AlienRatDog
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 07/15/05
Posts: 1221
Loc: Ann Arbor
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Hey Mike you should totally video tape the mount slewing and put it on youtube for us...
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Abe -- the poor PhD student
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12" LX200GPS-SMT w/UHTC
Celestron CPC800XLT
I guess I am a CAT man again..
Nagler 31mm, 17mm, 13mm, 12mm, 9mm, 2.5x Powermate
Explore Scientific 6.7mm 82deg eyepiece
12X50 Binoculars
Understanding wife
One beautiful daughter, Emma-Rose (born 7-29-2009)
Twin boys (cats), half Persian/half Alley Cat but all Vermin!
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Luigi
Postmaster
Reged: 07/03/07
Posts: 5272
Loc: MA
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>>>even if gotos are perfect, a rough polar alignement should create a drift, unless the mount corrects automatically in RA and Dec<<<
This is good, but nothing more than what tracking alt-az mounts do. They drive both axes to track. I was surprised to find that the CG5 didn't do this.
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17.5" f/5 Dob. IM-715 MCT. 120ED. Lunt 60mm Ha.
Zeiss, Leica, Fujinon, Nikon, Pentax, Bushnell bins
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deSitter
Post Laureate
Reged: 12/09/04
Posts: 3338
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Mike, how does it compare to the EQ6 and relatives? It also appears that the cast aluminum is coated with a sort of rubbery material, as are some binoculars - is that so?
-drl
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Alejandro
member
Reged: 08/28/08
Posts: 16
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How does it compare with CGE, the more expensive mount from Celestron?
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Project Galileo
sage
Reged: 11/14/07
Posts: 407
Loc: Jefferson County, Colorado
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I find myself on the edge of my seat waiting with everyone else for any drop new gadget news. We are all like wolves greeting new wolf puppies for the first time. Swarming, sniffing, smelling, wagging our tails.
Thanks for sharing your handsome mount. I happen to like the mad scientist look of tangled chords btw. It looks like someoone is having a blast to me. Great looking and seemingly functioning mount.
Again, thanks for sharing.
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Celestron 9.25XLT Supercharged by Dr. Sherrod
Meade AR-6
TeleVue Binoviewers
Minolta 10x50 Binoculars
CGEM
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Mike Harvey
professor emeritus
Reged: 03/01/04
Posts: 718
Loc: Orlando, FL.
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Quote:
How easy/effortless is the Altitude adjustments with a full load?
You just answered it....effortless!
There's a hefty 'knob' just below the rear of the polar shaft.
You just turn that one way or another to adjust the mount to your latitude. A 'key'-type lock on the front allows you to lock it in place.
***Additional note re: Alignment.
Not only did I not polar align the scope...I just roughly set the latitude to "close to 28 degrees".
(!!!)
Mike
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Mike Harvey
professor emeritus
Reged: 03/01/04
Posts: 718
Loc: Orlando, FL.
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Quote:
what about vibration? With a high power eyepiece can you focus without having the image jumping all over the place. How many seconds is taking to damp back down to steady? I was thinking an 11" sct was really going to be to much for this mount to keep steady, what do you think 
Given that my SN-10 is longer, heavier and sits ~ 2" higher from the mounting plate than a C-11 would....I think it would handle the SCT very well!
The only instability I'm finding is in the mounting rings (which you would not have with the C-11).
Even at that, a hard rap to the OTA dampens out in ~2-seconds.
Mike
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Mert
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/31/05
Posts: 2252
Loc: Spain, Pamplona
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Hi Mike,
All exiting news then and congrats on your new mount!
Would you have the oportunity to post some PE-curve?
That also is a tell-tale about the mount's performance.
Thanks,
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Mert
42º49"N 1º38"W
3" Polarex refractor
6" F12 SW Maksutov,CS2-S
EQ6 + EQMOD 
SPC900NC/DFK21AU04.AS
My web-page don't laugh, I should make it better! 
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Mike Harvey
professor emeritus
Reged: 03/01/04
Posts: 718
Loc: Orlando, FL.
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Quote:
What does the head weight? What does the tripod weight? No pix required to answer these questions. 
The EQ head (w/out counterweights) is a shade over 40lbs.
The tripod weighs in at a little over 20lbs.
Combined weight = 60+lbs.
You'll also need at least 30lbs. of counterweights for a C-11.
The mount, when purchased separately (without an OTA), only comes with one (1) 17lb. oounterweight.
Mike
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skyler
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/16/06
Posts: 1677
Loc: TGPNW
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Quote:
Quote:
How easy/effortless is the Altitude adjustments with a full load?
You just answered it....effortless!
There's a hefty 'knob' just below the rear of the polar shaft.
You just turn that one way or another to adjust the mount to your latitude. A 'key'-type lock on the front allows you to lock it in place.
***Additional note re: Alignment.
Not only did I not polar align the scope...I just roughly set the latitude to "close to 28 degrees".
(!!!)
Mike
That is great to hear. Is it pushing on a plate like the cheaper mounts but just beefier or does it use an actual screw type mechanism like the Sphinx SXD/SXW?
One last about the slewing noise, I take it then that it is definitely noisier than the Atlas steppers.
Thanks and congrats !
S
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Mike Harvey
professor emeritus
Reged: 03/01/04
Posts: 718
Loc: Orlando, FL.
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Close-up of controls on EQ head.
