InterStellarGuy
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/25/08
Loc: Nebraska
|
CG5 ASGT.. All I have to say is.....
#2966834 - 03/06/09 02:20 AM
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Freakin absolutely awesome.
Its been cold until today here in nebraska So I havnt had the chance to do alot with this until tonight. I just came back in from using it and all i have to say is wow..
Awesome.. its so accurate. I had updated to 4.15 and everything..
and when I aligned 2 stars and 2 calibrating stars the gotos are literally bang on. everything was either near the center of the eyepiece or very close..
My jaw was dropping.. I was se to using Nexstar SE mounts Sky Align procedure and let me tell you that is no where near as accurate as this.. even on my best Nexstar SE day it no where near matched this accuracy..
oh boy oh boy though the icing on the cake.. the polar align routine.
the all star.. its as every bit great as anyone ever says.. I polar aligned the scope on Dubhe, no polar scope necessary..
after you align, the mount will choose your alignmentstar closest to the celestial pole and slew there, and then ask you to center it with the HC. you center it, hit align, and then it syncs. Then it will slew to where the sta should be if your accurately polar aligned, at which time you use the alt and az mechanical controls on the mount to align and wallah. you are polar aligned.
How good is it? I slew to saturn.. and then started chatting on efnet astronomy chat... looked in the eyepiece again an hour later.. bam. Saturn was right where I left it.
CG5 ASGT series... just fricking awesome.
|
darylf96
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/28/04
Loc: Danville, California
|
Re: CG5 ASGT.. All I have to say is.....
[Re: InterStellarGuy]
#2966919 - 03/06/09 04:33 AM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
I have not used my CG5AGT for a few years, since I have been using my CGE and DM-6, but this new allingment feature has me interested. Do I just go to Celestron's site and download the 4.5 version to the HC? Also, where are the instructions for the new alignment proceedures? Sounds like the pointing accuracy is greatly improved.
|
InterStellarGuy
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/25/08
Loc: Nebraska
|
Re: CG5 ASGT.. All I have to say is.....
[Re: darylf96]
#2966922 - 03/06/09 04:48 AM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
download the HCupdate program and hook up your rs 232 cabl to you hand control with your scope on, then select GEM 4.15 from the list of updates and itll give your mount the new all star polar align and anything else in the updates up until now
|
ibase
Vendor Affilliate
Reged: 03/20/08
Loc: Manila, Philippines 121*E 14*N
|
Re: CG5 ASGT.. All I have to say is.....
[Re: InterStellarGuy]
#2966930 - 03/06/09 05:16 AM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Great report! Especially with the latest firmware; it's gotten me way excited to receive my coming CG-5 also. Thanks and happy viewing!
Best,
|
Dave H.
sage
Reged: 02/29/08
Loc: Northern Virginia
|
Re: CG5 ASGT.. All I have to say is.....
[Re: ibase]
#2966948 - 03/06/09 05:47 AM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Marco,
I could not agree more that the All Star Polar Alignment is about the niftiest new electronic feature to come along recently. Gotta Love It! 
|
mclewis1
Thread Killer
Reged: 02/25/06
Loc: New Brunswick, Canada
|
Re: CG5 ASGT.. All I have to say is.....
[Re: darylf96]
#2967483 - 03/06/09 11:53 AM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Quote:
I have not used my CG5AGT for a few years, since I have been using my CGE and DM-6, but this new allingment feature has me interested. Do I just go to Celestron's site and download the 4.5 version to the HC? Also, where are the instructions for the new alignment proceedures? Sounds like the pointing accuracy is greatly improved.
Daryl,
Have a look at Mike's site ... http://www.nexstarsite.com/
It will take you through the firmware update procedures and has links to the new user guides and such. I'm right in the middle of taking my CGE up to the 4.15 level myself. Did it earlier on the smaller CG-5 and loved it.
|
Blixx
professor emeritus
Reged: 12/02/07
Loc: CO. Aurora, USA
|
Re: CG5 ASGT.. All I have to say is.....
[Re: mclewis1]
#2967846 - 03/06/09 02:34 PM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
So does anyone know how accurate it will be for AP. I'm geting a new CGEM mount soon(I hope, when they release more of them) and I do a lot of photographing so I would be interested to know how it will do for AP.
Dan
|
Patrick
Postmaster
Reged: 05/16/03
Loc: Franklin, Ohio
|
Re: CG5 ASGT.. All I have to say is.....
[Re: Blixx]
#2968016 - 03/06/09 04:00 PM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Quote:
So does anyone know how accurate it will be for AP. I'm geting a new CGEM mount soon(I hope, when they release more of them) and I do a lot of photographing so I would be interested to know how it will do for AP.
As long as the load is kept to a reasonable weight and size, the mount is quite capable of doing long exposure astrophotography. I measured a native PE on my mount of a little less than +/- 20 arc seconds. With autoguiding it's possible to get that number down to a very respectable figure.
See my Astronomy website below for examples of what a CG5-GT mount can do.
Patrick
|
bdjeep
sage
Reged: 01/29/07
Loc: Bolton, MA
|
Re: CG5 ASGT.. All I have to say is.....
