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rolandlinda3
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/24/06
Posts: 1619
Loc: Crozet VA 22932
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I had looked at this mount head a couple times at HandsonOptics and liked how it felt. It has a large capacity--far larger than what we needed. We just wanted to be able to pair a SV80ED/SV102ED with a classic C8 or sub a large binoculars with an adapter in place of one of the scopes.
We have used it a three times now and it's a keeper. Our use so far is just on one side with the SV102ED; we are waiting for the second arm to mount 2 scopes at once. Should anyone want to look at it or is looking for a manual mount for similar reasons, some comments:
1. It is a tough head. We have it sitting on an LXD75 tripod, which is pretty common. The two knobs to adjust friction are typical handhold size and can be tightened down pretty easily. They can be adjusted to permit even and smooth motion but with "ordered" resistance. With a real heavy scope, you can weight the opposite side from the scope, of course, but our current arrangement is not weighty enough on one side to warrant a counter weight.
2. My wife, who is short, took one glance, saw how it worked, and starting whipping the SV102ED around. It's akin to having decent Dobsonian ease for a refractor or SCT. She liked it; if she didn't, it would be on its way back.
3. One does have to balance scopes reasonably well to avoid really cranking down the knob that holds the altitude/elevation that is desired, but that's just good procedure anyway.
Once we have the second arm and fully operate the C8 and the SV102ED together, I will provide some more comments and a picture or two.
The poor value of the dollar makes prices pretty fluid. The price to us for the one-armed bandit was $364. I don't know what the addtional arm will run. Compared to another candidate, it is competitive, although the weight capacity for this one is higher than most.
Roland
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Rob Willett
professor emeritus
Reged: 02/07/05
Posts: 606
Loc: London, UK.
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Roland,
Interesting, your comments are identical to mine for the Giro II.
I did find that having two scopes on (either side) actually makes the balance better. I have a Brandon on one side and a TMB on the other and the rotation is very, very smooth. I thought it smooth before I put two scopes on, now I know it can be even better.
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Thanks,
Rob
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Teal'c
Indeed
Reged: 08/02/05
Posts: 3484
Loc: TN
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Did you get the Giro III at Hands on? It's not listed on their page...just the Giro II is. $364 is the lowest price that I've seen yet for the III.
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Etch-O-Sketch and an eraser. Although....the eraser dosn't work 
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arczeneb
super member
Reged: 11/14/04
Posts: 185
Loc: henderson, nevada
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I purchased the GIII through Teton Telescope.
How sturdy the AR6 on one side and the other is my SV80 to counter that weight. Now the hardware is available for my DSC. Dual arm $415.00.
If you go that route get a heavy duty mount like the surveyor.
Enjoy
GIRO
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C102 (Vixen) 80's
8" Porta ball
Unistar Basic/GiroIII
Meade AR6
Stellarvue NHII
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rolandlinda3
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/24/06
Posts: 1619
Loc: Crozet VA 22932
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Rob and Teal'c,
Thanks for your comments and/or questions. Yep...smooth action and should be better with a scope on each side, which we will do once I get the second arm.
HandsonOptics can get the Giro III...he sold quite a few last year...and mentioned that Teton had them also. I think Gary said he had sold the II but but specs on the III are better (more capacity) so that is what he sells. Call him to confirm what I have said. In any case, I wanted to deal with someone I can reach so I deal with Handson. He did tell me one has to be careful what is ordered: the Giro II (while interchangeable) has less capacity and the III does have some refinement.
Expect prices to go up, however, since any new stock will reflect the dollar's plunge and German machining costs (which tend to go up).
Last...is this the experience you have had? ...the action is smooth enough that having slow motion handles is not necessary since I just have to adjust the friction correctly to get the same nice smooth movement by pushing to scope.
Roland
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Rob Willett
professor emeritus
Reged: 02/07/05
Posts: 606
Loc: London, UK.
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The action is pretty smooth once it's all balanced out. I don't use nor have slo-mo controls. Not been a problem to be honest and never thought about them.
Rob.
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Thanks,
Rob
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Blind-Cyclops
sage
Reged: 11/28/05
Posts: 449
Loc: Kitchener, ON, Canada
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Hi folks,
I also have the GIRO-3 and routinely mount both my scopes.
(see equipment list below)
It also works great with only one scope and the counterweight.
"Smooooth and Strong" are the two words I would use.
Fellow sky watchers have all had positive comments about it.
My only mild objection is the colour (red)...
...I'd have preferred some shade of blue or even black.
Maybe the GIRO-4 will have a new colour.
Rating -- 2 thumbs up 
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Clear skies...
Duncan 
"Watch the skies, everywhere! Keep looking. Keep watching the skies!"
-- Closing line in movie spoken by newspaper report Ned "Scotty" Scott (Douglas Spencer) in the Sci-Fi movie
"The Thing From Another World", RKO Radio Pictures, 1951.
Antares (refractor) 127mm f/6.45. w/2-spd Crayford
Orion (Maksutov) 150mm f/12 w/2" EP adapter
Giro 3 (twin), 18" pier, EQ5 tripod.
Garrett 20x80mm, 410 head, 055 tripod.
Edited by Blind-Cyclops (07/31/08 08:51 AM)
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rolandlinda3
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/24/06
Posts: 1619
Loc: Crozet VA 22932
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Thanks for the other comments; they seem to be consistent with my original one...it is a good design. Perhaps not the cheapest, but it sure has capacity and feels good.
Roland
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Jim7728
Post Laureate
Reged: 04/10/05
Posts: 4009
Loc: Stoop Landing Observatory, NYC
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Quote:
My only mild objection is the colour (red)...
For me, goes well with Moonlite red 
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Jim
TV-76 -40mmHa/5mm BF
Vixen NA-140
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scout72
sage
Reged: 05/12/08
Posts: 222
Loc: SF Bay Area
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Just got my new Giro 3 from Teton- in beautiful black! Pictures soon....
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Scout72 is my 1972 International Scout 4x4
Some Scopes, Some Binocs, and Some Mounts,
and a much shorter signature
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