Charles
Post Laureate
Reged: 06/12/03
Posts: 4111
Loc: Enterprise, AL
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The March issue has a great review of the CGE 14. I have been wanting to see a good review since that scope hit the market. The only thing I do not like is the 55 arc second error rate out of the box. The author stated that he cut that in half with PEC training; that in my opion is still really high though! My EM 200 comes with a error rate of 5 arc seconds out of the box.
S&T has a good review overall of the scope and I recommend anyone considering the scope to read the write up. Looks like a great SCT, but I would pass on the mount for photographic work.
Charles
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StormKat
super member
Reged: 09/29/03
Posts: 144
Loc: Oakland, TN
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Doh! And I was considering a CGE-1100 because of the mount and the upgradability to the 14" If the mounts not really worth it, then it would be a waste of $6200.
I just want to say thanks to everyone in these forums for their knowledge and expertise. These last few months I've reviewed specifications of telescope after telescope, mount after mount, and camera after camera. I really want to get into astrophotography and all the images from everyone here really inspires me, but, I hate to say, this hobby is just too expensive for me and puts it way out of my means.
In 3 months I've gone from willing to spend $3000, to willing to spend $4000, to willing to spend $6000. Luckily, I haven't spent a penny yet and I guess it's a good thing. Better to be frustrated now than frustrated after spending $10000 on equipment and finding out that I should have gotten such-n-such mount for just a few grand more. Grrrr!
Anyway, I'll be setting my budget back down to $3000 and keep taking snapshots with my CoolPix.
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-StormKat---
Orion 8" SkyView Deluxe
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Ricky
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/09/03
Posts: 2173
Loc: Nor Cal
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Hi StormKat,
I think that you can get a pretty nice ota+mount for $3k. My ota, Intes MN56, was $800 and if I had gone with the non-goto GM-8 it would tacked on another $1500. And you still have money left for goodies  Keep your eyes opened for a good ota, mount deal at astromart as well.
Best Regards,
Ricky
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Regards Ricky
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Astro-Tech 6" RC (wait list)
ADM Mount (on the way!)
QHY 8 ccd (wait list)
66-80mm apo (deciding)
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Suk Lee
Post Laureate
Reged: 10/07/03
Posts: 4315
Loc: Pleasanton, CA
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MARCH???
MARCH!!!????
I JUST managed to get the February issue!!!!!
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http://www.siliconvalleyskies.com
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Ricky
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/09/03
Posts: 2173
Loc: Nor Cal
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Me too! It pays to be a subsciber I suppose...:)
Ricky
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Regards Ricky
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Astro-Tech 6" RC (wait list)
ADM Mount (on the way!)
QHY 8 ccd (wait list)
66-80mm apo (deciding)
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Suk Lee
Post Laureate
Reged: 10/07/03
Posts: 4315
Loc: Pleasanton, CA
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I unsubscribed because I was getting the mag in the mail a week to 2 AFTER it hit the newstands. Grrr.
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http://www.siliconvalleyskies.com
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Ricky
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/09/03
Posts: 2173
Loc: Nor Cal
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lol
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Regards Ricky
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Astro-Tech 6" RC (wait list)
ADM Mount (on the way!)
QHY 8 ccd (wait list)
66-80mm apo (deciding)
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Tom L
Reged: 01/07/04
Posts: 29817
Loc: Sunny Oregon
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I'm going to go to B&N and see if I can get the Feb and the March issue. Hope they have the Feb issue still.
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Tom 
Tele Vue 102mm f/8.6 on an EzTouch
Vixen 80mm f/5 A80SSWT on a grab-n-go mount
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Charles
Post Laureate
Reged: 06/12/03
Posts: 4111
Loc: Enterprise, AL
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What was really funny was the author stated that the new PEC of 22 could easily be handled manually or with an autoguider. Talk about a work load! I kept going back to see if I had read it wrong. It never did discuss whether continued PEC training works like the Mead's PEC training where the more training adds to the previos training and gives you even better accuracy.
Like I stated before I wouldn't mine having one of these Berthas but I do think I would pass on the mount unless I see an improvement in its PEC.
Read the article I think all of you will find it interesting!
Charles
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Mike28
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 06/21/03
Posts: 2889
Loc: Morris County,NJ
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Hi Charles: Yes I read the article in March's issue and found it interesting. Major flaw according to S&T is it cant go past the Meridian when tracking. Also the mounting seems to be strenuous for one person. It made my mounting for the NS11GPS look like a walk in the park  And you have to polar align the scope for true accuracy/pointing. The tube is aluminum unlike the the NS series made with carbon fiber. But overall it looks like a very nice scope to own. I just can see setting it up in field by oneself will be exerting.  I like the fork mounts better. And for 6 grand I would consider very carefully before purchasing it.
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Mike
'The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.” Albert Einstein
NS11GPS/Sky align
TAKAHASHI TOA150F
Celestron 80ED
TV Pronto
Burgess Bino
Coronado Ha PST
CGE mount
Edited by Mike28 (01/31/04 09:52 AM)
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Rusty
Postmaster
Reged: 08/06/03
Posts: 16410
Loc: Brooker, FL
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Yeah, it's a hoss - it was disappointing to see the meridian-crossing latitude was so tight. I'm still set in a MI 250 or an EM-200 when I can get a permanent site. This was a disappointment in that I thought there was a cheaper solution... 
