but I am sure, as most of you will agree, you'd prefer not to control the mount directly over WiFi. Instead, you can use the USB cable to plug it into a computer or perhaps the ASIAIR, which does accept this mount.
A backup mount for advanced imagers
I suspect that this mount will soon become a very common purchase for more advanced astrophotographers to use as a backup mount.
Watch the review
I BOUGHT the £800 JUWEI-17 Mount! (HALF the Price and TWICE as Nice?) · published 1 December 2024 · 12:54 · Watch on YouTube · 47,694 views, 1,366 likes on 2 Oct 2026
Jump to
- 1:09 Payload and weight
- 3:01 No extra power port
- 3:46 Suspiciously quiet
- 5:34 My test rig
- 7:32 Guiding through an off-axis guider
- 8:30 Guiding with the ASI2600MC Duo
- 9:09 Conclusion
- 9:42 Pros and cons
- 12:03 Final thoughts
Transcript of the review video 2,505 words · 16 chapters · searchable
Press a time stamp to play from there.
0:00 Half the price and twice as nice?
0:00 half the price and twice as nice this is the JUWEI-17 mount and is in fact less than half the price of the leading competitor 0:08 the wildly popular AM5 mount in today's video I'm going to be putting it to the test to see how well this mysterious mount compares I'm Damon Scotting and 0:17 this is Astronomical so here's the listing on AliExpress this mount seemingly isn't sold locally by any retailers it can only be bought from
0:20 The AliExpress listing and the AM5
0:29 overseas our point of comparison for this video shall be the AM5 mount which you can buy from local retailers for £2,000 or the newer model the AM5N 0:37 mount for a little over £2,200 these are fantastic mounts I adore them there are links to each of my review videos of them in the description below but here 0:45 we have a mysterious newcomer available for less than half the price of the industry standard now more often than not in these circumstances it's very 0:53 easy to come to the almost obvious conclusion that there must be something massively wrong with it otherwise why else is it so cheap but at the risk of 1:01 spoiling the rest of the video there isn't anything wrong with it in fact it works incredibly well its performance easily rivals that of an AM5N it does
1:09 Payload and weight
1:10 fall short in a few areas but overall it's a 5.5 kg mount that can take payloads of 13 kg without a counterweight and payloads up to 18 kg 1:19 with a counterweight which is enough to make any of us excited also a little footnote but until Tuesday AliExpress are doing a big black Friday deal that 1:28 means you can get huge discounts in this particular case the discount removes expensive shipping and takes the overall pre-import tax cost to under £800 which is insane value especially 1:39 when you consider that if you're looking for a cheap go-to mount then these are the current three most popular options I'm not sure it needs to be mentioned 1:45 but these mounts all need to use counterweights in order to properly balance the load strain-wave mounts like the JUWEI-17 and the AM5 don't have to worry 1:53 about this to a certain degree also this part will mean more to some than others but look at that you get a choice of
1:55 A choice of colours
1:59 colours it's not often you see that in astrophotography gear this obviously doesn't affect the performance it's not like when you're a kid and you have the 2:06 superstition that the red one will go faster and the blue one is quieter at night but still it's nice to have the choice and given I have 2:12 the red AM5N mount let's mix it up a little and make the difference between them even more stark now this is a deeper look at the specifications of
2:18 Specifications and the app
2:21 the mount so it's not just the appearance similar to the AM5 the specs are almost the same the key most noticeable difference is that the 2:28 payloads with and without counterweight differ ever so slightly between the three options the ZWO AM5 mounts come with a very handy app that lets you 2:37 control the mount but as it turns out the JUWEI-17 also has an app that you can control it with it's very basic but I am 2:43 sure as most of you will agree you'd prefer not to control the mount directly over Wi-Fi instead you can use the USB cable to plug it into a computer or 2:51 perhaps the ASIAIR which does accept this mount so as of right now everything is going swimmingly hats off to the JUWEI-17 it's half the price yet just as good
3:01 No extra power port
