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X-Lurker
Underpaid Slacker
Reged: 09/12/06
Posts: 617
Loc: N.W. Ark.
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Hey all,
I'm very close to purchasing a mount and 8" newt for AP. The CG-5 has a good price point, but it seems like A LOT of folks complain about it. I've found a site selling this mount for $525 frieght prepaid HERE Is the Orion Sirius GOTO worth double the price? 
All wise please advise 
Larry
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Clear Skies,
Larry
I wasn't sick...I just called in uninterested 
Glob
AOAS Member
Atlas 10 EQ-G (Cloud Magnet)
DSIc
SPC 900NC
12X50 Bino's
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mielejr
sage
Reged: 05/29/05
Posts: 311
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I think that is a very good buy. But you may need an extra counterweight depending on what you plan to mount. You will also need a polar alignment scope and I highly recommend vibration suppression pads.
You say a lot of people complain but most of the complaints are one of the following. Its too noisy. Well, nothing much you can do there. The other often heard complaint is too much backlash or maybe one axis is a little stiff to turn. One can argue you should not have to do this on a new mount, but a teardown and a good cleaning and a re-lube job, along with some worm gear meshg adjsuting will easily fix those problems. Mine tracks very well and has great goto accuracy. I love it for smaller size scopes. And the latest Celestron hand controller beats the pants off many of the others wrt features.
John
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Al Canarelli
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/06/07
Posts: 1564
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A CG-5 is a good (not the best) mount for the money...even for AP. I own one and use it almost exclusively for AP with an 80mm ED. However, an 8" Newt is just too much for this mount. Consider making another selection...either a larger mount or a smaller OTA.
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magnus
super member
Reged: 03/17/04
Posts: 101
Loc: Sweden
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I have an 8"f/6 Orion UK Newtonian (7,2kg) mounted on an CG-5 non GT. Overall it`s pretty nice mount for the money but I find it just a little bit too weak when I use mag over 200X. My friends GSO 6"f/5 is a perfect match for this mount.
When I get a GOTO for my 8" it will be an EQ6 Synta or similar.Though it will cost twice as much!
//Magnus
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seeker372011
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 03/05/04
Posts: 783
Loc: Sydney , Australia
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I love my CG5. Just dont overload it, ignore the noisy slews and remember, your last slew must ALWAYS be up and right ..and you will be fine. I had an 8 inch newt plus guide scope on it and sold the 8 inch and use my ED80 and regularly manage 20 minute subs with it
I have just bought an EQ6 and the gotos on the Cg5 are superior in terms of accuracy. It also has some nice software features -for example 6 or more star calibration so your pointing accuracy can be really top class.
Noisy yes. annoying dec cable yes. Poor quailty on off switch, yes. Few other niggle, maybe. But still a great mount-especially for the price.
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ETX 70,ED 80 on a CG5 Mount;Orion Star Shoot Deep Sky Imager,Canon 300D modded;20 x 80 LW Obies;PST;10 inch GSO dob
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Patrick
Postmaster
Reged: 05/16/03
Posts: 6788
Loc: Franklin, Ohio
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Quote:
I love my CG5. Just dont overload it, ignore the noisy slews and remember, your last slew must ALWAYS be up and right ..and you will be fine. I had an 8 inch newt plus guide scope on it and sold the 8 inch and use my ED80 and regularly manage 20 minute subs with it
I have just bought an EQ6 and the gotos on the Cg5 are superior in terms of accuracy. It also has some nice software features -for example 6 or more star calibration so your pointing accuracy can be really top class.
Noisy yes. annoying dec cable yes. Poor quailty on off switch, yes. Few other niggle, maybe. But still a great mount-especially for the price.
I'd say my sentiments pretty much mirror those of seeker372011.
Patrick
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Discovery 10" f/6 Split Tube Dob
Celestron C6 SCT
Denk Binoviewers
AT66ED Refractor
Oberwerk Ultra 15x70 Binocular
475B Geared Tripod & 501HDV Head
Oberwerk 9x60 Binocular
Celestron Regal 8x42 Binocular
Canon 30D DSLR
Mini EQ1
My Astronomy Pages
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X-Lurker
Underpaid Slacker
Reged: 09/12/06
Posts: 617
Loc: N.W. Ark.
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How would this mount handle the Orion 10" newt for visual only? Ultimatley a 10" Newt and the Atlas mount for AP is what I want to acheive...I just have to take financial baby steps. Any thoughts...?
