AZ3 mounts at a bargain price from AOE

[janoskiss]

Just browsing AOE's website: www.aoe.com.au ...

Their AZ3 mounts are listed for "under $130". What a bargain! I have not seen these mounts for under $179 (and that was from AOE as well). If postage to Melbourne does not cost too much, I'm grabbing one.

I'm not affiliated with AOE or any other dealer. The AZ3 is an easy-to-use alt-az mount (as opposed to equatorial or EQ mount): great for a light portable setup with smaller refractors, Cassegrains and short Newtonians.

[Miaplacidus]

you're right, sounds like a bargain. er, shame I now have four alt/az mounts already...

[ving]

yeah i saw that steve, great price hey :)

[casstony]

For lightweight scopes an alternative is to use the eq3-c ($150) without the counterweight attached. Almost as portable as an alt-az but you only have to make corrections on one axis.

-Tony

[janoskiss]

EQ3-C is a lot more wobbly than the AZ3, even for light scopes (i.e., 60mm refractor).

[ving]

yeah the az3 is pretty beefy for a little mount :)

[casstony]

maybe were not talking about the same mount. The eq3-c I have seems very sturdy, nothing like an eq2. Visually it could probably handle an 8" sct. I bought this from Andrews a year or 2 back for $200. Tried to check their site but its down.

-Tony

[janoskiss]

Yes, maybe not all EQ3-Cs are created equal. What scope have you got on that mount, Tony?

[casstony]

I had a close look at the picture at AOE and their eq3-c looks a little different to my eq-3. Too many Chinese copies of Chinese copies of Japanese mounts. I think Andrews is still selling the mount that I have for $199. I use mine with an 80mm f9 Stellarvue which is quite heavy for its size. Previously I used the mount with an 80 short tube without a counterweight or counterweight bar.

The Stellarvue is the first decent refractor I've had - I like those instant sharp views of solar system objects.

-Tony