[The_bluester (Paul)]

I have a Celestron CPC925 GPS but have progressed to the point where I am beginning to find the mount a frustration. The wait times for it to slew to a new target are beginning to really bug me as I am not particularly good at planning a nights observing in an orderly progression that limits the slews between targets (Actually I usually operate by slewing to whatever takes my fancy at the time so one target may be on the opposite side of the sky to the one before)

For any AZEQ6 owners who use them in Alt Az mode, the manual is a little vague on the point when not in EQ mode, does the mount still retain it's alignment if you release the clutches and point manually? That would be a large reason for me to consider buying one. I like the tracking convenience that comes with a goto Alt Az mount but I am often not looking for a goto, I would rather be able to slew manually and quickly. The Alt Az configuration leaves the EP in easy to reach places compared to many scopes on a GEM style mount. The AZEQ6 would probably be even better than a fork mount as the EP will never end up in between the forks.

The fact that the AZEQ6 also gives the ability for me to venture into moderate exposure AP (Without heading too far down that very greasy slope of cost!) is a plus. As would be the ability to side by side mount two scopes in Alt Az.

Then would come the decision on deforking my 925 or selling it as is and replacing it! Presumably with something out of the Meade camp given current Celestron pricing in Australia.