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 aperture is always better. Don't be put off by second-hand although the current virus stay at home thingy makes that awkward. If you can find a decent scope on an EQ5 PRO mount, that would be ideal, although the mount is quite heavy! Consider Skywatcher, Meade or Celestron OTAs. Sorry if I have added to the confusion, but you should be able to pick out some common threads from all the above good advice from everyone. Come back and ask more when you have had time to digest it all.

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?