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Yedgy
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/22/08
Posts: 606
Loc: Phoenix, AZ, USA
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That's a hansome mount you have there, Mike! How's the polar scope? Is the Polaris HA circle finely graduated like the Tak PSs?
Tony
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The Universe is an awesome place. I'm glad I live here.- Takahashi FS-60CB
- Takahashi FSQ-106EDXIII
- HyperTuned Atlas EQ-G
- Mountain Instruments MI-8P pier
- Spectrum-Enhanced Canon EOS 450D
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deSitter
Post Laureate
Reged: 12/09/04
Posts: 3338
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..see that looks like rubberized armor for the brittle cast aluminum rather than paint - I've always thought that would be a good idea on mounts - so is that what I see?
-drl
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Mike Harvey
professor emeritus
Reged: 03/01/04
Posts: 718
Loc: Orlando, FL.
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Quote:
That's a hansome mount you have there, Mike! How's the polar scope? Is the Polaris HA circle finely graduated like the Tak PSs?Tony
Hey Tony.....THERE IS NO POLAR SCOPE!
At first I was really puzzled (and a bit miffed) that a mount of this caliber did not come with one.
THEN, after the very first alignment. I found out why -
evidently, YOU DON'T NEED ONE!
My CG-5 requires a fairly precise polar alignment in order for the GOTO to be at all accurate.
BUT...on the CGEM, a very rough polar alignment is compensated for by the onboard software (Read my earlier post).
I'll do some more testing this weekend...TRYING to make the GOTO and tracking fail!
But, so far, it is dead-on!
Mike
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Yedgy
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/22/08
Posts: 606
Loc: Phoenix, AZ, USA
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Mike,
Thanks for the quick response, but I'm confused. Does the CGEM's polar alignment routine physically move the mount in alt/az to align its polar axis with the celestial pole? Or does it use software mapping to make GOTOs accurate? The former is required for astrophotography.
Thanks!
Tony
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The Universe is an awesome place. I'm glad I live here.- Takahashi FS-60CB
- Takahashi FSQ-106EDXIII
- HyperTuned Atlas EQ-G
- Mountain Instruments MI-8P pier
- Spectrum-Enhanced Canon EOS 450D
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jrcrilly
Refractor wienie no more
Reged: 04/30/03
Posts: 25883
Loc: NE Ohio
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Quote:
Mike,
Thanks for the quick response, but I'm confused. Does the CGEM's polar alignment routine physically move the mount in alt/az to align its polar axis with the celestial pole?
It directs the operator to physically move the mount in alt/az to align the RA axis with the pole.
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John C
Urban Observatory
A&M/Astreya 76mm F/6 APO
Meade 80mm F/6 APO
TMB/LOMO 80mm F/7.5 APO
Meade 152ED, 178ED F/9 "APO"
Meade 12" SCT
Teeter 20" F/3.8 truss Newt w/ServoCat
NJP, LXD700, CGE, GPDX/SS2KPC
ST-10XME, DSI Pro
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deSitter
Post Laureate
Reged: 12/09/04
Posts: 3338
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That's pretty slick but I'd want a polar scope - there must be an option.
-drl
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Yedgy
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/22/08
Posts: 606
Loc: Phoenix, AZ, USA
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Quote:
It directs the operator to physically move the mount in alt/az to align the RA axis with the pole.
Sa-weet! I would love to see this! I'd also love to see a review of how well this works compared with a traditional drift alignment.
Tony
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The Universe is an awesome place. I'm glad I live here.- Takahashi FS-60CB
- Takahashi FSQ-106EDXIII
- HyperTuned Atlas EQ-G
- Mountain Instruments MI-8P pier
- Spectrum-Enhanced Canon EOS 450D
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Yedgy
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/22/08
Posts: 606
Loc: Phoenix, AZ, USA
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Wait a minute, if there's no polar scope, what's that circular cap on the front of the mount and why are there finger grips on what looks like a butt cup on the back? They look suspiciously like their counterparts on my Atlas. Methinks the mount doth have a hidden secret! 
Tony
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The Universe is an awesome place. I'm glad I live here.- Takahashi FS-60CB
- Takahashi FSQ-106EDXIII
- HyperTuned Atlas EQ-G
- Mountain Instruments MI-8P pier
- Spectrum-Enhanced Canon EOS 450D
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jrcrilly
Refractor wienie no more
Reged: 04/30/03
Posts: 25883
Loc: NE Ohio
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Quote:
Quote:
It directs the operator to physically move the mount in alt/az to align the RA axis with the pole.
Sa-weet! I would love to see this! I'd also love to see a review of how well this works compared with a traditional drift alignment.
Tony
It's a feature common to all of the computerized EQ mounts I've owned or used. It's easy to do and about as accurate as a polar alignment scope, meaning that a drift alignment is still necessary before imaging (unless the mount is a Takahashi). I never use a PAS any more except on non-computerized mounts (where I have no choice) or on the EM-200 (which has a really, really good PAS).
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John C
Urban Observatory
A&M/Astreya 76mm F/6 APO
Meade 80mm F/6 APO
TMB/LOMO 80mm F/7.5 APO
Meade 152ED, 178ED F/9 "APO"
Meade 12" SCT
Teeter 20" F/3.8 truss Newt w/ServoCat
NJP, LXD700, CGE, GPDX/SS2KPC
ST-10XME, DSI Pro
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