ProfMMC
sage
Reged: 09/13/07
Posts: 289
Loc: London UK
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I am happy with my EQ6 pro bar 1 thing: the altitude adjustment, well maybe 2 things perhaps the vixen style dovetail :-).
For now I am sticking with it and am not interested in an upgrade in the near future - but I am interested in what will happen in a year to 18 months.
Celeston have shot thier bolt - the CGEM - in the UK 150% of the cost of an new EQ6 pro. Better software? Better altitude adjustment? but lower payload - my conclusion interesting but no thanks at that price.
I have heard few rumours of a next generation EQ6, along with the view that it is on hold due to too many containers full of EQ6s.
The meade LXD75 is not even in the running. Are meade only interested in forks or will they enter the market with a sub £2000 quality mount? The electronics is easy to get right nowadays, and the software is a doddle. All that leaves is some engineering - it must be possible to do a lot better than the current 1k mounts without the cost getting out of control.
I am not even considering Losmandy - they are so yesterday and goto is a addon - not designed in from the start. One day they will just be eliminated from the market.
I am also not considering the >5k mount. This is a hobby!
What do people reckon?
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Orion Optics UK 350mm F4.7 Dob (dismantled)
Celestron 8SE f10 Meade 5000ED 127mm ETX125 OTA f15
Revelation ED 80mm f6.8 Meade 5000ED 80mm f6
WO ZS66mm f5.9 WO ZS70mm f6
EQ6 Pro CG5
DSI I + II Shoestring GPUSB EQMOD
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chuckscap
sage
Reged: 07/18/09
Posts: 217
Loc: Colorado Springs, CO USA
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I'd be real interested if there weren't a lot of people complaining about dead hand controllers soon after getting their mounts with several months wait time for a replacement. I really like the Celestron goto system. Maybe they'll start shipping them with two hand controllers for awhile ... lol
Chuck
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Alph
sage
Reged: 11/23/06
Posts: 259
Loc: Melmac
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Quote:
I am not even considering Losmandy - they are so yesterday and goto is a addon - not designed in from the start
Wrong attitude and wrong conclusion. My advice, reconsider.
Quote:
What do people reckon?
Meade are not working on a GE mount right now so I was told at one of astronomy shows when I asked about it.
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Billydee
super member
Reged: 01/23/08
Posts: 185
Loc: Winter Haven, FL
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Meade is very short on money at this time. There are no funds to design and start production on any new mounts. The are having problems with the ETX replacement production and quality problems. If the new line does not take off soon I doubt Meade can remain a stand alone company.
Bill
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gnowellsct
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/24/09
Posts: 730
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Quote:
I am happy with my EQ6 pro bar 1 thing: the altitude adjustment, well maybe 2 things perhaps the vixen style dovetail :-).
For now I am sticking with it and am not interested in an upgrade in the near future - but I am interested in what will happen in a year to 18 months.
Celeston have shot thier bolt - the CGEM - in the UK 150% of the cost of an new EQ6 pro. Better software? Better altitude adjustment? but lower payload - my conclusion interesting but no thanks at that price.
I have heard few rumours of a next generation EQ6, along with the view that it is on hold due to too many containers full of EQ6s.
The meade LXD75 is not even in the running. Are meade only interested in forks or will they enter the market with a sub £2000 quality mount? The electronics is easy to get right nowadays, and the software is a doddle. All that leaves is some engineering - it must be possible to do a lot better than the current 1k mounts without the cost getting out of control.
I am not even considering Losmandy - they are so yesterday and goto is a addon - not designed in from the start. One day they will just be eliminated from the market.
I am also not considering the >5k mount. This is a hobby!
What do people reckon?
One day, everything will be eliminated from the market. None of the mounts you mention perform as well as the G11 and none comes close to the G11's tracking with Ovision upgrade. But to each his own. Meantime G11 has a huge user base and after markets parts providers, and that's actually a good thing.
As for electronics, they are NOT easy. They are easy to make glitzy and the go-to algorithms are worked out. The reliability of the circuits and connections in temperatures from -20F to the insides of a locked car in summer is quite another.
The CGEM strategy is smart. Go for lower load and better quality parts. But the scope to fit the mount not vice versa. If your EQ6 meets your needs then I'd say you're sitting pretty.
Good luck,
Greg N
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"Aperture will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no aperture."
featuring selected astrojunk:
bunch o' widefield eyepieces
bunch o' narrowfield eyepieces
couple o' Barlows
couple o' scopes
couple o' mounts
couple o' tripods
and a pier 'n' stuff
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rmollise
Post Laureate
Reged: 07/06/07
Posts: 4570
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Quote:
One day, everything will be eliminated from the market. None of the mounts you mention perform as well as the G11 and none comes close to the G11's tracking with Ovision upgrade.
And upgrades or no, the Losmandy is not in the same ballpark as the MIs or APs or Taks. The EQ-6/CGEM are easily capable of producing good autoguided images with a C8 or a C11. The Losmandy is a nice mount (so is the CGE), and might do better visually as it will accomodate a C14 (barely), but for imaging, there is really not much difference.
