Mike Harvey
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 03/01/04
Loc: Orlando, FL.
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Re: My CGEM is bust ;(
[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#2964473 - 03/04/09 11:33 PM
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Fortunately, my CGEM works beautifully...for the price - I think it's a steal!
Something better would cost two or three times as much.
Anyone considering this mount should just be realistic about its' capabilities. It's NOT an AP 1200!!! 
When I took delivery and realized it didn't have a polar scope, I was a bit dismayed, but soon realized that the All-Star alignment has made such a device obsolete!
Using the new system I've found the CGEM tracks beautifully (at least for my needs).
With a 10" SNT and Mallincam, 56-second iterations show NO TRAILING AT ALL. Stars remain pinpoint.
Whether this translates into accuracy good enough for truly long-exposure imaging, I don't know. But, if that's what I was planning to do, I'd have bought a different mount anyway.
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Blixx
professor emeritus
Reged: 12/02/07
Loc: CO. Aurora, USA
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Re: My CGEM is bust ;(
[Re: Mike Harvey]
#2964544 - 03/05/09 12:16 AM
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Mike,
I just placed an order for a cgem. I was wondering if the dovetail bars that I have for my c80ed and svp100 will work. I thought that I read somewhere that it has a different setup. I have the standard dovetails that fit on my cg5 mount. Can you or anyone else answer this question?
Dan
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LLEEGE
True Blue
Reged: 03/03/05
Loc: Cloud-chester,NY
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Re: My CGEM is bust ;(
[Re: Blixx]
#2964633 - 03/05/09 01:22 AM
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No. You will need D series plates.
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7331Peg
Sirius Observer
Reged: 09/01/08
Loc: North coast of Oregon
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Re: My CGEM is bust ;(
[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#2964689 - 03/05/09 02:30 AM
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Of course I'm reminded of the definition of insanity; doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result. Thus, I'm beginning to question the sanity of continuing to deal with Celestron. I guess I'm just stubborn and expect them to make things right!
Back in the days when "Quality" was a corporate buzz word, the company I worked for hired a QC guru. His favorite phrase was, "If it ain't workin', don't keep doin' it harder!"
Great advice, but six months after he was hired, he was escorted off the property by security. And that was the end of the QC program.
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waassaabee
Post Laureate
Reged: 11/26/07
Loc: Central California Coast
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Re: My CGEM is bust ;(
[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#2964908 - 03/05/09 08:27 AM
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Of course I'm reminded of the definition of insanity; doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result. Thus, I'm beginning to question the sanity of continuing to deal with Celestron. I guess I'm just stubborn and expect them to make things right!
Beo
It's a crazy quandary isn't it?! Before the CGEM was shipping I had told a friend of mine I was going to get on the list for one. He is a die hard CGE owner and told me how the first CGE's were some of the best, and folks searched them out, but there had been a handful of bad apples in the first barrel too. Well while I was deciding my CG5 must have heard and went through a period of optimal performance, soothing the itch quite a bit. Then they released the CGEM and almost as expected I started hearing of a few bad units going out, but I was happy with the CG5... Then ole Trusty (CG5) started acting up, and finally two weeks ago I could no longer use it and shipped it off to Celestron. Now the Customer Service horror stories are surfacing, and how long I'll potentially be out of a mount is starting to sink in so what do I do.... start drooling over a CGEM again.
I think insanity is inherent with this hobby.
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Dave H.
sage
Reged: 02/29/08
Loc: Northern Virginia
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Re: My CGEM is bust ;(
[Re: Blixx]
#2965033 - 03/05/09 09:47 AM Attachment (80 downloads)
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Mike,
As previously posted above the dovetails on the OTAs you have will not work on the CGEM. While the optimum solution is certainly to go to Losmandy style dovetails for your OTAs, for these fairly light tubes another solution might be an adapter like the one made by ScopeStuff.
Here is a photo of the ScopeStuff adapter I use on my CGEM, I have found it very adequate for my SW120ED.
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Blixx
professor emeritus
Reged: 12/02/07
Loc: CO. Aurora, USA
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Re: My CGEM is bust ;(
[Re: Dave H.]
#2965161 - 03/05/09 10:49 AM
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Well that's a bummer. There's another 100 bucks that I have to spend. I guess though that it is woth it.
Dan
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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/13/08
Loc: Cedar Park, TX
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Re: My CGEM is bust ;(
[Re: Blixx]
#2966309 - 03/05/09 08:07 PM
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Well that's a bummer. There's another 100 bucks that I have to spend. I guess though that it is woth it.
Dan
You might wait on ADM's dual saddle replacement. A bit more cost, but pretty versatile. I actually went a different route and bought an ADM side-by-side setup with the dual saddles on a Losmandy style rail. Now if I can just get my CGEM to use it one of these days!
Beo
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Blixx
professor emeritus
Reged: 12/02/07
Loc: CO. Aurora, USA
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Re: My CGEM is bust ;(
[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#2966445 - 03/05/09 09:36 PM
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So heres another question. If I get the SBS with the Losmandy rail can I use 1 scope for visual as well? Also does this duel saddle accept standard dovetails. That's what I have on my two scopes now. I mainly use them for AP but every now and then I like to just look rather that photograph.
Dan
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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/13/08
Loc: Cedar Park, TX
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Re: My CGEM is bust ;(
[Re: Blixx]
#2966692 - 03/06/09 12:02 AM Attachment (108 downloads)
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Dan,
Here's a pic of my ADM SBS mounted on the original CGEM that I'd ordered. It's pretty massive, but looks good. You can see the dual dovetail clamp design. I plan to use this for both guiding and visual use. However, you're not likely to do visual and photos at the same time unless you're doing short unguided exposures.
