belt and Braces

[TJExcalibur]

I decided on a Celestron C8 ota as my CPC 925 is too much for me to move down the garden and the constant "you will do yourself an injury" does not help. I decided on a Celestron C8 ota at 13lbs. Now do I get the Vixen Advanced Polaris Altazimuth (APZ) Modular Mount £619 plus tripod or the SkyTee-2 Alt-azimuth mount at £269 plus tripod. Not sure why the price difference for something that is similar. Views sought.

[Stu]

I think the C8 is an excellent choice, and will be much more manageable for you.

I'm not a big fan of SkyTee mounts, they just seem over complicated to me and it is recommended that you upgrade the saddles as the are a weak point. Vixen stuff is generally excellent but pricey. I don't know the APZ you refer to.

Have you considered the Ercole or Mini Ercole? Very capable mounts, they don't have slo mo controls, something that has never bothered me on an AltAz mount. With the Ercole I don't think you would need a Counterweight, but you do need to buy the correct clamp for your dovetail.

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/advanced_search_result.php?XTCsid=db66gme7235u9g425dpfh94ov2&keywords=Ercole&suchdas=OK

[iPeace]

+1 for the Ercoles. I have both and after a short period of getting used to properly balancing the scope, which one has to do anyway, I would not be without. They are simple, of the highest quality and practically indestructible. As stated, they do not have slow motion control; you balance the scope(s), adjust the clutches as necessary, and just move the scope about at will. Can take some practice, especially at high magnification, but I have found it to be well worth it and a lot of fun.

I have not used a SkyTee, have summarily tried one at my supplier's shop but wasn't convinced. Many people have them and many love them; you will also read about many who have had issues with them, mostly due to the innards being not of the highest quality, many of which could be resolved with some TLC - seems another case of getting what you pay for. Nonetheless, as stated many have had great results with them.

If you are set on having slow motion control on an alt/az mount which does not weigh too much itself but does have decent capacity with regard to the weight of the scope it can handle, your commercially available options are limited (been there). I also have one of these:

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p1753_Azimutale-Schwenkmontierung-mit-Schneckengetriebe---bis-8-kg.html

This is a relatively cheap option and does work well, but I have no illusions about the innards being significantly better than those of a SkyTee. It is lighter and less complex though and I still use it for grab-and-go at one of my observing locations and enjoy it immensely.

Can't comment on the Vixen mount you mentioned.

Happy hunting!

[TJExcalibur]

Many thanks for the replies. I will try some more info on these mounts, must be someone, somewhere who uses the various makes. The GuanSheng Opitcal ATZ looks interesting with the scope centre of the tripod. 

[Stu]

The GSO ATZ does look interesting, how is it for stability, would it cope with a C8?

I notice there is also a JMI tracking option available for it which allows for basic tracking on both axes, with adjustment of both speeds so the scope will track for ten minutes or so at a time, handy for planets, lunar and solar for instance.

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p6726_JMI-Train-N-Track-Motor-Drive-System-for-GSO-ATZ-Azimutal-Mount.html

[iPeace]

On the GSO I have never tried anything heavier than a fully loaded TV85; that works fine but to be honest, if it were ideal I would not have upgraded to the Ercole Mini...

...which surely must be able to handle a C8? I have never seen one for real, so can't tell. If it is what it seems to be, I couldn't resist putting it on an Ercole Mini with a nice wooden tripod, perhaps a modest counterweight on the other side and away you go.

I recently got the full-sized Ercole to be sure future larger scopes wouldn't be under-mounted. I probably needn't have bothered, but it is a great joy to have and use.