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Clear Skies,
Larry
I wasn't sick...I just called in uninterested
Glob
AOAS Member
Atlas 10 EQ-G (Cloud Magnet)
DSIc
SPC 900NC
12X50 Bino's
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Luigi
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/03/07
Posts: 2054
Loc: Massachusetts
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I think a 10" Newt is too big for a CG5. I've seen one on an Atlas that was OK for visual but was a bit shaky for AP.
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17.5" f/5 Discovery Truss
IM715 7" f/15 MCT, Eon-120ED
Lunt 60mm single etalon HA
CG5A coffee grinder, Orion Skyview Alt-AZ
35,19,15 Pans.9 Nag. Meade 24.5 4kSWA, 4.7 5kUWA.
BO-TMB 7mm planetary.
Zeiss Diascope 85
Zeiss, Leica, Canon IS, Fujinon, Nikon binos
One each generic rescue Greyhound (pictured)
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Stelios
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/04/03
Posts: 1356
Loc: West Hills, CA
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I'm not complaining. I've had mine for five years and love it. Great GoTo's all night long. Sturdy, capable mount (of course depending on load--don't put any 8" refractors on it).
Plus I find it quick to setup and use. Frankly, considering other prices, the mount is an incredible bargain, especially at the price you're being offered. Grab it before it's gone.
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APM/TMB 115/805 APO
9.25S - GT
Naglers: 17T4, 13T6, 3-6 zoom
UWANs: 28mm, 7mm
Pentax 10XW, 10mm Radian (shootout coming!!!)
Misc EP: 50mm Parks, 42mm GSO, 2x TV Barlow
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sang33ta
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/08/08
Posts: 539
Loc: UK
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Thats a good price but is it the old CG-5?
I've got the new version, it's turning a 6.5kg/14lb Mak just fine, the only problems I've found are that the motors are very noisy and the handset doesn't have a red light torch in the top like a Meade (which I used to read my eyepieces with).
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Hioptic 152mm f12.5 Maksutov
Celestron Advanced CG5-GT Mount (Mr Noisy!)
Meade 4000 Super Plossl Set
Casio QV-2900UX
Got fed up of waiting for Meade ETX-150 so put this together for £500/$1000 
Edited by sang33ta (08/08/08 01:42 PM)
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Fred1
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 09/19/07
Posts: 767
Loc: Garnet Valley, Pennsylvania
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One of my scope buddies uses his CG5ASGT to mount his 27.5 pound, 33.5" long, 10" aperture Mewlon 250, plus EP. He has no problems and excellent GoTos. He's visual only. I've looked through the 250 on his CG5 and it has very stable tracking. I think he had about 25 lbs of CW on it, maybe a little less. Even pointing at zenith was fine.
I use my 8" SCT on my CG5 (with accessories about 20 lbs instrumental weight), and the mount is a superb performer (I'm visual only, too). Smooth slews, great gotos. I don't have a polar alignment scope. I just center Polaris through the bore-hole by naked eye and all is fine. Buy it before it's gone. I got mine from OPT for $549 plus shipping. If it's gone at Woodland here's another but a little higher:
Highpoint CG5
Edited by Fred1 (08/08/08 06:35 PM)
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X-Lurker
Underpaid Slacker
Reged: 09/12/06
Posts: 617
Loc: N.W. Ark.
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Thanks for all your input! Now, you really got my gears turning... If I could, I would like to ask for anyones opinion on the Meade 10" f/4 SN-10 AT LXD75 go-to Schmidt-Newtonian reflector, with UHTC. I'm not sure if I'm in the right forum now? This seems like a nice setup for both visual and AP? I've also heard that Meade is in some kind of financial trouble, can anyone see issues about purchasing Meade products?
Thanks again,
Larry
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Clear Skies,
Larry
I wasn't sick...I just called in uninterested
Glob
AOAS Member
Atlas 10 EQ-G (Cloud Magnet)
DSIc
SPC 900NC
12X50 Bino's
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WadeH237
sage
Reged: 02/24/07
Posts: 327
Loc: Snohomish, WA
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I used to have an LXD-75 that I bought with a 6" SN OTA. It worked great in that configuration (but I like the CG5 better.)
