We've sold and used all the other Giro mounts for a decade and a half - real nice.  Then we realized customers were upgrading to larger APO's, larger and heavier scopes in general, still looking for the much larger XXL and Maxload mounts too (obsolete for years now - too expensive).  We wondered... what would we want for a no-compromise universal mount that handles anything small to huge without the usual spread in cost, weight, or size?  Well... we do have some clever engineers, a machine shop, and machinists who made spacecraft parts... and they came up with something...  something unique!  Its called the "GiroCube", or simply G3. Quite revolutionary!  But what's all the hoopla about?
  There are the simple answers, and some really engaging innovations afoot...

  We have upgraded the Giro DX mount designs in terms of a formulation that is all about 3's. 1/3 larger or 33% better in some way for example. In all cases, the primary intention is a "Universal and Versatile Grab-N-Go Scope Mount" that has no compromises like the predecessors. We now use this same mount to put on a little solar PST or a monster APO refractor as well as all the rest of telescope types - but in all these cases we leave the original mounts behind. Why? The reason is the Tech2000 Giro G3 takes 10-30 seconds to setup - and the original mounts the telescopes were on take people anywhere from 10-30 minutes. We want Grab & Go and we want the extreme performance and strength too without the hassle penalties. The old addage applies... "If it takes too long to use... you won't use it". Pricing is very similar indeed to the lesser predecessors, but half of the larger predecessors, and 1/3 of our fave T-rex equatorial mounts.
  Did you notice the photo above? There is a large difference between the Tech2000 GiroCube G3 Mount and our previous offerings of Giro 2DX and Giro 3DX or Giro Ercole, Giro XXL, and Giro Maxload. The basic questions were asked in many-flavored ways by the original Giro owners... "Can I grow up to be big and strong like you?" ...Well the short answer is "I don't think so kid", and the longer one requires engineers whom know what the heck they're doing...
  A major revolution change has occurred... just look at the SPAN! Swing scopes and bino's far out from the mount. Move instruments farther or closer to the mount by sliding the shaft. Pull the (now greaseless) shaft right out if you want more compaction to travel in seconds. Never heard of that before! These are patent-rights-reserved features. If you have an expensive telescope, you probably also purchased a mount to handle it? The Tech2000 GiroCube G3 mount fills the gaps when people realize they don't go out for any short trips or backyard time anymore due to the bulk and erecting time of their 'whizbang' goto mount they got to handle that more serious scope load - now setup GiroCube on an HD tripod or portable folding pier or your existing equipment tripod in about 30 seconds!  But the same GiroCube is quite compact and light - so is correctly preferred for all smaller uses too for the all same reasons, even for heavy binoculars.
  Our goal... over-ride old compromises with no cost change... no balance issues, get feet out away from the tripod, any instruments single or dual, scopes or bino large or small, astronomy or pro film crews, low weight/compact/fast, arcsecond motions in ultra-hi mag astronomy or swing-zoom accurate with a big vidcam like you're a lightning fast film-pro at the Superbowl. Why on Earth would someone want a mount less than that at such an astounding price?

• 'Mambo-Swing' (Instrument Shifting Ability): No travel was ever allowed before - to space out instruments from the mount body. Now you can rapidly move the instrument inward or outward at your whim and lock it, to clear tripod legs for instance, or balance a weight or perhaps a second instrument mounted opposing (you can do that now without purchasing extra parts and you will have no concern about how to balance all your stuff... see below).


• Far Larger Payload: GiroCube G3 has 3x more than a Giro 2 or Giro 3 (they had 33 Lb total load), and about the same as a Giro XXL (100 Lb total load). We like to recommend the primary instrument should be 50 Lb or less since big HD tripods and portable piers begin to have sway/rigidity issues above a 100Lb total - and this leaves a lot of loadspace for all sorts of 'extra equipment - our G³ mount however won't have any problem with any combinations up to 100Lb.


• Major Balancing Improvements: 33% longer Main Instrument Shaft, this shaft is easily moved left or right and locked in place, as well as quickly removable. Where before, no Giro was able to vary the balance between one instrument and its counterweight maximum outward position limit, let alone between two mounted instruments, and let alone pulling out the shaft itself which you can do now. Now we have a slide-n-lock main shaft that allows a whopping continuous balance adjustment ratio of 1:1 thru 4:1. This new shaft can act as counterweight all by itself (5Lb), and since the mounting head itself is so strong with the improved bearings and pre-tensioned mechanisms -- often no counterweight is needed at all! (take care to watch your tripod... this smoothness of movement effect can lull you into not paying attention to your tripods' topple-over limits!).


• Larger Base Diameter:  Tech2000 GiroCube G3 has a 33% wider footprint for robust rigidity and strength with smaller or much larger instruments.  This still fits onto every common support tripod or pier. 4" wide base fully spans most beefy GP tripods like our PowerTower, and Mead/Cele/Orion/Bogen/Manfroto/Etc. all HD sizes that use the regular 10mm or 3/8 bolt-up from the bottom center, plus easily chucks onto Losmandy or AP piers and the Tech2000 QuickChucks for Tech2000 Quick-Draw Piers (recommended for fastest Grab-N-Go setups).