3:02 so where are its faults well this is the first significant difference that I noticed between the mounts it's not entirely a deal breaker but there's no 3:09 additional power supply port this has always been super handy as it's meant that you can plug in one power cable to the mount and then distribute some of 3:16 the power to other devices such as your ASIAIR or your camera instead I find myself having to plug in an additional power supply to support my ASIAIR or 3:25 AstroStation in fact I'm sure some of you are going to curse at me now but the longer I have this mount the braver I'm 3:30 getting with it so the other night I had everything powered through one power supply cable that went directly into the AstroStation and then additional power 3:38 cables were fed from the AstroStation to the JUWEI-17 and my ToupTek camera that is generally a big no no but it worked absolutely fine and I believe this might
3:46 Suspiciously quiet
3:46 be the reason the JUWEI-17 is quiet like suspiciously quiet it's already happened on multiple occasions where I've set the mount up to polar align it and as I've watched my phone 3:58 tell me the mount is slewing my ears believe otherwise because I can't hear a thing it turns out that JUWEI-17 is naturally capped at 2.6 degrees per second slew speed 4:07 which is slower than the max speed of the AM5 which can go all the way up to 6 degrees per second apparently this can be 4:13 changed if you are particularly fussed about it but I suspect that's the reason the AstroStation was able to supply power through the entire night because 4:19 the max current rating of the JUWEI-17 stepper motor board is 1.2 amps and the max output of the AstroStation is 3 amps I'm not advising you power your 4:28 mount via your mini astro PC I'm just sharing with you the fact that I managed to do so and it went very smoothly so 4:34 that's my biggest issue so far with the JUWEI-17 no additional power ports for your other devices which all things considered isn't the end of the world 4:42 since this isn't the reason you're buying a mount you're interested in this mount because you want it help to track the rotation of our night sky so now
4:49 How well does it track?
4:49 let's answer the 800 pound question how well does the JUWEI-17 mount track as I mentioned before the mount works perfectly fine with the ASIAIR in fact 4:58 I'm pretty sure it works with everything I've seen verified reports of it working with the SkySafari Pro 7 and the Stellarium Plus mobile apps via 5:05 Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and with NINA StellarMate and of course the AstroStation so it's widely compatible which is great to hear the go-to plate solving and 5:14 centering is a very swift and successful process so as far as slewing towards and finding the objects goes top marks the question is how much tracking data 5:23 provides a good insight into the capabilities of the mount sure sellers can post screenshots of excellent tracking scores but every mount can have a perfect minute or so hm let's find out
5:34 My test rig
5:34 the total weight of my rig is 6 kg I'm taking 0.5 s exposures for my guiding and 5 minute long exposures with my main 5:42 camera I'm using a ToupTek off-axis guider with a QHY585 Mark 3 as a guide camera and the ToupTek ATR2600C IMX571 camera as my main sheesh if you 5:53 don't really have an interest in astrophotography that really was just a bunch of nonsense basically this is a powerful astrophotography setup with a total weight of 14 kg which is 6:03 bloody amazing believe it or not that would be considered by most to be a lightweight rig now when judging the tracking capabilities of a mount we can 6:10 use lots of different measurements as a basis for our understanding in this case we're going to be focusing on the total RMS which stands for the root mean 6:18 square this value is calculated from the adjustments made to the right ascension (RA) and the declination (DEC) basically our setup is going to focus on a 6:26 particular star and make sure it stays in the same position throughout this tracking process to do so it will need to make adjustments to the up down and 6:33 left right movements of the star's position the smaller the corrections needed will indicate a better tracking job done and will ultimately lead us to 6:40 having more precise and pinpoint stars in our images which is what we are all hoping for is a tricky thing to be good at because stuff like light pollution 6:48 clouds moonlight can all have significant effects on this value so to give you a general consensus of what's good with this particular rig here is a
6:52 What is a good RMS?
