Televue Gibraltar

Ratings:Top:Astronomy:Equipment Reviews:Mounts:Televue Gibraltar

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Brand and Model:Televue Gibraltar
Price ($USD):$595
Type:Alt-Azimuth
Attributes:un-checkedMotorized un-checkedPEC un-checkedGoto
Electric Power:
Weight (lbs.):17
Description:Excellent all purpose AltAz mount. Suitable for 4" and smaller refractors. Good construction quality, and friction adjustments on both altitude and azimuth axis. Ideal for quick looks, star-hopping. No slow motion controls, but otherwise an ideal alt-az mount for smaller OTA's.

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Televue Gibraltar
Due to a line of tall trees that face south, I needed a telescope that was portable enough to move around so that I could view past these obstructions. And I wanted excellent optics, that wouldn’t require collimation, plus a sturdy, lightweight, but portable mount. I spent a lot of time reading reviews before settling on a Televue 102 and the Gibraltar mount. I was also aware from reading the reviews of the TV102 on this site, that the Gibraltar had its limitations at high powers. Nonetheless, because it was a good match for the scope I decided to buy a Gibraltar with ash tripod legs.

Performance: The Gibraltar is a study in simplicity. The cradle is made of aluminum, finished in black. Pressure fittings are used to control the tension on each axis and to adjust the height of the legs. On my unit I have to keep the leg screws fairly tight or else they will (slowly) slip. Conversely, there is very little space between the legs and humidity can make the wood stick. However, I have had the scope for about three months now and in using the scope about a dozen times, this has only happened once and with one leg. The maximum height of the tripod when the legs are fully extended is about five and half feet, which facilitates viewing when the scope is at zenith. A metal tray adds rigidity to the tripod and is convenient for placing accessories while viewing. It has taken me a while to get used to making adjustment to tighten or loosen the tension, but the more I use it, the easier this process becomes.

Adjustments are made by nudging the telescope up and down. At first, it took a while to get used to an object vibrating in the eyepiece, particularly at high powers. But I’ve found that the more I use this mount, the better I’ve become at adjusting the tension and gently nudging so that the vibration are not as noticeable. Vibration pads would probably improve this even more.

Ease of Use: The Gibraltar is a great portable mount. My view of Mars this summer (2003) was often obstructed by trees; no problem as I could pick the scope up, move it a few feet and quickly return to observing. Viewing dark sky objects at lower powers requires very little movement of the telescope. However, as noted, when viewing at high powers objects move quickly across the field of view requiring frequent movement of the scope, which sets up vibrations that are more noticeable. At those times I really felt that the mount would benefit from manual slow motion controls and I’d love to see someone offer them as an aftermarket accessory.

Value. The Gibraltar appears to be quite durable and with a minimum of moving parts and no motor drives or computer guidance systems this mount will probably last a lifetime. It definitely met my needs for a mount that is portable and easy to use. It does seem to be a bit pricey for such a simply constructed mount, but there is no question that it is a quality built product.

Overall Rating: 8
Performance:8 Ease of Use:8 Value:8
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=304084

Televue Gibraltar
Awesome quality!
Tricky to balance if you're going to try photography with it, but surprisingly effective on lunar, solar, and planetary.
Have an NP101 on it, and it simply defines quality...a true work of art.
Thanks, Al. Ya got class!

Overall Rating: 10
Performance:9 Ease of Use:10 Value:9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=363573

Televue Gibraltar
It's beautiful and very suitable for low-to-medium power viewing, but not at all suitable for high-power planetary viewing. The Skytour option is way overpriced.

Overall Rating: 7
Performance:7 Ease of Use:9 Value:4
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=297870

Televue Gibraltar
over priced

Overall Rating: 9
Performance:10 Ease of Use:10 Value:9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=130217

Televue Gibraltar
Excellent, easy to use altaz mount. It gets more use than any mount I've ever owned. Limited to 4" OTA's. If it had slo-mo controls, it would rate an easy "10".

Overall Rating: 9
Performance:9 Ease of Use:10 Value:9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=122754

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