A. Viegas
sage
Reged: 03/05/12
Loc: New York City/ CT
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Re: CGE Pro
[Re: JeffBosworth]
#5494447 - 10/29/12 11:10 AM
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Jeff--
There is a seller of a CGEpro on Amart for $2.2k
a half-way solution for you could be to buy a used CGE like this one, save $2-3k and probably be out less than $1k after you sell your CGEM... not a bad trade idea...
Cheers
Al
Other CGEpro here: Amart_CGEpro
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EFT
Vendor - Deep Space Products
Reged: 05/07/07
Loc: Phoenix, AZ
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Re: CGE Pro
[Re: orlyandico]
#5494449 - 10/29/12 11:13 AM
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Being comfortable with the CGEM, I think that you will probably be happier with the CGE Pro than the G11. In addition, the G11 does not really give you much more capacity than the CGEM. Neather are great mounts when it comes down to it but the CGE Pro has clearly seen some improvement. The biggest difference is probably in consistency with the G11 winning there. Fit and finish on the G11 is better, but that doesn't matter when it comes to design issues. If you can get a CGE Pro at $1000 off its normal price and you are permanently mounted, then I would go for it.
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DaveJ
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 01/07/05
Loc: NE Ohio
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Re: CGE Pro
[Re: A. Viegas]
#5494451 - 10/29/12 11:14 AM
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Quote:
Jeff--
There is a seller of a CGEpro on Amart for $2.2k
a half-way solution for you could be to buy a used CGE like this one, save $2-3k and probably be out less than $1k after you sell your CGEM... not a bad trade idea...
Other CGEpro here: Amart_CGEpro
Sorry, no. The one to which you linked is NOT a CGE Pro but rather a CGE - American made and discontinued some time ago. It's a nice mount. Mine has worked well for nearly six years.
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JeffBosworth
member
Reged: 04/17/12
Loc: Ohio, USA
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Re: CGE Pro
[Re: orlyandico]
#5494574 - 10/29/12 12:32 PM
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I tried everything to get the COM port to talk to the mount. Finally, I got Celestron support to issue an RA# The senior sales rep for Celestron, Daniel Mounsey, called me not long after and said he'd make sure the mount got priority attention.
Today I bought a brand new Celestron CGE-Pro as I was talking about. YES!!! Can't wait to get it in teh observatory. $3999 with free shipping.
Jeff
Edited by David Pavlich (11/06/12 11:02 AM)
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LouHalikman
member
Reged: 02/23/11
Loc: North Central Maryland
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Re: CGE Pro
[Re: orlyandico]
#5494776 - 10/29/12 02:50 PM
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Mine is about 3 months old and is permanently mounted in an observatory with a C 14 HD and an 80 MM APO on top. It needed 88 pounds of counterweight, but is extremely stable. It is on a 14" concrete pier anchored to 2 1/2 tons of concrete buried below the frost line. It is definitely not portable in my opinion.
Goto is excellent. With a quick polar alignment, it finds targets to within a 200X eyepiece field every time. I have not tried AP yet, but it works just fine with my Mallincam on under 1 minute exposures. The hibernate feature is great and saves time. I have not yet tried high precision pointing.
After some initial alignment difficulty, it has been perfect. Lou
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wolfman_4_ever
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 07/15/11
Loc: El Segundo, Ca, So. Cal
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Re: CGE Pro
[Re: LouHalikman]
#5495171 - 10/29/12 07:15 PM
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I'm perm side by side with my cge-pro..
8.75lb ride on top of the 80mm to get the balance just right..
I use TheSkyX.. just got finished with my polar alignment and a 345 point t-point run.. whew... Just got the mount back from our friends at Deep Space Products. The CGE Pro got some Hypertune TLC and a little massage from aeroquest..
Got it within 60 arc seconds.. I could get it closer but the latitude and azi adjustment can be a major pain in the rear end plus I autoguide anyways.... I've done it so many times now, I can get it pretty darn close in one night..
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JeffBosworth
member
Reged: 04/17/12
Loc: Ohio, USA
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Re: CGE Pro
[Re: wolfman_4_ever]
#5496008 - 10/30/12 10:49 AM
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The CGE Pro is on its way. The dealer is in MD and because of the possible loss of power they asked Celestron to drop ship one to me from CA. Should have it Friday.
Now, what is this "hypertune" for the mount?