• Elevated Instrument: 33% taller. Most people like to see this higher mount for easier views or lower tripod spread, but do not wish to buy an extension that adds (a lot) of cost and adds potential compromise with rigidity/solidity or strength - not to mention setup time. But nor do we want an ungainly mount size to carry which creates a compact transport/storage issue. The Tech2000 GiroCube G3 nets around a 6.5" optic-above-mount elevation vs. the old 3.5".


• Main Instrument Shaft:  33% larger diameter stainless-steel. No more issues about payload flexing or quiver... unless you add a Volkswagen vehicle for your observation cockpit and you also want to sit inside that to view. Then we might recommend you add some counterweighting.


• Zero Backlash: The Tech2000 GiroCube G3 Mount totally eliminates 'play' that previous Giro mounts claimed was taken-up by the internal grease. Now there is no issue like we and our customers had found before, since both our axes eliminate 'play' entirely by greaseless constrictive mechanical pressure. The result is arcsecond movements by finger alone, moves when you want and stays put, does not relax or bounceback when you let go during a move, and finally no bump issues from wind or during mountup time.


• More Appropriate Equipment Weight:  33% heavier, but that's just 3 Lbs and even the 11 Lb total weight is no problem at all for a universal grab-n-go. Pull out the 5Lb alt shaft and total is near half. Yet this is far lighter than a giant Giro XXL telescope mount head - and handles the same spec loads easily - and is NOT $1200 US price. You get off cheaply on that score by over 50% less.


• Stronger Altitude Lock & Tensioner: All Giros of any size that have come before used a bolt-knob-pressure against the shafts with a plastic slug on the circumference contact point against the perimeter of the shaft. We now switchover to a split-clamp method with full-surround grip, and one contact point now becomes ALL contact points. Not to mention we use full-surround bronze against this much larger stainless steel shaft too. The result is a tube-balance tensioner with very-fine user-control and when fully-clamped completely immobilizes the telescope. You will appreciate this little detail when you loadup or takedown late at night, or pull out a bino-viewer with a pair of large oculars on it... and your scope does not swing down and hit the tripod, or worse when loading the same thing, swing up instead and drop out an expensive 2" Barlow, the binoview, and a couple premium oculars onto maybe concrete pavement waiting and willing to make a good day turn into a very bad night. We do think here.


• Still Compact:  Easily fits in the Tech2000 AstroStation™ cases with all your other accessory goodies. So small and light it serves just as well to take it out with a little solar PST as it does to carry a monster APO or RC type heavyweight (not to mention SCTs/Maks/MakNewts/ and regular Newts).


• Instant-Mount: Leave the Hub part attached to your instrument or any adapter/saddle-clamp device.  In these cases you only slide our hub (with your instrument already on it and aligned from before!) onto the shaft - the tighten tool is already right there in the mount. This ability will let you have an instant-mount function even if you do not use a rail-clamp device. For instance any plate we could make for your scope does not necessarily need a dovetail rail and clamp... you save all that money and still have the most reliable/safest/fastest connection.


• Tool Improvements: Giro mounts required two metric hex keys to make adjustments. We were the only company to supply those standard. But now we changed to one-key does all, and we also have a plug-in hole right in the mount to keep it stowed there. Never did like carrying several hard-to replace metric keys in a separate toolbox (that we sometimes maybe forgot to bring!). Yes we thought of using thumbscrews on all locations but they would have to be too small to get the torque we want - and we are talking about serious and expensive telescopes here so why should we compromise anywhere? This stowed tool idea is the closest you can get to 'tool-less' perfection in our extreme compact formats.


• If you read this far... then you are more like us. We're picky, niggling every detail. But we are also spendthrifts -- cost is always an issue even in defense and aerospace. If we sell anything, its something we would buy ourselves. If we make it, then we simply can not sleep at night without thinking about what you are doing with our stuff.

• No individual carried object weighs more than you will complain over 100 meters (a football field two-way traverse to deploy and takedown).


• No object size requires special consideration or custom handling/racking in a vehicle or by hand. Including storage considerations.


• No object requires more than one handler.


• No separate sub-component takes more than 60 seconds to assemble or erect, regardless of total time applied to completion.


• No level required (aside from distinct hilly slopes or emergency terrain of course).


• No polar, North finding, nor star align required, rapid-ready in day or storm (i.e.- astro bulletins, journalists, or fast weather-spotting on the chase).


• No object requires a "pre-warm" or "calibration-stabilize" settling procedure longer than the 60 seconds described above for sub-components.


• A single field-operator must be able to deploy all from a single vehicle, house, or apartment, and engage the sky in 10 minutes or less.  (Assume 'under-fire' in defense, meteor/weather storm alerts, or rare wildlife observation opportunity).


• If any of these criteria can not be met, then you are not in the Tech2000 Grab-N-Go class. We DO like real big Dobs too -- oh yeah -- just can't call it G&G.