Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/13/08
Loc: Cedar Park, TX
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Replacement CGEM finally on the way!
[Re: Lane]
#3028863 - 04/06/09 10:35 PM
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Well, I just finally received the shipment notice for my replacement CGEM a little while ago! It's scheduled to arrive on Wednesday, hopefully right alongside the Denk PowerxSwitch S2 I bought from Counterweight. Wow, two toys in one night. Just so long as Celestron doesn't given me another disappointment! Hopefully I'll get a bit of experience with it all before the thunderstorms move in this weekend.
Beo
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coopfore1
super member
Reged: 11/23/05
Loc: il
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Re: Replacement CGEM finally on the way!
[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3029087 - 04/07/09 02:04 AM
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Wow about time. I was even starting to get upset. Be really careful when you get. Do not drop it . LOL... I could not go thru another wait like that....
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waassaabee
Post Laureate
Reged: 11/26/07
Loc: Central California Coast
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Re: Replacement CGEM finally on the way!
[Re: coopfore1]
#3031110 - 04/07/09 11:56 PM
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Very cool!! I'm glad I don't live near you!! You are aware what the 'two toy tantrum' is don't you? It's a direct effect of the truly crummy weather you may have soon... 
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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/13/08
Loc: Cedar Park, TX
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Re: Replacement CGEM finally on the way!
[Re: waassaabee]
#3031164 - 04/08/09 12:28 AM
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Well, go figure. Now weather.com is showing mostly cloudy by 9:00 tomorrow night!
Beo
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HaleBopper
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/14/08
Loc: Land of Ice and Snow
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Re: Replacement CGEM finally on the way!
[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3031443 - 04/08/09 06:59 AM
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Hi Beo, I've been following your CGEM troubles on the side, and I just want to wish you well this time around. I certainly decided to back off and wait a bit longer before I upgrade from my CG5, based on your "misfortune." However, I'll go out on a limb and say that you'll be pleased with the CGEM in the long run. The weather is another can of worms... 
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Tim C
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 11/11/07
Loc: Marietta, GA
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Re: Replacement CGEM finally on the way!
[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3031670 - 04/08/09 09:42 AM
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Your gonna love that Denk with the reducer switched on and the 13mm ethos. That's a real wow experience.
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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/13/08
Loc: Cedar Park, TX
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Re: Replacement CGEM finally on the way!
[Re: Tim C]
#3033150 - 04/08/09 11:16 PM Attachment (79 downloads)
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Well, I got both the CGEM and Denk in today and thankfully the CGEM appears to be working ok so far. The tripod has a dented and scratched up leg that appears to be a factory defect and not shipping damage. However, given what I've been through and my lousy luck with Celestron, I'm not about to send it back for a cosmetic defect as long as the drive's working! Still, continued disappointment from Celestron!
Now, Counterweight's Denk on the otherhand is pretty sweet so far. We're partly cloudy at the moment, so between that and the moon glow I really can't put it through its paces. At the moment I'm waiting on the moon to get up high enough above the tree to play with it. Still Orion and Saturn both looked pretty good through the clouds! As I'd hoped, the WO diagonal portion is compatible with my existing one, so I was able to swap the short SCT mount for the 2" long mount, letting me get closer to the OTA. That means I should still be able to use this with the SE alt-az mount when I'm looking for a quick setup. The switch will help offset having to give up my ST-80 piggyback setup there.
I'll be posting pictures of my setup to the mount pictures thread and probably link them from here just for the heck of it.
Beo
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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/13/08
Loc: Cedar Park, TX
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Re: Replacement CGEM finally on the way!
[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3033229 - 04/09/09 12:04 AM Attachment (43 downloads)
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And here's the result of my ADM side-by-side saddle setup with the Denk S2 and my Ethos. All-in-all, a pretty sweet setup!
Beo
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waassaabee
Post Laureate
Reged: 11/26/07
Loc: Central California Coast
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Re: Replacement CGEM finally on the way!
[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3033246 - 04/09/09 12:12 AM
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That's a hot setup!! Does all that balance well?
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Lane
Post Laureate
Reged: 11/19/07
Loc: Frisco, Texas
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Re: Replacement CGEM finally on the way!
[Re: waassaabee]
#3033295 - 04/09/09 12:38 AM
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Beo, those tripod legs come apart pretty easy, just some little hex screws holding them. I will bet if you remove that aluminum tube and take it to a place that fixes hail damage on cars, they can make it look brand new in no time at all. I watched them removing dents one time in some pretty tight spots and they got them out with no trouble at all.
Also I notice your camera strap hanging down there. I don't know if you are aware of it or not but there are replacement camera straps available that have quick release clips. Then you can remove the biggest part of the strap to keep it out of your way when the camera is mounted on your scope.
