Twilight I Adjustable Angle Alt-Azimuth Telescope Mount

Finally after about a year I got a good, GREAT first light report for this extremely easy to setup and operate alt/az mount!After spending a few years with computerized CGEM mounts I figured it was time to get a grab and go mount. One that wouldn't need a good half hour or so of setup. This one went on sale and would be able to handle my Canon 7D and Explore Scientific ED102. I have used camera tripods which are great for cameras but the more gear you add, the wobblier they get.After putting this little gem of a mount together it sat in my garage for about a year. The nights I want to go out it was cloudy, the clear nights I was tired or had to get up early. Finally I said I'm just going to grab it even though there where a few clouds here and there on a Friday night. I went over the clutches and insured I knew where all the controls are before heading out. The Twilight I has a standard vixen type dovetail that will fit most standard scopes from Explore Scientific, Orion, Celestron etc.Setup is fairly straight forward, just extend the legs and lock the double screws in at a comfortable height. Then slip your telescope in and tighten the vixen mounts side screws down, one to grip it and the other is a safety to keep it from slipping. To roughly aim your scope you loosen one clutch at a time and merely bore sight along the edge of your telescope, then do the same with the other angle. You can then use the slow motion controls to dial your spotting scope and finally your main telescope. It’s that easy!The hardest part is learning where your targets are. Orion and Cassiopeia are usually easy to recognize and they can point you towards interesting parts of the sky.

Ordered this to pair with a 120mm shorty refractor which is currently on back order, so I don't know how well this will perform under load. Shortly after I placed the order, I ran across several negative reviews of this mount. There were enough negative reviews that I cancelled the order. The mount was already shipping though and Amazon said I'd have to refuse delivery or return it. I wasn't home when the mount was delivered so I figured I'd have to go through the hassle of taking it to UPS, etc. Since it was here, I decided to open the box just to check it out.Although it comes with assembly instructions, there was almost nothing to assemble - put on the slo-mo controls and the spreader/tray and that was it. That a was pleasant surprise.The fit and finish are good. The mount seems stable with the legs (tubular) fully extended and the spreader in place. Actually, I'm not sure the spreader is even necessary, but that remains to be seen. The alt-az slewing movements are smooth as are slo-mo. The weight of the mount is noticeably less than my old C-8 tripod with EQ wedge. That's good because I want a grab-n-go and while my C-8 is not that much of an elephant, I don't consider it a GnG.The only issue I found is the threads on the az slo-mo control weren't cut quite right or the setscrew was off a bit. I had to use a pair of adjustable pliers to get the screw tight while worrying I was going to strip it or shear it off. I proceeded slowly and neither happened.People have said there's too much vibration or too long of a damping time with this mount, especially at high powers. Can't say without a scope mounted, but I intend to use this for low-power rich field and brighter DSOs, so I can live with a few seconds of damping. People have also commented about the quality of the slo-mo cables. They're ok, but they can always be replaced with knobs or better cables if necessary. There have also been comments questioning the ability of the dovetail bracket to hold a scope securely. I'm new to Vixen-style plates, so I can't comment on that, but the setscrews look like they'll do the job and again, the plate holder can also be upgraded.So, I'm not sure I agree 100% with the negative reviews. This mount looks like a decent value for the price and the basic engineering and quality look good. If you're into tinkering / upgrading there are a few things you could do to trick it out more to your liking. I might defork my C-8 just to try it on this mount for grins. I'm pretty skeptical about that working, but it might be a pleasant surprise as well.I'll post more impressions once I have the 120 on this thing and I try it out in the field.

Two hundred bones may seem like a bit to spend on this thing but I'm glad I finally did. Worth every penny for what it is and what it does. Very smooth movement (wish I was this smooth, lol) and the slo-mo controls are a joy to use. The real kicker is that ES made this unit capable of various adjustments. The head can be adjusted for terrestrial or sky viewing. It can also be adjusted so that the Az slo-mo knob is on either side of the head at various points and the Alt knob can also be adjusted at various levels. I like options and this mount gives them to you. I've had a 120mm refractor, an ES 150mm reflector and a C6 on this thing without issue. I put my 11.5 lb. C8 on it for a couple weeks and the Az part of the mount started to scrape a bit. ES is replacing the part for me under warranty and their customer service is top notch. Is it the result of the 11 lb. C8 or was it a defective part to begin with? I don't know. It's rated at no more than 18 lb. load on the ES website page for it so an 11.5 lb. short tube SCT would be fine I should think. Nevertheless, it's a good unit from a good company with good customer service.

Everything about this order has been a nightmare, first it arrived a day AFTER it was out for delivery thanks Amazon then it was left on my front steps where anyone could have just walked off with it. It arrived double boxed but when I opened the inner box the surrounding styrofoam which is supposed to protect the mount was utterly destroyed with the mount laying in the residue. When I took the mount out it was disassembled and loose parts where just scattered at the bottom of the box. No washers, no e clip to hold the threaded attaching bolt in the tripod and a few yet to be identified pieces that aren't shown on the assembly instructions I had to download because those weren't included either. I'm most likely going to return the mount, how I can package it up to do so remains to be seen. What terrible quality control , I'll never buy anything from Explore Scientific in the future based on this horrible example. Buyer beware