I looked at buying a used 10" SN OTA for the LXD and had a chance to try it out at a star party. In my opinion, the 10" scope completely overwhelmed the mount. It was scary unstable. Vibrations to 10 seconds to dampen. I bumped into it during a slew and it set up a huge oscillation that could not have been good for the mount.
I would agree with what others have said regarding the deal. The price on that site is great for the CG5. Personally, I think that an 8" SCT is perfect for it, especially if you have aspirations of imaging DSOs. It would probably handle a bigger SCT for visual ok, but I would stay away from big scopes with a long moment.
Thanks,
-Wade
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http://www.faintfuzzy.net
Stuff
Visual Stuff (shared with wife and kids, 10 & 12): Generic 6" F/8 Dob, C8-SGT, CGE-1400, Orion ED80 on a CG5-GT, Coronado PST, 6" Meade Schmidt-Newtonian, Astroscan, 12x70 Binoculars.
Imaging Stuff: Meade 8" LX200ACF with Optec TCF-S focuser on a CGE mount, SBIG ST-10XME with CFW8 and remote guide head, Astro-Tech AT66ED guide scope, Astrodon filters, DSI Pro, Canon EOS 20D.
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jgraham
Postmaster
Reged: 12/02/04
Posts: 5370
Loc: Dayton, Ohio
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The LXD75 SN10 would make a great visual scope, but for phtography it pushes the LXD75 to its limit. It can be done and I've seen some excellent work done with the SN10, you just have to pay attention to the details like good ballance and tuning the mount (which is fairly easy to do). The sweet spot in the LXD75 line for imaging is the LXD75 SN8; a great match of optics, mount, and cost. The LXD75 SC8 is also a wonderful combination; the SC8 is a tad lighter than the SN8, the telescope is incredibly versatile for both imaging and visual work (down to f/3.3 for small CCD imaging, f/6.3 for large format imaging and visual), but it's a bit more expensive. (I just saw that the LXD75 SC8 is being offered with ACF optics, very nice!) The SN6/N6 is the lightweight end of the line (I started with the N6) which makes them wonderful imaging scopes (particularly the SN6) since they are so over-mounted on the LXD75 even with a guide scope and they make decent visual RFTs.
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-John
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Homebuilt scopes from 4.25-16.5"
Meade LXD75-N6/SN6/SC8, DSX-90, ETX-60BB, ETX-125PE, DS-2130
Orion StarBlast, BinoViewers, Coronado PST
Rebel XT/XTi, DSI Pro (I & II), DSI, LPI, Electronic Eyepiece, Phillips SPC900NC
Tasco 60mm Refractors
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X-Lurker
Underpaid Slacker
Reged: 09/12/06
Posts: 617
Loc: N.W. Ark.
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I want to thank you again for all your advise. With much surprise, my understanding wife "CFO" has gave me the OK to make the jump to the Orion Atlas 10 EQ-G! Although it will have to be the non-goto for now...
Clear skies,
Larry
--------------------
Clear Skies,
Larry
I wasn't sick...I just called in uninterested
Glob
AOAS Member
Atlas 10 EQ-G (Cloud Magnet)
DSIc
SPC 900NC
12X50 Bino's
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Tony Bonanno
member
Reged: 04/03/07
Posts: 16
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Hi Larry,
I wrote a review about this mount.. just look here on cloudy nights under reviews, EQ mounts, etc. and you will find it. I specifically addressed the SN-10 among other things. My opinion is the tube is just too large for the mount.. due to size of the SN10, even the slightest wind will cause problems. Overall, the mount is a good value.
Tony Bonanno
Santa Fe, NM
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Applal
sage
Reged: 01/23/06
Posts: 374
Loc: Appleton, WI
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Quote:
I want to thank you again for all your advise. With much surprise, my understanding wife "CFO" has gave me the OK to make the jump to the Orion Atlas 10 EQ-G! Although it will have to be the non-goto for now...
Clear skies,
Larry
Now THAT is a good CFO!  And, I think a wise choice for the size OTA you wish to mount. I think an 8" Newt would work for visual on a CG5... I have one and have mounted my 10" SCT on it with very commendable results. But those results didn't keep me from ordering an Atlas for the 10".
Better, sometimes, to take a big painful step, than to take all those "baby steps" and spending the money over and over.
For the record, I will be keeping my CG5, but it'll see use under a 5" Mak and *(someday) an 80 - 100mm refractor.
Best of luck!
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Alan
"The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time"
--Bertrand Russell
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