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Uncle Rod
Rod's New Book:
Choosing and Using a New CAT
Available now!
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7331Peg
professor emeritus
Reged: 09/01/08
Posts: 725
Loc: North coast of Oregon
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Quote:
I'd be real interested if there weren't a lot of people complaining about dead hand controllers soon after getting their mounts with several months wait time for a replacement. I really like the Celestron goto system. Maybe they'll start shipping them with two hand controllers for awhile ... lol
And that's precisely why Losmandy is going to be around for a long, long time ...............
John
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rmollise
Post Laureate
Reged: 07/06/07
Posts: 4570
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Quote:
And that's precisely why Losmandy is going to be around for a long, long time ...............
John
Sure they will, if nothing happens...but frankly, despite the fact that they DO produce high quality mounts for reasonable prices, it's not like they haven't had plenty of problems themselves. Ask some of the Titan early adopters. 
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Uncle Rod
Rod's New Book:
Choosing and Using a New CAT
Available now!
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Patrick
Postmaster
Reged: 05/16/03
Posts: 7807
Loc: Franklin, Ohio
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Quote:
Celeston have shot thier bolt - the CGEM - in the UK 150% of the cost of an new EQ6 pro. Better software? Better altitude adjustment? but lower payload - my conclusion interesting but no thanks at that price.
Here in the US, the CGEM's are priced $100 less than the EQ6's and the mounts are both rated at 40 lbs [18.1kg] carrying capacity. I suspect the price difference is related to global economics and business relationships rather than to a measure of their quality or features.
Quote:
I am not even considering Losmandy - they are so yesterday and goto is a addon - not designed in from the start. One day they will just be eliminated from the market.
I have to disagree with you on that one. While the Losmandy's may never have the market of the mass-produced mounts, there will always be a market for well built gear that is both functional and reliable.
Patrick
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10" f/6 Truss Tube Newtonian
Celestron C6S-GT SCT
AT66ED Refractor
Oberwerk Ultra 15x70 Binocular
475B Geared Tripod & 501HDV Head
Celestron Regal 8x42 Binocular
Canon XSi; Meade DSI;SPC900-NC
Vixen GP2 Photo Guider Mount
My Astronomy Pages
Edited by Patrick (10/05/09 07:21 AM)
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rmollise
Post Laureate
Reged: 07/06/07
Posts: 4570
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Bottom line? There've been rumors about a MaxJunior...but that is all they are. Sure, Meade might do a GEM...their financial condition didn't prevent them from getting the LS and LT out the door...but... GEMs is something they've never been noted for, with their prior attempts not creating a ripple. I doubt they'll invest in development of somthing they don't think will have wide appeal.
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Uncle Rod
Rod's New Book:
Choosing and Using a New CAT
Available now!
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ProfMMC
sage
Reged: 09/13/07
Posts: 289
Loc: London UK
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The pricing of the CGEM v the EQ6Pro in the uk is unfortunate. I was misinformed and was thinking the CGEM was only 30lbs load.
I have tried hard to be enthused about Losmandy, but it is so much more expensive with the goto, and I am not convinced the extra expense is worth it.
Again uk pricing may skew the argument.
--------------------
Orion Optics UK 350mm F4.7 Dob (dismantled)
Celestron 8SE f10 Meade 5000ED 127mm ETX125 OTA f15
Revelation ED 80mm f6.8 Meade 5000ED 80mm f6
WO ZS66mm f5.9 WO ZS70mm f6
EQ6 Pro CG5
DSI I + II Shoestring GPUSB EQMOD
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rmollise
Post Laureate
Reged: 07/06/07
Posts: 4570
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Quote:
The pricing of the CGEM v the EQ6Pro in the uk is unfortunate. I was misinformed and was thinking the CGEM was only 30lbs load.
I have tried hard to be enthused about Losmandy, but it is so much more expensive with the goto, and I am not convinced the extra expense is worth it.
Again uk pricing may skew the argument.
That's long been the problem with Meade and Celestron in the UK. If I lived there, there is no way I would even consider buying their gear given the crazy prices.
I was a little perturbed that I'd bought an EQ-6 just a couple of months before the CGEM came out. I'd really rather have had the Celestron software...but once I discovered EQMOD, I was able to make friends with the mount. 
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Uncle Rod
Rod's New Book:
Choosing and Using a New CAT
Available now!
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ProfMMC
sage
Reged: 09/13/07
Posts: 289
Loc: London UK
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Yes my experiments with EQMOD have really increased my satisfaction levels with the EQ6pro as well.
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Orion Optics UK 350mm F4.7 Dob (dismantled)
Celestron 8SE f10 Meade 5000ED 127mm ETX125 OTA f15
Revelation ED 80mm f6.8 Meade 5000ED 80mm f6
WO ZS66mm f5.9 WO ZS70mm f6
EQ6 Pro CG5
DSI I + II Shoestring GPUSB EQMOD
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