[Re: Patrick]
#2968104 - 03/06/09 04:45 PM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
I think I need to get on the bandwagon and upgrade my CG5 software. The new polar align routine sounds super easy. Once again the CG5 proves to be one of the best buys in astronomy.
|
Jeff in Austin
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/26/07
Loc: TEXAS
|
Re: CG5 ASGT.. All I have to say is.....
[Re: bdjeep]
#2968663 - 03/06/09 09:57 PM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
The description of the polar align routine seems funny. I thought you had to adjust the mount WITHOUT the hand controller using the screws on the base. The idea is to get the axis of the mount aligned with the spinning axis of Earth.
I haven't updated the HC, but I use the existing polar align feature every time I image. I always have to adjust the mount itself to get it just right. When I first started to do this I also did a drift alignment, but the polar align routine got me the equivalent of 5 minutes drift align, which is longer than the 2-3 min subs I usually take. So now I just skip the drift align altogether.
|
waassaabee
Post Laureate
Reged: 11/26/07
Loc: Central California Coast
|
Re: CG5 ASGT.. All I have to say is.....
[Re: Jeff in Austin]
#2968689 - 03/06/09 10:18 PM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
You do adjust the Az/El on the mount, then resync on alignment and calibration stars of your choice and you're good to go. I found this way you are getting your fine tune in the area you'll be imaging/viewing.
|
Troys
member
Reged: 02/22/09
Loc: Hudson, FL
|
Re: CG5 ASGT.. All I have to say is.....
[Re: waassaabee]
#2968874 - 03/07/09 12:33 AM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
I just received my CG5-GT this Tuesday. Friday I finally received my dovetail and got to try it out. I felt the same way. It just doesn't miss. I have seen more in the last two nights just using the tour mode then all the years I've owned my LX10. Best money spent on this hobby so far. 
|
InterStellarGuy
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/25/08
Loc: Nebraska
|
Re: CG5 ASGT.. All I have to say is.....
[Re: Jeff in Austin]
#2968918 - 03/07/09 01:14 AM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Quote:
The description of the polar align routine seems funny. I thought you had to adjust the mount WITHOUT the hand controller using the screws on the base. The idea is to get the axis of the mount aligned with the spinning axis of Earth.
I haven't updated the HC, but I use the existing polar align feature every time I image. I always have to adjust the mount itself to get it just right. When I first started to do this I also did a drift alignment, but the polar align routine got me the equivalent of 5 minutes drift align, which is longer than the 2-3 min subs I usually take. So now I just skip the drift align altogether.
you do do it without the hand controller , but first it has you center the star USING the hand controller so it knows where it actually is in your sky, then it will slew to the spot where it should be if you were accurately polar aligned,
then you use the mechanical alt Az controls (on the base_ to line it up.
|
darylf96
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/28/04
Loc: Danville, California
|
Re: CG5 ASGT.. All I have to say is.....
[Re: mclewis1]
#2969074 - 03/07/09 05:26 AM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Thanks Mark:
I will download the new firmware for both the CGE and CG5A this weekend. Seems that there is a consensus on the improvement in pointing accuracy with the new firmware. The web site you suggest will be super helpful.
Daryl
|
seeker372011
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 03/05/04
Loc: Sydney , Australia
|
Re: CG5 ASGT.. All I have to say is.....
[Re: darylf96]
#2969114 - 03/07/09 06:59 AM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
thanks for the heads up
i love my CG5 already, but this new routine sounds like a winner
|
waassaabee
Post Laureate
Reged: 11/26/07
Loc: Central California Coast
|
Re: CG5 ASGT.. All I have to say is.....
[Re: seeker372011]
#2969279 - 03/07/09 09:40 AM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
seeker, It seems I've heard there is a bug for using 4.15 in the southern hemisphere and everything is backwards... May want to check it out before going through the process
|
darylf96
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/28/04
Loc: Danville, California
|
Re: CG5 ASGT.. All I have to say is.....
[Re: mclewis1]
#2970194 - 03/07/09 05:32 PM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Mark:
I downloaded the Firmware Update zip file from Celestron. The file is named HCupdateinstall 1.1.12. Does this program install version 4.15 of the firmware? It is a bit confusing.
Daryl
|
mclewis1
Thread Killer
Reged: 02/25/06
Loc: New Brunswick, Canada
|
Re: CG5 ASGT.. All I have to say is.....
[Re: darylf96]
#2970254 - 03/07/09 06:08 PM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Daryl,
Yes, but the reason its confusing is that HCupdateinstall app handles the firmware update and also downloads the correct version of firmware from the Celestron website.
Go ahead and run it ... and for a CG5 download the GEM 4.15 version and then update the HC firmware.
The motor controller (MC) update is done with a different app.
|
darylf96
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/28/04
Loc: Danville, California
|
Re: CG5 ASGT.. All I have to say is.....
[Re: Patrick]
#2972905 - 03/09/09 12:09 AM
|
|
Edit
|
Reply
|
Quote |
Quick Reply
|
|
|
Patrick:
Your images are beautiful! Guess I will do some imaging with the CG5A. wich is much lighter and easier to set up than the CGE. I have 3 DSLR cameras and have not used them for astro imaging. There are plenty of object to image without the H-Alpha chip treatment, as demonstrated by your results. This All-Star alignment feature should help!
Daryl
|
Previous
Index
Next
Threaded
