Gibraltar vs DiscMount for 4" Refractor

[allen g]

A few yrs ago in Cloudy nights there was a review on Discmounts with a bit of comparison to the Gibraltar. The DiscMount uses the SKy Commander and not the Sky Tour computer system which TeleVue uses. Any one of our fellow astronomers have experience with these set ups or how they compare especially with a 4" refractor attached to them. thanks allen g

[John]

I've only used a Gibraltar with no push to / go to system installed. It worked well enough with my 102mm F/6.5 refractor but I'm not sure a longer tube would have fared so well. I've no experience with a Discmount I'm afraid.

[allen g]

thanks John, As I keep reading there seems to be issues with the Gibraltar mount when it comes to rebalancing issues specifically going from heavy EPs like the 31 nagler to a very short EP. I wonder how often this is experienced.

[John]

thanks John, As I keep reading there seems to be issues with the Gibraltar mount when it comes to rebalancing issues specifically going from heavy EPs like the 31 nagler to a very short EP. I wonder how often this is experienced.

I had just those problems with my Gibraltar. I have to say that the AZ-4 is better in this respect although not as well made / finished as the Gibraltar of course. I think Tele Vue might have developed the Equaliser for use with the Gibraltar mount - basically its a heavy 1.25" adapter that makes 1.25" eyepieces weigh about as much as 2" ones.

[allen g]

John thanks for that info will check it out on their web. By the way just for the fun of it google "DiscMount" the reviews are consistently outstanding as an Alt-az. allen