Losmandy AZ8 – The included saddles accept both Losmandy D series and Vixen-style dovetails.
Losmandy is primarily known for their precision manufactured German Equatorial Mounts so it’s not surprising that their announcement of a new alt-az mount based on the venerable GM8 has caused some excitement. The Losmandy AZ8 is a medium sized, heavy-duty alt-az mount featuring twin dovetail saddles for dual-scope capability.
The DwarfStar along side 2″ 38mm SWA and 1.25″ 32mm Plossl eyepieces. This photo shows the saddle rotated so the handle mounting block is within the profile of the head for minimum packed size.
A compact but sturdy mount is the foundation of any quick grab or travel observing setup. A mount that is light weight but overly shaky at the eyepiece can sap the joy out of observing, while a solid but heavy mount can be a chore to transport and deploy. When looking for a portable mount to use with small telescopes the path between these two extremes can be a fine line to tread.
Universal Astronomics is a small, New England based manufacturer of astronomical mounts. While researching the options for well built, manual alt-az mounts their products seemed widely recommended so I decided to take a closer look at their line-up. After spending some time on the UA web site and contacting the owner, Larry Patriarca, for his recommendations I chose the DwarfStar for my purposes.