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N11GPS Fastar
TOA-130S
MK66 Std
Vintage C5
Megrez II 80mm ED Triplet APO
SolarMax 40
NJP Temma II
Sirius EQ-G
ST8XE/CFW-8(LRGBHa)/AO-7/DF-2/STV Dlx/ST237a/350D (Unmodded)/Mallincam Color Hyper Plus/DSI III Color/DSI II Pro
Two not-spoiled Golden Retrievers - Maggie and Casey
Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and sometimes I think we're not. In either case the idea is quite staggering. - Arthur C. Clarke
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Charles
Post Laureate
Reged: 06/12/03
Posts: 4111
Loc: Enterprise, AL
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Yes, I too was hoping that quality could be had for less money, but I guess that is just not going to happen anytime soon. I had been interested in the CGE mounts since I first saw there advertisements, but just never could find any reviews on them. I still believe that industry could make a well engineered mount that tracks like a TAK or AP but cost like a CGE.
Charles
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Oldfield
Postmaster
Reged: 03/20/02
Posts: 5218
Loc: Hong Kong
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To dream for a good mount for cheaper price, maybe it's more realistic to dream for a camera which allows much shorter exposure at cheaper price.
mechanical thing is hardly to become cheaper, I believe, but digital things become cheaper and cheaper and more powerful fairly quickly.
recently, a local friend has been turning up excellent photographs ranged from 5-7 minutes exposure with just a Canon 10D.
I expect to jump into the deep sky game next year, when noise is further suppressed hopefully by then. <grin>
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The Home Astronomer from a city where most people are proud of the light pollution
Toys: C5, Ranger, Borg 45ED II, SM40/BF10, Unistar Light, TG-SP II, LXD55, ToUCam Pro, DMK 31AF03, Canon 10x30 IS, Pentax PCF III 10x50...
My observation log and ideas My General Blog
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wilash
Fairy Godmother
Reged: 09/30/03
Posts: 5746
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Quote:
I still believe that industry could make a well engineered mount that tracks like a TAK or AP but cost like a CGE.
Charles
Not unless the market for those mounts increases significantly. Amateur astronomy a very small market. And even if the market becomes larger, companies like Celelstron and Meade will still make cheaper mounts for even less so it is a no-win situation because most people would rather have a good deal than a good product. There will always be cheap and expensive products and the defining difference is quality. The Meades, Celestrons, and Orions of this world allow the people who don't have the money to enjoy the sky, the Takahashis and Astro Physicists allow people with the funds to purchase good equipment.
Now did someone say something about a free lunch? Just tell me when and where, and I'll be there. 
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Rusty
Postmaster
Reged: 08/06/03
Posts: 16410
Loc: Brooker, FL
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Well, one of the disappointments in "almost made it" equipment is that with a little tighter engineering, many items would be excellent buys. That said, the CGE errors are just plain unacceptable. I agree with the reviewer that the shortcomings need not have been incorporated into the CGE-1400 ensemble.
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N11GPS Fastar
TOA-130S
MK66 Std
Vintage C5
Megrez II 80mm ED Triplet APO
SolarMax 40
NJP Temma II
Sirius EQ-G
ST8XE/CFW-8(LRGBHa)/AO-7/DF-2/STV Dlx/ST237a/350D (Unmodded)/Mallincam Color Hyper Plus/DSI III Color/DSI II Pro
Two not-spoiled Golden Retrievers - Maggie and Casey
Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and sometimes I think we're not. In either case the idea is quite staggering. - Arthur C. Clarke
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Hi Charles,
I'm another new kid on the block. I've got a CGE-1400 and Im trying to get it to trak as well as I can. What tricks should I use other than polar alligning the scope? With the scope polar alligned and two star alligned I'm still seeing more drift than I'd like. A star goes through a 15 mm eyepiece in about 3 minutes. What an I missing?
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matt
Vendor (Scopemania)
Reged: 07/28/03
Posts: 10022
Loc: Chaville, France
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That's really unacceptable on a mount that price, and barely believable on a smaller one.
Maybe your scope is not balanced properly? That tends to give the motors a hard time.
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Matt
CI700 mount with various scopes on top.
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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I just went out and checked. The balance was off a bit (about 1 inch on the counterweight bar)so I corrected it. Tonight looks like a reasonable viewing night so I'll go out and see what if any improvement exists. With the amount of drift I'm seeing I think I must being doing something bady wrong but I can't figure out what it could be!
Thanks for the tip. 
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jrcrilly
Refractor wienie again
Reged: 04/30/03
Posts: 22473
Loc: NE Ohio
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Quote:
That's really unacceptable on a mount that price, and barely believable on a smaller one.
Yes, there's something wrong. Don't worry, it'll do much better than that. I never had a chance to try imaging with mine but it would keep an object stationary in the eyepiece indefinitely.
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John C
Urban Observatory
Tele Vue Pronto
A&M/Astreya 76mm F/6 APO
TMB/LOMO 80mm F/7.5 APO
Tak FSQ-106N F/5 APO
Meade 152ED F/9 "APO"
152mm F/10 achromat
Tak CN-212 8" F/12 classical Cass/ F/4 Newt
Teeter 20" F/3.8 truss Newt w/ServoCat
LXD750, EM-200, CI-700
ST-10XME
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