I routinely run 2 Paramount ME mounts remotely in Coonabarabran from California. Their operation has been pretty much flawless for the last 7 years. ME #1 was the first ME in Australia way back when. Only recently did we replace one of the drive belts. The ME is a rock solid, highly accurate platform and can be found used at a good price these days. The only real operational issue is the limited time past the meridian. But a quick flip and re-alignment on the target is all that is necessary.
As other's have said, remote is remote, but it is not autonomous. There is always something breaking that requires attention. It's the small things that bite you. Which is why it's on a friends property who can manage the issues as they arise by a quick walk from his house. This btw is my the commercial remote operations charge what they do.
For the last year I operated all my observatory remotely using Titan mount. But that was from place where observatory is located. Now I live in another country but don't wont to give up on this hobby. And for that past year the only problem I had were wrapped cables,dew and magnetic switches for roof opening/closing but that is now sorted. So basically I know what means "remote control". That's why I'm looking for new mount. And for remote control SB mounts comes first to mind.
For the last year I operated all my observatory remotely using Titan mount. But that was from place where observatory is located. Now I live in another country but don't wont to give up on this hobby. And for that past year the only problem I had were wrapped cables,dew and magnetic switches for roof opening/closing but that is now sorted. So basically I know what means "remote control". That's why I'm looking for new mount. And for remote control SB mounts comes first to mind.
Like I wrote before I had a problem with wrapped cables. Also this is quite old design, problematic gearboxes and gear meshing which I had to set up twice a year. That's why I don't see that mount suitable for remote control. Besides it tracked very well and handled my telescope with ease.But SB TSX and ProTrack is very tempting. So looks like I will go PMX+, especially now when I received message that AP11000 won't be available till early next year.
