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Hi Dennis
A few years ago I did much the same -
swapped from a Celestron Celestar 8 (SCT) to the Meade ETX 125.
Here are my personal observations -
The loss of aperture is quite obvious - bit of a shock at first.
The ETX is much lighter, smaller, portable and fits in the car with other stuff etc.
I find the GOTO capability a lot of fun even though I know my way around the sky.
Finderscope is tiny and could be better located.
(not a lot of room though anyway)
Focuser knob feels flimsy.
Mount is slight and doesn't feel too balanced in polar configuration.
(but it is light)
You can get a better mount for it later.
You can get a large dob if you really miss the aperature.
(Once you have gone from 8" to 5" you will want
something larger than 8" next.)
Take note of the long focal length at f/15 1900mm.
In summary I'd say yes it will fix 'being tired of lifting the 8" SCT about'
but you will really notice the loss of aperture.
If you are not interested in the GOTO aspect of the ETX then you might want to rethink your options. (A portable refractor and keep the 8" SCT)
Hope this helps
Jon
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