[MortonH]

I bought a well used Skyview deluxe last year. I quite like the design and the ability to have the arm at different angles. I'm using mine with a C5 so the arm is in the vertical position, which is good for my limited observing space.

One issue with this particular mount is that there is sometimes sideways play in the azimuth bearing. I don't mean rotational play around the azimuth direction but sideways tilt of the whole bearing. If you look at the base side on it lifts very slightly on one side, which means that the arm tilts slightly sideways. I can make it go away by tightening the azimuth lock and rotating 360º a couple of times but it's a bit annoying and will come back several times in a session.

Is this typical behaviour for one of these mounts as it gets older? I played with a brand new one at Bintel last weekend and was impressed with how solid and smooth it felt. I'm not about to spend $399 on a new one but if a typical used one is better than mine I might consider trying to find one.

Hoping that some owners will share their experiences.