Avalon motorised polar alignment base

I've alway thought it would be great to have motorized PA.  Every time i turn a knob on the EQ6-R and overshoot the adjustment, I think of it!

Waste of money or expensive toy, can't decide which one…

I stumbled across this base today and found this thread. Has anyone had an opportunity to test it out?

I looked on the company website for a manual but could not find one–usually a deal-breaker for me, so hopefully a manual is out there somewhere.

Dunk:
Do you need a manual. The screenshot of the controlling app above looks pretty simple/straight forward?

Not everyone wants a manual because they need instructions. Some people want to understand what the device can/cannot do (for example performance limitations) as well as troubleshooting. If there is no manual or information available from the company that makes the device, the lack of materials can indicate just how 'invested' a company is in their product. Even if there is a manual but it is not in my native language, translator apps can be used so language differences aren't a concern.

I've seen dozens of situations where a company has a seemingly straight-forward product, but then when something isn't working or breaks, having no troubleshooting or maintenance options often results in frustrating RMAs. If I was to purchase the mount and it needs attention, without a manual, I may be forced with having to RMA the mount and ship it internationally for something I could fix myself in 5 minutes. It's a mess and a nightmare that can be avoided if a company invests time into documentation to explain how the mount works and how to troubleshoot issues--it also demonstrates the company put in the time to make sure the customer understands the product so their ownership remains positive if a minor problem can be fixed without having to RMA anything.

Dunk:
(As an aside: I also think if you are investing €1400 on this device you'd likely have a good understanding of how to use it...)

The price is also a good reason to have a manual. I keep giving all of my winning lottery tickets away so I am very frugal when shopping for new equipment.

Some documentation to show which mounts and tripods or piers it works work out of the box would good. If we don’t know the hole patterns how can we know how universal it is?

Did you check Avalon's website? 

Looks like they have pics of Skywatcher, iOptron and Celestron mounts and a base plate for the RST135.

While losing PA just by locking down the knobs can be frustrating, $1500 for a better knob twiddler seems like a lot…… If/when you can run an auto polar alignment routine as easily as an auto focus routine in your acquisition software, then I think it makes more cents…..

Cheers,
Scott

Seems expensive unsurprisingly.  A good idea though.  But I cannot help but imagine that a lot of people in the target group are probably imaging on permanent setups and not doing PA that frequently.