I recently picked up a new scope & goto mount, primarily to be a Portable setup, so weight & size were the most important when I was looking around. I used an old tripod that came with a Meade 4.5″ Newtonian GEM but had the head damaged many, many years ago. The legs were still in good shape and it felt as if it could handle the 7-10 Kg of the new mount & refractor scope. The tripod head was rebuilt while waiting for the new equipment to arrive.
The GoTo mount (Thing Between the Telescope & the Tripod) is an iOptron SkyHunter 3700. The mount itself is very light weight, WiFi capable & capacity of 10lbs (including counter weight!). The mount is a bit Quirky, but it did interface with Stellarmate after I managed to translate some very Chinglish instructions. The Clutches (Red knobs) on the mount are absolutely HORRIFIC to use! Full Stop!
The scope is an SVBony 70mm F6 Telescope with 2″ focuser, perfect for my ZWO 183 camera. I choose the 70mm model over the 80mm simply because of weight. ED70 is 2.2Kg whereas ED80 is 3.3Kg & with my camera & accessories would put the mount over it’s weight limit & I’m pushing that now. For the price, this little scope was a pleasant surprise upon first impressions.
Below is a link to the very first image taken & processed with the new scope & mount on Feb 20/21, 2025 which was the first night the setup was put outdoors. Of course, the first few nights are more about learning the quirks & working out bugs, but in between the jiggs & reels, I did manage to sneek in a few frames of an extremely familiar nebula to most people.
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