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 Sky-Watcher Wave 100i mount and tripod, 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 Sky-Watcher Wave 100i mount’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.
How the Sky-Watcher Wave 100i mount performs
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.
The mount broadcasts its own Wi-Fi signal and once connected to this it can be controlled via several software applications, the simplest of which is the SynScan Pro app for Android or iOS.
We chose the ‘Brightest Star Alignment’ routine as it includes the planets as options. After manually centring two of them in our eyepiece, we set the mount off to explore some Messier objects.
As expected with Sky-Watcher products, the Wave 100i accurately dropped onto our selected targets, the Orion Nebula in the south and Bode’s Galaxy in the north, and happily settled on Jupiter, Venus, Mars, Uranus and Neptune as requested, in each case landing the target within the field of our 12mm eyepiece.
When left alone to track a target over an extended period, the mount behaved admirably; the altaz tracking mode held Jupiter dead centre for over an hour.
Using the Wave 100i in equatorial (EQ) mode involves adjusting the angle at which the mount sits to match the latitude of the observing location.
Adjustable between 0° and 90°, this portable mount is useable anywhere on the globe, from equator to pole. Accuracy in EQ mode requires the mount to be aligned with the celestial pole.
Sky-Watcher Wave 100i locating and tracking
After a two-star alignment routine, there’s the option to polar align the mount via the SynScan app.
The instruction manual, which is available via download, advises repeating the polar-alignment process a few times to increase accuracy, which we did.
The whole routine of star and polar alignment only took us around 10 minutes: an impressively fast workflow.
The Wave 100i was equally capable at locating and tracking targets in EQ mode, so we were keen to see how it responded when it was hooked up to an autoguide camera for astrophotography.
Using the ST4 guide port on the mount, we attached our camera and via PHD2 software locked on to a relatively fast-moving star within Messier 45.
It was reassuring to see the PHD2 guide graph showing stable and smooth guiding adjustments, perfect for mobile astrophotography.
The Wave 100i enabled us to enjoy portable visual astronomy with minimal fuss and it makes the goal of simple travelling astrophotography easier to achieve.
Strong and silent
The great thing about harmonic-drive-type mounts is their capacity to hold and control equipment that weighs much more than they do.
Without any additional counterweights, the 4.3kg Wave 100i can handle up to 10kg of equipment.
Our gear including eyepieces added up to about 6kg and it was deftly swinging around the night sky at a nippy 10° a second with not so much as a murmur.
In fact, the Wave 100i is so quiet that at times we had to visually check it was moving.
The whole mount assembly, including the steel tripod extension and carbon-fibre tripod, weighs in at a featherweight 7.5kg and is easily lifted with one hand.
After years of lugging around heavy gear and counterweights, we became an immediate fan of the Wave 100i, especially once it proved capable and accurate.
The wireless control via the phone app avoids the need for a handset too, although you can add one if desired, while an optional counterweight kit can take the carrying capacity up to 15kg.
Sky-Watcher Wave 100i best features
Carbon-fibre tripod
The lightweight tripod has rubber-tipped feet and carbon-fibre legs, and we found any vibrations around the mount were quickly dampened. The legs are adjusted via hand-tightened clamp rings. At full extension, the tripod provides a working height platform of 80cm, while the optional tube (not included) adds another 18cm.
Dual saddles
A spare Vixen/Losmandy-style saddle is included. This can be fitted directly opposite the primary saddle and allows for an extra telescope to be added within the 10kg total payload capacity – perhaps a widefield, short refractor combined with a longer-focal-length telescope for more detailed observing
in altaz mode.
Bubble level and latitude scale
Rapid set-up time is a feature of this mount. As it takes longer for our eyes to become dark adapted than the time it takes to polar align this mount, the red-light-illuminated bubble level and latitude adjustment scale are welcome features, allowing white light to be avoided.
Input ports
Connectivity to the Wave 100i is excellent. In addition to control via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, there are USB, ST4, hand controller and power ports. These are positioned on the top of the mount, which is convenient. However, we felt rubber caps or similar could be useful to help keep dew out of the connections.
Carry case
The mount head comes with a stylish hard carry case plus foam lining with various cut-outs for accessories. The 12V DC cigar-socket-type power cable and the USB cable for PC control stow away neatly, along with a pair of Allen keys and bolts for fitting the extra saddle.
Vital stats
- Price: £1,848
- Mount type: Altaz/equatorial
- Load capacity: 10kg
- Slew speed: Max 10° per second
- Power input: 12V 2A DC
- Autoguider port: ST4
- Protocols: ASCOM, INDI, Stellarium, SkySafari, Cartes du Ciel
- Weight: 4.3kg
- Supplier: Optical Vision Ltd
- Email: info@opticalvision.co.uk
- www.opticalvision.co.uk
This review appeared in the May 2025 issue of BBC Sky at Night Magazine
