Telescope Reviews: NEAF goodies

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Greg K.

Reged: 12/11/03

Loc: Clifton Park, NY

NEAF goodies - new CGEM
#3053904 - 04/20/09 12:50 AM Attachment (155 downloads)

I'm upgrading my capabilities in the EQ mount world. Here's what I picked up at NEAF from Astronomics - a new CGEM!

Edited by Greg K. (04/20/09 01:58 AM)

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Greg K.

Reged: 12/11/03

Loc: Clifton Park, NY

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: Greg K.]
#3053907 - 04/20/09 12:51 AM Attachment (140 downloads)

This thing is a monster! Here it is in comparison to my old SkyView Pro.

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Strgazr27

Reged: 10/04/04

Loc: StonyHill Observatory

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: Greg K.]
#3054241 - 04/20/09 08:30 AM

And poor Greg had to wait while I loaded the truck with the Pro. The CGEM is an incredibly impressive looking mount in person. The fit and finish over the Atlas is huge. Good luck with it Greg, As usual it was a great weekend! See ya next year!

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antilles72
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 03/06/07

Loc: Rhode Island

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: Strgazr27]
#3054246 - 04/20/09 08:33 AM

Awesome Greg! Looking forward to your first light report.

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antilles72
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 03/06/07

Loc: Rhode Island

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: antilles72]
#3054251 - 04/20/09 08:34 AM

OOH! I see the AT111 is new also? Wow! Did you get Mike's special?

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LLEEGE
True Blue

Reged: 03/03/05

Loc: Cloud-chester,NY

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: antilles72]
#3054313 - 04/20/09 09:19 AM

Great score, Greg! And it was good meeting you.

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Doug6952
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 07/24/08

Loc: West Milford, NJ

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: antilles72]
#3054315 - 04/20/09 09:21 AM

Congrats on the new mount!

I picked up a CGEM from Astronomics at NEAF as well. Unfortunately the DEC axis is having some problems.

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Strgazr27

Reged: 10/04/04

Loc: StonyHill Observatory

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: Doug6952]
#3054376 - 04/20/09 09:40 AM

Doug,

What's the exact issue?

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Greg K.

Reged: 12/11/03

Loc: Clifton Park, NY

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: antilles72]
#3054439 - 04/20/09 10:08 AM

Quote:

OOH! I see the AT111 is new also? Wow! Did you get Mike's special?

He had two of 'em, My 111 stayed hidden away since I actually snagged it on Friday. My mount is the one the AT130 was riding on for most of the show. I did mount the 111 to get a picture first though:

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EricCCD
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 04/14/04

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: Greg K.]
#3054490 - 04/20/09 10:30 AM

Nice! Congrats, Greg!

Eric

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David Pavlich
Transmographied

Reged: 05/18/05

Loc: Mandeville, LA USA

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: EricCCD]
#3054502 - 04/20/09 10:32 AM

Way to go, Greg! Terrific upgrade.

David

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AntarcticDave
sage

Reged: 02/03/09

Loc: Denver, CO

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: David Pavlich]
#3054722 - 04/20/09 12:11 PM

Greg, I have had mine since early January, and have been very happy with it. I think you'll be happy with your purchase.

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Doug6952
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 07/24/08

Loc: West Milford, NJ

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: AntarcticDave]
#3054754 - 04/20/09 12:24 PM

Bob,
I'll send you a PM about the problem. I don't want to hijack the thread.

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Greg K.

Reged: 12/11/03

Loc: Clifton Park, NY

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: Doug6952]
#3055026 - 04/20/09 02:06 PM

I'm curious too, Doug - feel free to post about it here.

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Doug6952
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 07/24/08

Loc: West Milford, NJ

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: Greg K.]
#3055148 - 04/20/09 03:01 PM

Greg,
I just got finished running the mount in DEC again to try and determine what the problem is. It seems like the worm shaft is bent, as far as I can tell, or maybe a high spot on the shaft. There is a wobbling sound when running the motor. At slower slew speeds you can hear the motor running normal until it gets to that spot.

There also seems to be a spot on the worm gear where the motors sound as though it gets tight and makes a grinding noise. Just like if you had the gear mesh set too tight, but it's only on one spot thats maybe 3/8 to 1/2 inch. There may be some dirt or metal flash in there or maybe an out of round gear.

I would crack it open and have a look inside, but I don't want to void the warranty. I did shine a flashlight in the front polar scope port and saw the motor gears turning and didn't see any wobble there.

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Greg K.

Reged: 12/11/03

Loc: Clifton Park, NY

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: Doug6952]
#3055172 - 04/20/09 03:10 PM

Bummer, Doug. I haven't powered mine up yet but hopefully I won't run into anything like that. In any case I'm sure Mike will take care of you.

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Pasquale
Encrypted

Reged: 10/12/05

Loc: Arifjan, Kuwait

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: Greg K.]
#3055354 - 04/20/09 04:33 PM

Congrat's Greg! Does the CGEM use a new polar alignment routine, negating the need for a polar scope?

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waassaabee
Post Laureate

Reged: 11/26/07

Loc: Central California Coast

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: Pasquale]
#3055441 - 04/20/09 05:18 PM

I've had mine out a couple of nights and it is indeed a pleasure! Smooth and spot on every time!

