Yes, I agree 100% regarding GEM vs Alt-Az. THIS is the MAIN reason I keep the Polaris around. I wrote a review of the Polaris and commented on its ability to be used in Alt-Az mode but I NEVER use it that way.

I LIKE having true RA and DEC motions when using a GEM.

And for star hopping, often you don't even need to be but ROUGHTLY polar aligned.

I used to use my charts and just go to a brigh star in the vacinity of the target, then just use the setting circles to "Offset" from the bright star (ok, this is 7 degreess south in dec and 40 minutes east from my current location.. Ok there it is!)

Manual circles DO have a lot of utility. And again, I totally get the simplicity.

But yes, DSCs to me are the minimum I could settle for today unless my mount were permanant. In that case, I could be quite happy with High Speed Push To using manual circles.

Would still run some some wires and use some of those new-fangled red LED thigamabobbies to the pointer scale though. I hate messing with flashlights in the dark.