Jeff
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JeffBosworth
member
Reged: 04/17/12
Loc: Ohio, USA
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Re: CGE Pro
[Re: JeffBosworth]
#5496035 - 10/30/12 11:11 AM
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Lou, what was the "initial alignment difficulty"?
Thanks,
Jeff
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wolfman_4_ever
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 07/15/11
Loc: El Segundo, Ca, So. Cal
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Re: CGE Pro
[Re: JeffBosworth]
#5496125 - 10/30/12 12:41 PM
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Now, what is this "hypertune" for the mount?
Jeff
Click on Ed Thomas's link above. (The website is probably down...Hurricane Sandy strikes again! 10/30/12)
It's a procedure where the mount is cleaned out of all that bunk "chinese" grease and bunk "chinese" bulk manufacturing defects are "cleaned" up. Makes the mount much smoother and quieter.
You can also upgrade gears, etc.
The HyperTune® Standard telescope mount service includes but is not limited to:
Complete inspection of the equatorial mount head.
Complete dismantle of the equatorial mount head.
Inspection and cleaning of each telescope mount part - removing all metal burrs, shavings, thick grease and foreign objects.
High resolution sanding and polishing of moving internal parts to a mirror-like finish resulting in high smoothness of internal metal parts and “glide like” performance from your telescope mount.
Inspection and adjustment of motors and encoders with gear set screws replaced as necessary.
Reassembly of your equatorial telescope mount using high grade synthetic grease.
Resetting of worm gear meshing.
Adjustment of backlash settings in RA and DEC.
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wolfman_4_ever
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 07/15/11
Loc: El Segundo, Ca, So. Cal
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Re: CGE Pro
[Re: JeffBosworth]
#5496129 - 10/30/12 12:45 PM
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Quote:
Lou, what was the "initial alignment difficulty"?
Thanks,
Jeff
The altitude and Azimuth adjustment can be a major pain in the rear end. Especially with weight/OTA on the mount.
Adjusting the altitude can make it shift in Azi since the adjustment is this knob/bolt. The bolt can shift side to side on the plate (instead of up and down). I find it easier and more precise by lifting the counterweight bar and then turning the knob and then resting the mount back on the knob.
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LouHalikman
member
Reged: 02/23/11
Loc: North Central Maryland
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Re: CGE Pro
[Re: wolfman_4_ever]
#5496135 - 10/30/12 12:47 PM
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It had not been set property at the factory. I called Celestron, and a neighbor who has one came over to help. Simply erasing the memory and restoring factory defaults through the utilities corrected the problem. The gotos are right on and alignment was simple. Lou
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JeffBosworth
member
Reged: 04/17/12
Loc: Ohio, USA
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Re: CGE Pro
[Re: LouHalikman]
#5496800 - 10/30/12 08:09 PM
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Thanks, Lou. This mount is coming straight from Celestron in Torrance, CA so I'm assuming they've checked it over. I do think I'll hold off on the Hypertune until I get to a time when the weather isn't going to be good for scoping - for about a month or so. I suspect the mount's grease will work just fine for a while. I'm not so sure that Chinese grease these days is all that bad. I sell Chinese made high-end ukulele online and I have to say that the quality of those instruments often exceeds custom made ones. I also have some Chinese made optical accessories that are just phenomenal. Japanese optics used to be what one aspired to in that region, now, who knows?
BTW, all, I've been advised by the vendor I bought the CGE Pro from that Celestron is having a $1,000 off sale on all CGE Pro configurations beginning Thursday. The vendor is Hands On Optics in MD. And I am really pleased with their customer service so far. They're up there with Agena Astroproducts as far as service goes.
Jeff
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JeffBosworth
member
Reged: 04/17/12
Loc: Ohio, USA
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Re: CGE Pro
[Re: wolfman_4_ever]
#5496811 - 10/30/12 08:18 PM
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Quote:
The altitude and Azimuth adjustment can be a major pain in the rear end. Especially with weight/OTA on the mount.
Adjusting the altitude can make it shift in Azi since the adjustment is this knob/bolt. The bolt can shift side to side on the plate (instead of up and down). I find it easier and more precise by lifting the counterweight bar and then turning the knob and then resting the mount back on the knob.
I would think that one only need adjust the Alt once, unless you're moving it around. Same with the Azimuth. Luckily, I will be putting this in my observatory on its rather sizeable tripod for the moment. If it works out and I don't have to ship it back to Celestron for warranty work, I have a friend who will weld a permanent pier system for me.
