[JohnG (John)]

As the owner of a G-11 and the previous owner of a G-11 and GM-8, I feel that for the money they are an excellent intermediate mount, now one could argue that they do need a bit of tweaking here and there, they do. The beauty of this is that they are easy to field strip and do any maintenance, the parts simply unscrew and slide apart. One will need to learn how to adjust the worm to get a decent accuracy although to counter that, the G-11 I have worked well straight out of the box (now sold). The mount is already fitted with the high precision worm and, providing the PE is not jumpy, can be guided out quite sucessfully. Alternatives are getting the new Losmandy one piece worm block or the Ovision block.

As far as the Gemini is concerned, I am used to the Gemini Level 4, all new G-11's will come with the new Gemini 2, I am unable to comment on that although the specs look good. If it is anything like the original Gemini it will have a learning curve although once you have mastered that it is easy to use and your actions become automatic and the pointing is very accurate. Interface with a PC or Laptop is simple via an RS232 cable, I sucessfully use a Serial to USB to connect to my Laptop using Win 7. Autoguiding is simply Plug and Play using the On Camera guiding from PHD, interface with an SBIG camera is the same although with the older Gemini you do need the SBIG Relay Box, ASCOM drivers are freely available. Automatic location and time updating can be done using a StarGPS to save you inputting Lat/Long/UTC formats manually.

When ordering the G-11 you can specify if you want the HD tripod or not, just the mount head or just the mount head with the Digital Drive. Up to you.

They are a heavy mount and built like the proverbial, it is next to impossible to destroy one. The one thing that I do find unsatisfactory is the placement of the motors and gearbox, they do stick out a bit and are exposed to a knock which can damage them during transport, this is even more so when fitted with the Maxon heavy duty motors as they are slightly longer than the standard servos. Another thing with the mount is that the cables are all exposed, something that one works around although I do find it a bit of a pain. The HD tripod has got to one of the best in the business.

All that said, I have now moved on to a Takahashi EM-200 for my portable mount.

As I said earlier, IMO, for the money, it is an excellent intermediate mount and will give many years of great service.

Cheers