Hi Logan, the reason I bought the AN5N is because for 7 kg, it doesn't need them, its extra weight to carry off site anyway.. Interim tests of tracking and guiding prove it to be the case. and there is also no way of determining where the balance point is, as there are no clutches...Its a bit un-nerving at first, so I hear what your saying.. .. Generally I am surprised at the performance of it, any pointing error seems to be related to the tripod or the rubber feet shifting the center of balance of the whole rig, because its not evident with the spikes fitted to TC40 on rocks or concrete. looking forward to using it properly , as soon as the new purchase clouds go away...
Edit: In fact I think the reason they recommend a counterweight past 15kg payload is because a big reflector, would definitely tip the whole lot over. from an engineering standpoint though it suggests that the torque of the drive would trash anything fixed to it with a tripod clash if your meridian flip was not set right... Ill report back as soon as I have broken something..
hopefully it will be nothing expensive...