Quote:
Originally Posted by raymo
On the SLTs you can slacken nuts on both axes so they can be moved by hand without damaging anything. Most modern day GoTo EQ mounts
don't have any manual slow motion controls, but the motor controls can be operated to point the scope where you want using the finderscope
without going through the GoTo setup procedure, and you can set it to
track your target.
raymo
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I have a 130 SLT (Newtonian) which I bought second-hand. You can move it easily by hand in Altitude (up and down), and you can adjust the tension in the Altitude bolt so that it doesn't slip. However, it seems to be absolutely locked in Azimuth (side to side), and I have seen numerous forum posts from owners of SLT schools which confirm the same thing. I'm not game to push it any harder to see if it can be manually slewed.
So an SLT is really only suitable as a powered scope. It can chew through the 8 x AAA batteries pretty quickly (perhaps 4 to 6 hours use), so I strongly suggest having two sets of 8 x AAA NiMH rechargeable batteries, and just swap and recharge after each night's viewing. On a long night's viewing, you might even need to swap out part way through the night. (Or do what I have done, and get an external rechargeable 12 volt battery pack - I have a 7 amp-hour SLA (Sealed Lead-Acid) which is quite compact, and good for several night's viewing.)
As for the tube vibrations mentioned by Raymo in an earlier post - they're noticeable, but not excessively so. Make sure all tripod bolts are nice and tight, and make sure the dovetail is also properly tightened, and the Mount is perfectly fine for visual use. I have actually put my SLT mount onto a heavier EQ-2 aluminium tripod, and it's actually very stable indeed for a low-cost GoTo telescope.