Hi Folks, Could I ask if any of you have used or seen this alt/az mount in action?

www.ktectelescopes.ie/Mounts/iOptron-Mou...-Pro-GoTo-Mount.html

I'd like to get more use from my William Optics flt110 refractor telescope, and always have to put it on my Celestron CGE mount at present which takes a lot of time to set up and is quite heavy. I'd like something that's easy to set up, more like a 'grab n' go' scope and mount. Does anybody have one, or know of anyone who does?

Thanks,

Keith.

Keith,
Cant help you with that specific mount I'm afraid.
FWIW, I was looking into the iOptron iEQ45 lately.
www.ioptron.com/index.cfm?select=product...dc-915f-0800bf570968
I was hoping it would suffice for my TEC140 - alas, from reading reviews, it doesn't.
The iEQ45 is technically rated for 45 pounds, which is 20kg.
My TEC140 is much lighter than that.
Given that the person I know of got the iEQ45 specifically for use with their TEC140 and found it wasn't stable enough has me wondering about iOptron's payload rating figures.
However, it may be more suitable for a slightly smaller refractor.

Thanks for that Michael, that is my concern also with the payload capacity as they seem very lightweight. My scope is 6.5kg with a few accessories, but I wonder if it is worth forking out a lot of money for this

Keith.

I considered this mount a few months ago as a travel option for my 90mm APO- with accessories I was coming in around 6.5Kg too. I opted for the EQ3 pro in the end and it worked perfectly for my requirements although 6.5kg is really its upper limit. Nice and light for chucking in the suitcase too. Happy to lend it to you if you want to try it out

Keith
This may be worth a look
www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_inf...rung---bis-20kg.html
Can operate in both alt-az and eq.
Looks interesting.

A very many thanks to you both guys for your good advice on this. I am seriously thinking of selling my CGE now. I like the look of the skywatcher mount ! Intelligent design for both GEM and ALT/AZ - very nice

Keith.

I was gonna suggest an EQ3 Pro too, way cheaper than the iOptron! But weight could be an issue. Take Stang up on the offer and see where its at

Thanks Stephen, I'll check it out

Stang, you might get a call

Keith.

Keith wrote:

Stang, you might get a call

Keith.

Anytime Keith, genuinely no hassle if you want to try it. I just use it for travel so it's sitting here gathering dust at the moment. Give me a shout next time you're in Dublin if you want to take it for a while.

Gareth

Thanks Gareth

Keith.