Mikea

I don't think you can get it text book perfect - I can't remember why for the minute....what OTA is it?

Now you have to tell us what camera you used!

Great image of M42!

Unfortunately - confusion is often the way to start! You have to prioritise what is most important and then compromise. You seem to want everything - ( don't we all) - and of course you'll never get it in one package!! Personally , I will say don't go for a manual mount. Alt-Az is easier to figure than EQ, but once you've set an EQ mount up a few times, you'll wonder what all the fuss was about. Whichever, you want GOTO! I would hold off on the photography kick if you can for now. Reflectors will gather more light for a given weight if portability is important and a larger apert

20 years ago, I didn't have a telescope. Now I have three!

Almaak is very nice. Also, although not a double, but one of my favourites is the Stargate asterism in Corvus.

If you have a decent car battery charger, I'd use that rather than the built in charger control circuit which, in my opinion, is a bit c**p. I use a Cetek MXS 5.0 (on motorcycle battery mode) to charge mine via the 4mm terminals on the back. Never had a problem. Take no notice of the LEDs!

Don't discount buying used equipment either. I have found some excellent kit on the second hand market.

EQ5 tripod is pretty stable, but I agree that shorter legs are better. Should be fine for visual - fully extended or not.

Which tripod do you have?

A linear supply will just have output ripple at mains frequency which is relatively easy to manage. A switcher will have the additional HF noise at the switching frequency (E.g. 20kHz) which is rather more difficult (but not impossible) to eliminate. If it's got a chunky looking toroidal transformer, it is probably a linear supply.

I don't know if it would work, but it sounds like it should and it's a great idea!

Ah - no, I hadn't seen that before! I want a pier now!!

It's Bank Holiday Monday - sorry about making you think - it's not allowed on holidays!! I just wondered if anyone had ever done it. How do you know Andy?

I have an EQ5 pro mount and tripod. I also have a Celestron CPC800 GPS. The Celestron tripod is much more sturdy than the Skywatcher, although the Skywatcher is certainly up to the job. I just wondered if anyone had ever mounted an EQ5 Pro head on a Celestron CPC style tripod?