2 Bresser EXOS Go-To mount.
A sturdy mount that offers great tracking capability
The EQ5 is a German equatorial mount that has become the design of choice for use with medium-sized telescopes. Bresser’s EXOS 2 Go-To mount continues in this tradition, and can be used for both visual observing and astrophotography.
The mount is supplied with a stainless steel tripod, hand controller, 4.5kg counterweight, accessory leg brace and a battery case that takes eight D batteries (which are not supplied). It also features an in-built illuminated polar scope. Assembly was reasonably straightforward, with the main body attaching to the tripod and the hand controller to the mount head.
The mount is solidly built and once attached to the tripod we found it a very sturdy base for a range of our own scopes, including a 3-inch f/5 apo refractor, a 5-inch f/9.4 achromatic refractor and a 7-inch f/15 Maksutov. The manufacturer recommends a maximum load capacity of up to 13kg for visual use; if you are considering this mount for imaging, we would suggest a load limit of 10kg for smooth tracking. The saddle is Vixen style, but for the sort of telescopes you would use with it this is no problem: its large knurled locking knob held all the telescopes we attached to it firmly and securely.
Setting up
Polar alignment was straightforward using the in-built polarscope and the latitude and azimuth adjustment bolts. The polarscope reticule has etched guides for both the southern and northern hemispheres, and an illuminator to help with the alignment process.
Power is supplied by either the aforementioned battery case or a 12V mains power adaptor (sold separately). Note that the power connector is not the same type commonly found on other popular mounts, but a suitable cigar type power lead with the correct connector can be purchased from the supplier. As we didn’t have this cable, we used our own five-in-one power pack with inverter and a mains adaptor: even after four hours continuous use, we saw little drop in its power levels. It would be fair to say that this mount is not power hungry.