Beo
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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/13/08
Loc: Cedar Park, TX
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Re: My CGEM is bust ;(
[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#2966697 - 03/06/09 12:04 AM Attachment (109 downloads)
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And here's both of my OTAs mounted up. Forgive the choppy cutout. Bad background and quick job of it.
Beo
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Blixx
professor emeritus
Reged: 12/02/07
Loc: CO. Aurora, USA
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Re: My CGEM is bust ;(
[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#2966712 - 03/06/09 12:09 AM
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Beo,
How much did it cost you. I am afraid that I don't have a lot of money to spend? I blow most of my money on the mount. And where did you get it?
Dan
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Lord Beowulf
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/13/08
Loc: Cedar Park, TX
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Re: My CGEM is bust ;(
[Re: Blixx]
#2966731 - 03/06/09 12:22 AM
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Anthony at ADM set me up. It's basically an LSBS with the DUAL-SAD-LOS instead of the LOS-SAD. I think it was like $240 with shipping, but that could have changed.
Beo
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PhilCo126
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/14/05
Loc: coastline of Belgium
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Re: My CGEM is bust ;(
[Re: Lord Beowulf]
#2971292 - 03/08/09 10:55 AM
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Just wanted to add I'll go for a CGEM mount as I had a lot of problems with an EQ-6 dual motor photo-mount which basically worked once and gave up...
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Trever
Post Laureate
Reged: 08/18/03
Loc: North Alabama
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Re: My CGEM is bust ;(
[Re: PhilCo126]
#3004167 - 03/25/09 02:03 PM
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So far I have not had the chance to really test my CGEM mount. The OTA has some image shift in the focuser. I have spent a week cycling the mirror back and forth to lubricate it better and I ordered a crayford focuser to solve that issue.
The one thing I did notice is when I first powered up the scope, it seemed to be set incorrectly. Any star I attempted to list gave me a filter error and there were no solar system objects to find in the list. When I did a quick align and had it find M13, it would point straight down and attempt to find it even though it technically was beyond its extents. After doing a factory reset, it seems to be fine after that. But there was no way to know for sure if it is working perfectly. I had it outside that night and aligned it to the best that I could on a 2 star alignment, but that wasnt enough since nothing was in the field of view. I didnt get the chance to do the polar alignment through the HC yet.
So, I will try to give it a more complete test before my 30 days are up at OPT on April 13th. It has mostly been cloudy since I recieved it.
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ssouza
member
Reged: 07/13/07
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Re: My CGEM is bust ;(
[Re: Dave H.]
#3004243 - 03/25/09 02:50 PM Attachment (55 downloads)
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Quote:
Mike,
As previously posted above the dovetails on the OTAs you have will not work on the CGEM. While the optimum solution is certainly to go to Losmandy style dovetails for your OTAs, for these fairly light tubes another solution might be an adapter like the one made by ScopeStuff.
Here is a photo of the ScopeStuff adapter I use on my CGEM, I have found it very adequate for my SW120ED.
Note that the reasonably-priced Scopestuff Losmandy/Vixen adapter can be turned into a side-by-side for small scopes using only an Allen wrench by rotating the in-line saddles 90 degrees in opposite directions, keeping the knobs to the outside. It's solid as a rock, and doesn't add as much mass as some other options. See the photo.
BTW, I love the CGEM. It replaced an HGM200 on a permanent pier, and although the load capacity is lower, the sanity factor is much higher.
Steve Souza
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Tim C
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 11/11/07
Loc: Marietta, GA
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Re: My CGEM is bust ;(
[Re: Trever]
#3004400 - 03/25/09 04:37 PM
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Trever,
My unit fails to put objects in the FOV when using just a two star align as well even with good polar alignment. However, when I add 2 or 3 calibration stars the gotos are fantastic. For imaging, I always do 2 star align plus 3 calibration stars and also high precision go to and it puts the object in the dead center of the chip every single time. You wouldn't need to use high precision for visual. Also, when aligning your alignment and calibration stars, make the final adjustments to center the star using the up and right arrow keys.
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rmollise
Postmaster
Reged: 07/06/07
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Re: My CGEM is bust ;(
[Re: Trever]
#3005362 - 03/26/09 08:40 AM
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The one thing I did notice is when I first powered up the scope, it seemed to be set incorrectly. Any star I attempted to list gave me a filter error and there were no solar system objects to find in the list. When I did a quick align and had it find M13, it would point straight down and attempt to find it even though it technically was beyond its extents. After doing a factory reset, it seems to be fine after that. But there was no way to know for sure if it is working perfectly. I had it outside that night and aligned it to the best that I could on a 2 star alignment, but that wasnt enough since nothing was in the field of view. I didnt get the chance to do the polar alignment through the HC yet.
This is likely improper settings in the HC. Triple check latitude/longitude _and their signs_, time-zone (a new HC defaults to PST), time, and date.
As for focus shift, all Meade and Celestron SCTs exhibt some. Unless the shift is large, it really won't hurt anything. "Large" these days bein' over 45"...
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Trever
Post Laureate
Reged: 08/18/03
Loc: North Alabama
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Re: My CGEM is bust ;(
[Re: rmollise]
#3059267 - 04/22/09 10:47 AM
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I verified most of that but I did see where I had made some mistakes. If we can ever have a week without rain or Tornadoes, then I can give it a try.
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