And yes Pasquale, the CGEM does use the AllStar alignment. And let me say I have tossed the idea of a polar scope.

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Greg K.

Reged: 12/11/03

Loc: Clifton Park, NY

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: waassaabee]
#3055552 - 04/20/09 06:06 PM

Quote:

I've had mine out a couple of nights and it is indeed a pleasure! Smooth and spot on every time!

And yes Pasquale, the CGEM does use the AllStar alignment. And let me say I have tossed the idea of a polar scope.

Can't wait to try this feature.

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BCB
Undercover Saboteur

Reged: 11/24/03

Loc: Look over your shoulder

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: Greg K.]
#3055622 - 04/20/09 06:34 PM

What is this "all star" feature? I'm curious..

BTW< Have any spare 55 motors from the conversion ?

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Greg K.

Reged: 12/11/03

Loc: Clifton Park, NY

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: BCB]
#3055681 - 04/20/09 06:55 PM

No extra motors, although I will probably sell my SVP sometime soon, and may sell the motors separately.

Here's Celestron's page on the all-star alignment feature:

http://www.celestron.com/c3/page.php?PageID=370

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Doug6952
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 07/24/08

Loc: West Milford, NJ

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: BCB]
#3055698 - 04/20/09 07:00 PM

I used the "All star align" feature on my CG-5. It works quite well.

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BCB
Undercover Saboteur

Reged: 11/24/03

Loc: Look over your shoulder

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: Doug6952]
#3056655 - 04/21/09 08:05 AM

Let me know if you consider doing that Greg..

Is it loud as a coffee grinder ???

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Greg K.

Reged: 12/11/03

Loc: Clifton Park, NY

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: BCB]
#3056810 - 04/21/09 09:32 AM

But then again, at top speed the CGEM seems pretty loud too. Maybe not quite as much though.

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BCB
Undercover Saboteur

Reged: 11/24/03

Loc: Look over your shoulder

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: Greg K.]
#3056983 - 04/21/09 11:02 AM

I haven't gotten to hear that mount run at top slew slew speed, so I don't know.. How about tracking speed noise? Real quiet in comparison or what ??

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Greg K.

Reged: 12/11/03

Loc: Clifton Park, NY

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: BCB]
#3057011 - 04/21/09 11:16 AM

Haven't noticed/checked tracking speed noise, but then again I only had the mount powered up for about 5 minutes last night to make sure it was all working.

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AntarcticDave
sage

Reged: 02/03/09

Loc: Denver, CO

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: Greg K.]
#3057160 - 04/21/09 12:24 PM

I have played around with mine where I store it in my bedroom, and it was so quiet tracking that I forgot it was on till I noticed the scope had swept through 20 degrees. The clock ticking in the room is MUCH louder than tracking on the CGEM.

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Carl M
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 02/21/07

Loc: Vermont, USA

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: Greg K.]
#3057263 - 04/21/09 01:19 PM

Quote:

My mount is the one the AT130 was riding on for most of the show. I did mount the 111 to get a picture first though:

Congrats! You got the one we helped you pack up? That's great! It was sure great seeing you and Mandy again! Tell Mandy that Tatiana said HI!

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Greg K.

Reged: 12/11/03

Loc: Clifton Park, NY

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: Carl M]
#3057276 - 04/21/09 01:27 PM

Yep, I was packing it up to take it home - thanks for the assistance!

Mandy had a great time hanging out with your (and the Horstman's) kids and helping Alan! And thanks again for the scope they gave her.

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Carl M
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 02/21/07

Loc: Vermont, USA

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: Greg K.]
#3058941 - 04/22/09 07:06 AM

Quote:

Yep, I was packing it up to take it home - thanks for the assistance!

Mandy had a great time hanging out with your (and the Horstman's) kids and helping Alan! And thanks again for the scope they gave her.

Thanks! I'll pass the word on to Zhenya (Evgeniy)! Let us know if you head this way for the Stellafane Convention in August.

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Scott Beith
SRF

Reged: 11/26/03

Loc: Frederick, MD

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: Carl M]
#3065750 - 04/25/09 07:41 AM

I snagged the CGEM that the 10" RC was sitting on.

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Moggi1964
Vendor - Astro Laugh

Reged: 11/07/05

Loc: Madison. NJ. USA

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: Scott Beith]
#3065871 - 04/25/09 09:25 AM

Didn't you win a prize as well Scott?

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Greg K.

Reged: 12/11/03

Loc: Clifton Park, NY

Re: NEAF goodies - new CGEM new

[Re: Moggi1964]
#3067850 - 04/26/09 10:02 AM

I've had my CGEM out the past two nights and I'm loving this mount. Once I figured out how to get a good alignment (two star alignment w/ a calibration star is good) the goto's are spot on. You can add calibration stars to improve the goto model as well. In the field it's not too loud, it sounds a lot like an ASGT to me, actually. The mount accelerates and decelerates smooth as silk - nothing like the full-speed or nothing LXD motors/controller. Backlash is minimal to nonexistent. Tosses the 111 around like it's nothing, there won't be any issue at all adding another scope for guiding or whatever.

I think Celestron has a real winner here.

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