I purchased a used ETX125EC with a 884 deluxe mount, no hand control.

Not sure how the hand control could have been seperated from this scope considering it is very nice condition.

One possibility that did go thru my mind is that the mount has problems and with out a hand control it could not be tested, seller had no knowledge.

I can buy the standard hand control from Meade for $20.00 to see if the mount works or buy the #497 control and cross my fingers and hope that everything is ok but this one is around $100.00.

Will the #497 be compatible with my EC model? I removed the vertical lock and this is the older model without the internal metal fork. Any other way to test the drives?

I removed the battery holder and looked everything over, wiring seems fine, no burnt odors, stop is intact, gears look fine, no corrosion in the battery compartment.

My idea at time of purchase was to remove it from the fork and use it on a Unistar but now I am thinking I would like to have the goto feature from the 497, if possible.

Robert