6:56 scale for what constitutes a good or bad RMS value anything higher than four is a big yikes somewhere between four and two is below average if you're get in values 7:06 of roughly 1.5 then yeah that's considered an average value but around about one would be above average and if you can get somewhere around 0.7 then 7:14 that would be amazing it is possible to get values lower than this such as 0.3 and if it does your reaction should be shut up and take my money. Right so for 7:23 the price that we're paying I'm expecting to see RMS values of about two but given that the screenshots used to advertise this product show value of 7:30 0.38 I'm expecting a little bit more in order to autoguide here is my camera setup I know people have their own issues with off-axis guiders and a qhy
7:32 Guiding through an off-axis guider
7:39 585 isn't necessarily a guiding camera but let's see how it fares against the Seven Sisters when capturing 5 minute long exposures and obviously as is tradition for the 8:07 first frame that I've captured has had a massive satellite trail pass through the middle of it right so that's 10 minutes worth of tracking with this rig. 1.5 to 1.6 8:16 seems to be the average value which is fine I can work with that but since this was actually my first time trying out the ToupTek off-axis guider I wanted to 8:24 make sure this tracking test was as fair as possible the screenshots posted alongside the product page have led me to believe that can still do a lot
8:30 Guiding with the ASI2600MC Duo
8:31 better so I swapped the off-axis guiding rig for an ASI2600MC Duo which has the same sensor as the ATR2600C but it also includes a guiding sensor alongside 8:42 it and check out the guiding numbers with this camera far smoother numbers look at that we're bordering take my money numbers so now that we've got some good data to 8:56 compare let's look at the best and worse case scenarios I'm not going to say worst because the worst case scenario is if it does something silly 9:04 like this I don't think you can complain about those numbers it certainly tracks as well if not better than my AM5N mount which brings me to my conclusion
9:09 Conclusion
9:12 you've clicked this video under the pretense that I've reviewed this mysterious mount and found it to be half the price yet twice as good well after 9:19 using it for the last month I can now answer this question it is in fact half the price and almost as good it's certainly not better than the AM5 mount 9:28 but it is astonishingly similar it's easy to see straight from the off where they've managed to slice off the fat compared to the AM5 mount there's no 9:34 carry case for starters the app interface is severely limited in fact let's make a comprehensive list of all the pros and cons feel free to add your 9:41 own remarks to this in the comments below so perhaps the biggest Pro of them all it's £800 which is basically $1,000 it's a silent beast you can't
9:42 Pros and cons
9:49 even really tell that it's tracking it's just that quiet there are several stylish colours to choose from which is wonderful because who doesn't love a bit 9:56 of variety it's capable of supporting payloads of up to 13 kg without a counterweight and 18 kg with the support of a counterweight it does also include 10:05 a counterweight bar a dual saddle for Vixen and Losmandy style dovetails and built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth it works with Stellarium Plus on your phone or 10:14 tablet via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and more importantly it works with NINA it works with StellarMate it works with the AstroStation and it works with the ASIAIR 10:22 but as for the cons there's no carry case the app super basic there's no power supply which I can only assume companies do this because it's too much 10:30 hassle to try and specifically include a power adapter that fits your regions plugs there's no instructions whatsoever so good luck it's not that complex but a 10:38 little booklet of instructions always adds a bit of comfort especially on a product like this there's no counterweights included just the bar and the max slewing rate is 2.6 degrees per second 10:49 which can be seen as a downer but I really don't think that's the end of the world given how disturbingly quiet the mount is as a result now I've never once
10:55 Bought with my own money
10:57 felt the need to explicitly state this but my opinions in this video are solely my own and are not in any way 11:04 influenced by anyone else's I have zero idea who even makes JUWEI-17 mounts they have in no way reached out to me and asked me to review their product I also 11:12 have to now mention that I have not been bought out by leading market competitors who also make strain-wave mounts such as Sky-Watcher and ZWO into not making a 11:20 review video on the JUWEI-17 mounts or into saying negative things about it so there's no need for conspiracies I appreciate a lot of you are very keen on 11:28 seeing how this mount performs but I'm not about to rush out a review video after testing it for only one night this is very much an under reviewed product 11:36 and I'd be doing you all a huge disservice if my review of it wasn't comprehensive I've had the opportunity to use the mount now on nine different 11:43 occasions and counting and I'm happy to report it gets the thumbs up from me my personal experience so far has been very positive 11:51 and I can rest assured 11:58 that I will still be in good hands knowing I will still have this JUWEI-17 mount my final thoughts are it's a great value mount that can provide excellent
12:03 Final thoughts
12:07 value for money by being more than £1,000 cheaper than the nearest competitor I'd feel more comfortable if I could have seen more reviews on the mount from 12:15 other people before choosing it especially with an item having to be delivered from China but hey it all worked out fine and now at least you 12:23 have this video to use as a reference for yourself if you do go ahead and purchase the mount let me and thousands of other interested astrophotographers 12:30 know about your experience in the comments below it would be hugely appreciated thanks for watching I'm Damon Scotting and this was Astronomical
Check out more videos on the JUWEI-17
What is the BEST Telescope mount? (£600-$2500)
22 Jul 2025
CHEAP v.s EXPENSIVE Telescope Gear?!
