Help Me Decide!

[DeejayP999]

A dilemma

Please help me to decide!

Currently I use a Skywatcher 150PL on an EQ3-2 mount and I like this scope. OK, I’m not wild on diffraction spikes, but this scope has shown me my best views ever of Jupiter and the Moon.

The real downside is portability – or lack thereof. Even at home, I have to manhandle the scope down two passageways and through several doorways to get outside. It’s not the weight so much as the awkwardness – it’s a bulky set-up which is almost impossible to shift without knocking some part of it on something.

Of course, I can take the OTA off of the mount but then I have the issue of remounting it, outside, with cold hands, in the dark.

Any which way, it’s a pain in the proverbial.

So I’m thinking of more “Grab ‘n Go” alternatives. In short, I want a set-up that I can pick up in one lump and carry outside. I don’t want an EQ mount and so current contenders are the TAL 100 mounted on something like an AZ4 or a Mak 127 on the Syn Scan mount (go-to is not essential for me but I am prepared to consider it).

Either of the above would work well with my existing eyepiece collection (thereby keeping costs down).

So the question is:

Stick with the 150PL or go for one of the others (or even something completely different)?

Pros and Cons please!

[cotterless45]

Stick with the 150pl, invest in a ( or rig up) padded case/holdall to avoid knocks and bumps. This is a born again classic.

Nick.