Paulo martin said:
Hello,
I have an ED80 refractor and I am looking for some light and handy mount, I doubt between the Vixen Porta and the Celestron SLT with Goto, you can advise me about it?
Greetings
Paulo:
I do not recommend the SLT mount, it's better than the Meade DS mounts but it's built to a budget and the tripod is much too small. I eventually gave up on the one I had, replaced the tripod legs with the ones from my Vixen Portamount, removed the altitude drive and turned it into an undriven mount... If you want a GOTO I think the Nexstar SE mount is a much better choice and it is available as a stand alone mount.
I like the Vixen Portamount or the Astro-Tech Voyager... Currently I am using a Portamount with Hands on Optics wooden legs with my TV NP-101, I like it... A small EQ mount is OK but not so hot if you are also using the scope for birding or terrestrial...
If money is tight, a EQ-2 class mount can be used alt-az by pointing the polar axis at the zenith...
A final option, my favorite for my 80mm F/7 apo is a heavy duty Bogen tripod with a three axis tilt-pan head, the top axis is flipped sideways and the scope mounted "side saddle." Such tripods and mounts are expensive if purchased new but can be found used for very reasonable prices if you keep you eyes open, CL is the site of choice. 3040/3046 with a 3047 head or a 3035-3051 class with that 3047 heads are my favorites. When I see one for $50, I buy it...
Jon
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