18 Dec 2024
Should you buy it?
85/100 Stars for Your Buck
Pros
- “It's a silent beast. You can't even really tell that it's tracking; it's just that quiet.”
- “It's capable of carrying similar payloads to the likes of the industry-leading standards in the ZWO AM5.”
- “It does also include a counterweight bar, a dual saddle for Vixen and Losmandy style dovetails and built-in WiFi and Bluetooth.”
- “It works with NINA, it works with StellarMate, it works with the AstroStation and it works with the ASIAIR.”
- “The guide results speak for themselves. It walks the walk.”
Cons
- “My biggest issue with it is the lack of an additional DC power port to redirect some of your power to other aspects of your rig, such as your camera or mini PC.”
- “There's no carry case, the app's super basic, there's no power supply, and there's no instructions whatsoever.”
- “There's no counterweights included, just the bar.”
- “Because it's relatively unknown, underused, if something goes wrong, you're on your own. And that could be scary to a lot of people.”
- The maximum slew rate is 2.6 degrees per second, well below the 6 degrees per second of the AM5.
This is a very good value mount. I like this a lot. I found no faults with it whatsoever.
Who the JUWEI-17 is for
Imager weighing it against the ZWO AM5N
Buy
In my tests it tracked as well as my AM5N, for less than half the price.
Advanced imager wanting a second mount
Buy
A quiet 13 kg mount at this price makes a sensible backup to a main rig.
Owner of Vixen and Losmandy telescopes
Buy
The dual saddle takes both dovetails.
Travelling imager with a small refractor
Skip
The JUWEI-14 is smaller and lighter and travels better; the JUWEI-17 is the better investment pound for pound.
Beginner with a small refractor
Skip
A 13 kg mount is more than a rig under 5 kg needs; the TeSeek 11 carries 5 kg for far less.
Buyer choosing between it and the MLAstro SAL-33
Skip
For a similar price, my recommendation is the SAL-33.
Three alternatives I have reviewed
- JUWEI-14 the smaller sibling: 8 kg without a counterweight and 13 with, easier to travel with 89/100 £632 Read the review
- TeSeek 17 the same 13 kg class from a 3.2 kg head, third in my showdown at 0.85 arcsec 88/100 £536 Read the review
- MLAstro SAL-33 15 kg without a counterweight, a brake that remembers its position and a head you can service 91/100 £937 Read the review
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-17
Reviewed 1 December 2024 ·Updated 24 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-17 carry? It's a 5.5 kg mount that can take payloads of 13 kg without a counterweight and payloads up to 18 kg with a counterweight, which is enough to make any of us excited. TeSeek, who sell it, list the head at 5.15 kg and the payload at 13 kg without a counterweight. My review rig was about 6 kg. From my video review What would you put on it? ↓
- How well does the JUWEI-17 guide? Through an off-axis guider and a QHY585 guide camera on the Pleiades it read 1.52 to 1.57 arcsec total RMS; with the ZWO ASI2600MC Duo guiding on the Andromeda Galaxy the ASIAIR read 0.40 to 0.61. One reading on the Andromeda night jumped to 5.25 arcsec when the declination trace ran off; the rest of the run sat between 0.40 and 0.61. How well does it guide? ↓
- Does the JUWEI-17 work with the ASIAIR? Yes, over USB. It runs OnStep, so NINA, StellarMate and the AstroStation work with it too, and I have seen reports of SkySafari and Stellarium Plus working with it. The specifications and the comparison table ↓
- JUWEI-17 or JUWEI-14? 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-14 carries 8 kg without a counterweight and 13 kg with one. From my dictated take on the JUWEI-14 The specifications and the comparison table ↓
- JUWEI-17 or ZWO AM5N? That safety net of having a company to fall back on, assuming something goes wrong with your, let's face it, very expensive piece of gear will mean a tremendous amount to large parts of the community, which is why people still choose the AM5 over the JUWEI-17. From my EM31 Pro video review The specifications and the comparison table ↓
- How long did you test the JUWEI-17? I've had the opportunity to use the mount now on nine different occasions and counting. That was by my review in December 2024. Six months on, in my four-mount comparison of July 2025, it was still holding out nicely. From my video review Watch the review ↓
- What comes in the box? The head, a data cable, a counterweight bar, the adjustment column and an Allen key. There is no counterweight, no power supply, no carry case and no manual. The specifications and the comparison table ↓