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The more I look at that Chronos mount, the more I dought. Youd think flexure under load would be horendous depending where you are pointing. It would be very handy swapping from visual to imaging without counteweight tuning, (and no worry about meridian flip) but thats not much hassle really (well, flip is I guess)?. OK the total carry weight is higher without them, but I would imagine a new PEC would need to be run on a weight change anyway (not sure what to make of the 33arc/sec error "over the whole sky" statement, Surley PEC would still be necessary, mind if its smooth, guiding would reduce the necessity). The harmonic gear train means many more teeth are in contact at any time, so this increases load capacity, so yes, a smoother PE, but it doesnt solve flexure. Ive seen many industrial robotic arms, they look like this, but the load at the end is not generally of this size. This mount is at a competative price to the ME, given it seems to come with everything. It would be very interesting to see real world feedback with it. The Alesco mount on the other hand is direct motor drive, no gears, this is engineering nirvana, essentially no PE (in the traditional sence, due to no gears) and apparently output encoders, which is very smick. Imagine, no guide imaging. No price tho,I bet its crippling.
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