Been some time since I've posted in IIS, but I'm hopefully that will change as I'm selling my HEQ5 Pro mount to upgrade to something bigger to cope with my expanding AP gear.
I've had the mount for almost exactly 2 years (April 2010), and I have honestly used it about two dozen times. It's in very good condition (see photos). The only markings on it are in the saddle from adding and removing the dovetail bar, and a few chips from the counter weights (again, see pics).
One counter weight was accidentally left out over night, and got a little surface rust where the small paint chips are, but that's it. Other than this minor blemish, the scope is in excellent working order. The tripod is in excellent condition, as well as the accessory tray and hand controller. It's running version 3.2.2 for the hand controller.
From what I've read, it's officially rated to hold 17kg (although "official" information is sometimes hard to find for Skywatcher), but a recommended rating is closer to 11 - 13kg. I've had both a 200mm Newtonian on this mount for visual observation, and an ED80 with a DSLR and piggybacked short tube 80mm guide scope with guide gear - both combinations easily handled by the mount.
The mount has a polar scope (I've never used it), and it has the Octans for the southern hemisphere.
For any beginners out there, a "Go-To" mount is one which you can (once you've properly set up the mount) tell the telescope where to look, based on a catalogue of objects contained in the Synscan hand controller. This moves the mount automatically to that position. Or, as Skywatcher officially puts it:
"For novice users the user-friendly menu allows automatic slewing to over 13,400 objects. Even an inexperienced astronomer can master its variety of features in a few observing sessions. The SynScan Hand Control also has the ability to connect to a computer via a RS-232 cable. Once the connection has been established between the computer and SynScan Hand Control, many commercially available planetarium software programs can be used to control the HEQ5 PRO Mount"
Pick up would really be preferred in the Brisbane area as I don't really have a box/packaging available to send it via post, however I can arrange for this at the buyer's expense if really wanted.