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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/13/08
Loc: Cedar Park, TX
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Re: Replacement CGEM finally on the way!
[Re: waassaabee]
#3033298 - 04/09/09 12:40 AM
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Quote:
That's a hot setup!! Does all that balance well?
Yup, does just dandy. The SBS rail is almost all the way over under the C8, and the back end of the dovetail rail on the C8 is a couple inches forward of the rear edge of the saddle, but otherwise it does just fine. Definitely needed that second 17 lb counterweight though!
Beo
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LLEEGE
True Blue
Reged: 03/03/05
Loc: Cloud-chester,NY
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Re: Replacement CGEM finally on the way!
[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3033377 - 04/09/09 02:01 AM
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Nice setup!
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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/13/08
Loc: Cedar Park, TX
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Re: Replacement CGEM finally on the way!
[Re: Lane]
#3033624 - 04/09/09 08:12 AM
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Hey Lane,
Actually, I intentionally wrapped the strap around like that. After having my Canon 450D come loose from the ST-80 and hit the concrete a while back, I immediately went and installed the strap that I'd left off of it and am now a bit paranoid about dropping another camera. Thus, I want the strap there to catch it if it were to somehow come loose. Of course with all those dovetails now (not to mention the poor fit of the CGEM saddle) I'm a bit nervous about dropping a whole OTA!
As far as the dent, that might work, but again, I shouldn't need to be paying anyone else to fix Celestron's screwups. This just isn't an acceptable level of quality and I don't intend to buy new from them for a LONG LONG time.
Beo
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Mike Foreman
sage
Reged: 04/06/07
Loc: Texas
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Re: Replacement CGEM finally on the way!
[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3033752 - 04/09/09 09:45 AM
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Quote:
(not to mention the poor fit of the CGEM saddle) I'm a bit nervous about dropping a whole OTA!
Hi BEO
What is the problem with the fit?
Mike
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Lane
Post Laureate
Reged: 11/19/07
Loc: Frisco, Texas
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Re: Replacement CGEM finally on the way!
[Re: Mike Foreman]
#3034044 - 04/09/09 12:08 PM
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Some people don't like the way the saddle attaches to third party dovetails. It is a little scary looking because it only grabs about 1/8" of these kinds of dovetails, but actually it is very secure. I went ahead and replaced mine anyway with the new ADM dual head saddle because I wanted the be able to use my vixen dovetails on there without having to use the conversion plate. The ADM saddle is really nice!
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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/13/08
Loc: Cedar Park, TX
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Re: Replacement CGEM finally on the way!
[Re: Mike Foreman]
#3034841 - 04/09/09 07:59 PM Attachment (50 downloads)
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What is the problem with the fit?
Mike,
I'd seen previous posts complaining about the gap at the bottom of the saddle between the rail and saddle, but I wasn't worried about that because of the way the Losmandy rail is designed. However, as you can see from the attached pic, the cast saddle on my mount is WAY out of tolerance as far as the angles for the shape of the rail. The fixed portion (left side) is making only point contact with the very base of the dovetail. On the clamp side (right), the clamp appears to tilt enough that it makes surface contact on the dovetail region, but then the top of the clamp only makes point contact along the curved portion. If Celestron wants to use cast parts for all of this, that's fine, but they should just be machine finishing the mounting surfaces to guarantee proper tolerances. As is, the point of the Losmandy rail dovetail is cutting into the paint on the saddle because that's the only contact point on that side.
Beo
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cheepnis
super member
Reged: 02/16/08
Loc: Columbus, OH
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Re: Replacement CGEM finally on the way!
[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3034863 - 04/09/09 08:12 PM
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Man, that ain't right!
Synta is a real disappointment.
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Tim C
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 11/11/07
Loc: Marietta, GA
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Re: Replacement CGEM finally on the way!
[Re: cheepnis]
#3034867 - 04/09/09 08:15 PM
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hmmm, mine has the gap at the bottom with a 3rd party losmandy dovetail but it fits well. The vice like CGEM saddle clamps down so securely I don't think I could knock the ota out with a sledgehammer.
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Trebor777
Hazy
Reged: 01/04/08
Loc: Connecticut - U.S.
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Re: Replacement CGEM finally on the way!
[Re: Tim C]
#3034880 - 04/09/09 08:26 PM
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So, I gotta ask all you people who have been waiting and waiting on Celestron.
When do you think they'll get back to me about getting a replacement tripod spreader for my CGE?? I called yesterday and spoke with someone and I emailed today.
Or hopefully someone reading this has a spare tripod spreader for the CGE?
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bryansay
super member
Reged: 02/25/09
Loc: Georgetown, TX
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Re: Replacement CGEM finally on the way!
[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#3035555 - 04/10/09 07:14 AM
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Looks great Beo! Looking forward to taking a peek and seeing some better pics.
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