Apogee HD Mount question

I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with this mount. It looks just like a CG5, comes with an illuminated polar scope, and sells for only $159! Is this a piece of junk, or is it comparable to a CG5? Thank you in advance for any responsed I can get to this question.
Mike

Mike,

I had an Apogee HD. Also had an EQ4/CG5. I had a Burgess 5" f/8 refractor on both. Both performed the same and were passable performers with that scope. Not great, not unusable. I was told that the tripod was 90% of the problem, but I sold the whole package to fund a Starmaster before I had a chance to try new legs.

It is not a piece of junk, but it is a $159 mount. I tore it down to parade rest and polished and re-lubed the whole thing. That helped a lot. I put Celestron motors on it, but that required some Dremel work. If I were looking for a mount for a 15 lbs refractor and didn't want to spend a fortune, I'd get the HD.

Clear skies,

Tom