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wolfman_4_ever
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 07/15/11
Loc: El Segundo, Ca, So. Cal
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Re: CGE Pro
[Re: JeffBosworth]
#5497192 - 10/31/12 01:11 AM
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Yes.. getting the adjustment to that exact location can be problematic... The first time..
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dobsoscope
sage
Reged: 05/24/06
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Re: CGE Pro
[Re: wolfman_4_ever]
#5497283 - 10/31/12 04:30 AM
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Why not a Mesu 200 ?
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Phil Wheeler
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/31/05
Loc: 3 miles WNW of Celestron
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Re: CGE Pro
[Re: JeffBosworth]
#5499195 - 11/01/12 10:58 AM
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There is a sale this month on the CGE Pro, $1,000 off:
https://www.astronomics.com/celestron-cge-pro-heavy-duty-...
Likely it is other places, too. I'd be tempted but I just bought and am waiting for first light on an ASGT. Got a good price on it and -- with me being small and 76 in two months -- the ASGT is plenty heavy and will support my scopes (80mm APO, 5" C+ SCT, 8" SCT) well enough.
Phil
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JeffBosworth
member
Reged: 04/17/12
Loc: Ohio, USA
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Re: CGE Pro
[Re: Phil Wheeler]
#5500470 - 11/02/12 07:13 AM
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Correct, Phil. Celestron is offering all CGE Pro configurations $1000 off through the end of November, I believe. It was that sale that allowed me to pull the trigger on buying it. I just happened to find the pricing before it was announced.
BTW, the mount arrives today! Figures the barnlot where my observatory is located is a big muddy mess from the hurricane's overflow. So The mount will come inside the house until things dry up a bit. I could just see me sinking deep into the Ohio clay trying to carry that monster mount out there...
Jeff
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Pak
member
Reged: 09/15/12
Loc: The Great Arc
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Re: CGE Pro
[Re: JeffBosworth]
#5502457 - 11/03/12 02:01 PM
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Yah if you can pick one up for that much of a savings it is really worth it. I am looking for a used one then I will send it to Ed and have him rebuild it for me. I really wish the CGE-PRO had internal cable routing but you can't have everything.
Whenever Celestron drops their prices by 10% I come close to buying one with a 11" EdgeHD. The savings almost covers a hyperstar.
Maybe there will be some extra good deals at ASAE next weekend. Starizona has no excuse not to be there.
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JeffBosworth
member
Reged: 04/17/12
Loc: Ohio, USA
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Re: CGE Pro
[Re: Pak]
#5503604 - 11/04/12 09:12 AM
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The mount arrived Friday afternoon. Two huge (and heavy!) boxes and one little heavy one with the counterweight. The longest box had the massive tripod. I could carry that from the UPS truck to my front porch but the driver had to help with the mount box - it was 107lbs. Since my observatory is about 100 yards behind the house I used a wheelbarrow to move the separate parts out there after unpacking them. I set up and leveled the tripod, the electronics pier, and then manhandled the mount on top. I attached everything with the 6 screws provided and came indoors.
Reading the manual, I discovered I'd put the electronics pier on about 180 degrees out from where it was supposed to be positioned. All I had to do was undo the screws and turn it. When in doubt, RTFM (read the manual). I plugged it in and fired it up. Right off the bat I realized it didn't have the index marks that the CGEM has. Instead, the HC asked to find the "switch". The manual said nothing about what this switch was or what I had to do. So I shut it off in hopes I could find an explanation somewhere before going through a process I didn't have a clue about.
Came down with a nasty flu so I haven't had the energy to go out and play with it further. I don't even have the OTA on it yet. I hate winter and the cold...
Jeff
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LouHalikman
member
Reged: 02/23/11
Loc: North Central Maryland
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Re: CGE Pro
[Re: JeffBosworth]
#5503636 - 11/04/12 09:35 AM
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Just turn it on. It will seek the "switch position" on it's own. You are then ready to align.
I found it difficult to align the electronics pier with north. My scope is observatory mounted on a concrete pier. I had to adjust the mounting of the electronics pier to the base plate of the pier several times before I had it in a close enough position that I could achieve polar alignment with the rotation adjustment screw. It is a real oversight in my opinion that the electronics pier does not have a marker on it that says "north".
The altitude screw is a bear. Hold the OTA up when adjusting to take some of the weight off of the screw. I literally had to use a pipe wrench to adjust it.
When you start to align, if it misses the first and second alignment stars by a wide margin, go to utilities and restore factory defaults. It should work fine then.
Good luck. Lou
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