which altaz mount?

[andrew63]

Merry Christmas to all.

Would like some views on a mount for 100ED refractor. I want a grab and go setup for scope and was looking at PORTA 11 or Skywatcher AZ4. Any advantage of one over other?

andrew

[John]

I've owned both and an ED100. The AZ4 (assuming the steel tube legs) is more robust and solid than the Porta II although the latter has the slow motion controls, which are useful.

On balance, given that the ED100 is a relatively long tube assembly, I'd go for the AZ4 (which is the one I've still got) and accept that you will need to "nudge" the scope at high powers.

[Bender]

Just to ad another great alternative, I have the Giro III twin arm alt az mount (made by Berlebach for a German company called Tele-Optic) and used it for a while with a Zenithstar 110, which is probably similar in size to your scope.

The mount is quite simple, without slow motion controls, and sturdy. You can mount up to 18 kg on one side, although you might want to ad a counter weight for smoother motions for a scope above 7kg.

Together with a Berlebach wooden tripod, this is my dream alt az mount, and my next scope will have to fit the mount and not the other way around.

[ollypenrice]

There is also the TeleVue Gibraltar, simple and quite effective without slow motion controls.

Olly

[catburglar]

Another vote for the AZ4 (with stainless steel legs). It's cheaper than either a Giro or a Gibraltar, and although not as well finished, has smooth motions on both axes. Use mine with 80mm ED (up to 180x mag) and ST120, and it's a pleasure.

Unless you need 2 scopes mounting, or want to pay for premium build quality, I'd find it difficult not to recommend this mount.