Tsula. That looks like the Orion AstroView Equatorial Telescope Mount. It looks more sturdy than I would have thought it to be. What is your opinion of it and how much weight can it take?
That is the Orion Astroview. That flimsy iOptron GEM28 mount was not able to handle the Meade 115mm telescope even though it only weighs 12 pounds with a finder, diagonal and eyepiece. So I thought I would try the Meade 115mm out on this Astroview and I was amazed. It is a very sturdy mount and handles the 115mm no problem. It came with a polar scope and two counterweights. I really like it. The web site says it can hold up to 12 pounds or a 5" refractor (but I have yet to find a 5" refractor that weighs 12 pounds). However, this little mighty mount had no problem handling the 12 pound Meade telescope. The cap on the end of the polar scope keeps falling off which is annoying and I don't like having to polar align by rotating the RA axis but those are minor annoyances and I give it high marks. It seems that some of the manual mounts don't even have a polar scope. Do you just eyeball Polaris in that case?
@@tsulasbigadventures Well for me if it don't have a polar scope then I put it in the home position and find Polaris in the telescope finder. Yeah it looks like a beast. I think I will get one. Can't have too many manual mounts especially when it seems that no one makes them anymore. It reminds me of the old version of the cg-4 mount.
@@lornaz1975 I was amazed Orion still carried it. The web site says that they actually brought back the Observer kit 90mm refractor in 2022, which is also on a version of this manual mount.
@@tsulasbigadventures actually I think the observer's mount looks more like the Explore FirstLight EXOS Nano Mount just in black. Either way I plan to get one
@@lornaz1975 One other thing I wanted to mention. I'm not sure if the Astroview Pro is this way but to lock your telescope in the mount's saddle it has one bolt and a smaller safety screw. They are secure but I can see how it will scratch the dovetail plate over time. Is your Astroview Pro like that too?
Hi Tsula. I really enjoy your channel. A fan from NY. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much!
Nice instruction video 👍.
Thank you.
Whew, sure glad I bought a dob!
Equatorial mounts are a lot of work!
Tsula. That looks like the Orion AstroView Equatorial Telescope Mount. It looks more sturdy than I would have thought it to be. What is your opinion of it and how much weight can it take?
That is the Orion Astroview. That flimsy iOptron GEM28 mount was not able to handle the Meade 115mm telescope even though it only weighs 12 pounds with a finder, diagonal and eyepiece. So I thought I would try the Meade 115mm out on this Astroview and I was amazed. It is a very sturdy mount and handles the 115mm no problem. It came with a polar scope and two counterweights. I really like it. The web site says it can hold up to 12 pounds or a 5" refractor (but I have yet to find a 5" refractor that weighs 12 pounds). However, this little mighty mount had no problem handling the 12 pound Meade telescope. The cap on the end of the polar scope keeps falling off which is annoying and I don't like having to polar align by rotating the RA axis but those are minor annoyances and I give it high marks. It seems that some of the manual mounts don't even have a polar scope. Do you just eyeball Polaris in that case?
@@tsulasbigadventures Well for me if it don't have a polar scope then I put it in the home position and find Polaris in the telescope finder. Yeah it looks like a beast. I think I will get one. Can't have too many manual mounts especially when it seems that no one makes them anymore.
It reminds me of the old version of the cg-4 mount.
@@lornaz1975 I was amazed Orion still carried it. The web site says that they actually brought back the Observer kit 90mm refractor in 2022, which is also on a version of this manual mount.
@@tsulasbigadventures actually I think the observer's mount looks more like the Explore FirstLight EXOS Nano Mount just in black. Either way I plan to get one
@@lornaz1975 One other thing I wanted to mention. I'm not sure if the Astroview Pro is this way but to lock your telescope in the mount's saddle it has one bolt and a smaller safety screw. They are secure but I can see how it will scratch the dovetail plate over time. Is your Astroview Pro like that too?