Go-To Alt/Az mounts

[Waxing_Gibbous]

Does anyone here have experience with one of these?
Back surgery means I can no longer perform the acrobatics entailed in a GEM mount. So I'm putting my Faithful HEQ6 out to pasture. Also I stepped on the hand controller and now its sort of a paperweight!!

Prime issues are stability and accurate go-to (without too much fuss).
It would need to support the weight of an 8" Intes Mak plus maybe a small (3-4"refractor) and possibly a pair a pair of binos. All-in around 15-20kg.

Some time ago Meade introduced what sounded like the fella for me. The LS 80. Since then I've seen nor heard nothing of it and can find little of use on the net -Its great/its crap sort of thing. What became of it?

I know about the iOptron options and they seem well specced but does anyone have any actual practical experience with one?
Any other options and all opinions welcome.
Thanks,
PJH

[issdaol]

Hi Mate,

IOPTRON Cube options I would stay away from. Especially with the load you are talking about.

IOPTRON Specs for load are pretty much exaggerated plus you have to apply a lot of aftermarket fixes to get it up to a reasonable standard.

The Alignment and Electronics with goto and tracking are quick and accurate but it is just a shame about the mechanicals let them down.

Very bad QA and they don't like accepting fault unless pushed very hard.

Once you apply all the fixes they are a nice little mount but only for small scopes like TSA102 or NP101 style scopes and less.

Cheers

[Chris85]

There's the new baby brother to the Skywatcher Az-eq6, the Az eq5 which has either just hit the market, or just about. Very similar to the Meade. From memory I think it's quoted to hold 10kg on both sides of the head when used in Alt/az mode. See this thread http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=126237
Cheers :-)