Good equatorial platform for Dobsonian?

[GTom]

I am thinking on astrophotography with a reinforced/DIY upgraded 16" travel Dob, 3-5minutes subs. Seen that the Tom O' dual axis platform does exactly that but got two problems with that:

#1, price: costs more than a GEM capable to carry a 16" Newtonian (CEM60). I know there are stronger, more expensive mounts out there - anyway, 2000$+ is beyond my budget.

#2, fixed latitude. The scope is a travel Dob which I intend to fly e.g. to Namibia - unfortunately I don't live South enough to be on its Northerly counterpart. Neither I want to pay TWICE the $2k+ price tag.

#3, polar alignment: no polar finder, better PoleMaster no deal. In 2020 the maximum time I want to waste with PA is 5 minutes. I have two trackers meant to be used with small telepoto/standard lemses: both came with polar finders.

Any recommendations? I am also open for DIY, however need a decent low-latitude design first.

Edited January 6, 2020 by GTom

[johninderby]

Lots of EQ platforms from Telescope aexpress to give you an idea of what is available. From not too expensive to expensive such as the Geoptik.

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/index.php/cat/c20_Mounts-----Equatorial.html

Not difficult to build yournown though. Just Google DIY EQ platforms.

Edited January 6, 2020 by johninderby

[GTom]

The Geoptik is still half the price compared to the Tom O platform, I'd count it affordable if it checks all the boxes. Problem will be with all their plaform the Latitide on the Canaries where I go quite often (28°N).

A horseshoe type could work, that needs DIY and good carbon fiber skills/parts to keep the weight low.

Edited January 8, 2020 by GTom