Giro II AltAz mount

Hi,

I have an LXD75 that I bought last year and I don't get enough use of it mainly because in the time it takes to set up and align I can have half my typical observing session over using a small scope on a light AltAz by the time I would have the darn thing aligned and ready to go. As a result I've considered building a Dob mount for the tube; however it occurs to me that a heavyweight AltAz tripod would be equally convenient and at the same time would be more versatile in that it could be used for a variety of scopes. In either case I can also keep the LXD75 and use it on the occasions that setup time doesn't matter.

Does anyone have experience of the Giro II AltAz mount and do you think it's suitable for an approx 750mm Newt and perhaps a large refractor (up to 6")?

Dont know about the GiroII, but if you were selling the LXD mount alone then I might be interested in buying it.

Hi Dave,

I'll make a note of that and get back to you when I've decided what to do. It would certainly defray some of the cost of buying another mount and I do seem to be moving away from GoTo solutions

I don't have the Giro but I do use their Giro Mini which is a great piece of kit, I use it instead of the ASGT unless I'm doing some imaging.

I would think that the Giro II would easily handle a 6 inch Newt. with the mini (which is way smaller) I can have the Megrez 90 and Zenithstar 66 with heaving rings and accessories in use with no problems.

The Giro II will handle 18KG scopes + counterweights.

Cheers,

Trev

Thanks Trevor - that's reassuring. The tube itself weights less than 7 kg.