Telescope Reviews: Celestron VX mount

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cn register 5
sage

Reged: 12/26/12

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: bilgebay]
#5665725 - 02/06/13 05:41 PM

Guided. It's so easy to set up guiding and I get so few good evenings that I haven't had the nerve to try it with PEC unguided.

When I was checking PEC it seemed to give an unguided RMS error of +- 2.6 arc secs, If I'd thought about it I could have had one scope of the SBS system checking the shift and the other imaging.

Chris

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Pak
super member

Reged: 09/15/12

Loc: The Great Arc

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: mpgxsvcd]
#5665751 - 02/06/13 06:04 PM

Celestron!

I just want to point out that this thread now has 17 pages of posts where just about every post has something positive to say about the product and pleasant exchanges of information related to the product.

Hey Meade? I know you have no reason to be in this thread but if by chance you are...

THIS is how you launch a product!

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landshark99
member

Reged: 12/16/12

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: Robo-bob]
#5665977 - 02/06/13 08:38 PM

FYI, using the fitted foam from the original packing box is an almost perfect fit in a Pelican 1560, rolling case

Edited by landshark99 (02/06/13 09:50 PM)

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186vett
member

Reged: 01/29/13

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: landshark99]
#5666297 - 02/07/13 12:16 AM

Folks;
Received an email from High Point Scientific early this evening the VX mount along with an 8EdgeHD will be delivered tomorrow. Really excited, but understand the reality of learning astrophotography w/my Canon 4Ti.
Look forward to a Great Education!
Take Care All-Jerry

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jfrech14
member

Reged: 01/17/12

Loc: Virginia, USA

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: 186vett]
#5666388 - 02/07/13 02:07 AM

Ok so my 12"LX200 fried out and I am going to fulfill a lifelong dream of going Celestron. I would have but I got the LX fully loaded for 1200 bucks.. couldnt say no. I am thinking of going with the AT6RC with my WO ZS II 80ED, Nikon D5100, TV .8 FF/FR and an Orion SSAG. I want to get a nicer Astrograph to go deeper but the guy at starizona said with the resolution of my camera I can go deep and just crop it. My camera with the FF/FR and AT6RC would be .91"/pixel and .73"/pixel at its native F/9. Any other recommendations? Also... Is this VX the mount for me? I have an observatory but want to be able to move.. the CGEM I can move but this will be easier to. Basically my question is more straight forward than most.. for someone who is anal about polar alignment (i drift align for 6 minutes normally)... will this mount perform like a CGEM. The Celestron tech guy said it is capable of being better than the CGEM just has a smaller load capacity. I want to do 5-10 min exposures which seem reasonable with this mount but what is the software precision? The usual 24 bit .08? Will I regret not getting the CGEM? I love all these celestron users.. meades support sucked for the most part. thanks guys keep it up

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Mike X.
professor emeritus

Reged: 06/28/10

Loc: Greece-Athens and Rome-Italy

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: jfrech14]
#5666459 - 02/07/13 04:47 AM

Capable of being better than CGEM?
In tracking i suppose..?

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mpgxsvcd
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 12/21/11

Loc: Raleigh, North Carolina

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: Robo-bob]
#5666656 - 02/07/13 08:55 AM

Quote:

My mistake, I thought you were referring to the silver elevation lock knobs.
Regarding the axis lock knobs, you could take the set screw out of the knob and just take the knob off the mount when you are done aligning. You would have to take care not to lose it , but it would buy you the extra room you need.

That is what I had to do. I think I am just going to get an Alan wrench for it so I don't have to worry about losing the screw which I did several times last night in the midst of some testing.

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mpgxsvcd
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 12/21/11

Loc: Raleigh, North Carolina

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: jfrech14]
#5666661 - 02/07/13 08:59 AM

Quote:

Ok so my 12"LX200 fried out and I am going to fulfill a lifelong dream of going Celestron. I would have but I got the LX fully loaded for 1200 bucks.. couldnt say no. I am thinking of going with the AT6RC with my WO ZS II 80ED, Nikon D5100, TV .8 FF/FR and an Orion SSAG. I want to get a nicer Astrograph to go deeper but the guy at starizona said with the resolution of my camera I can go deep and just crop it. My camera with the FF/FR and AT6RC would be .91"/pixel and .73"/pixel at its native F/9. Any other recommendations? Also... Is this VX the mount for me? I have an observatory but want to be able to move.. the CGEM I can move but this will be easier to. Basically my question is more straight forward than most.. for someone who is anal about polar alignment (i drift align for 6 minutes normally)... will this mount perform like a CGEM. The Celestron tech guy said it is capable of being better than the CGEM just has a smaller load capacity. I want to do 5-10 min exposures which seem reasonable with this mount but what is the software precision? The usual 24 bit .08? Will I regret not getting the CGEM? I love all these celestron users.. meades support sucked for the most part. thanks guys keep it up

If you guide then it should be capable of doing whatever exposures you desire. If you don't guide then you better be really good at Polar aligning, setting up the balance, and not touching your mount/telescope at all.

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rmollise
Postmaster

Reged: 07/06/07

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: jfrech14]
#5666691 - 02/07/13 09:24 AM

Quote:

I want to do 5-10 min exposures which seem reasonable with this mount but what is the software precision? The usual 24 bit .08?

You can do 5 - 10 minute exposures, but you will most assuredly have to guide, as you will with anything south of AP's top-end mounts. Not sure what you are talking about with "software pecision." That has no effect on guiding or go-to.

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jrbarnett
Eyepiece Hooligan

Reged: 02/28/06

Loc: Petaluma, CA

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: mpgxsvcd]
#5666916 - 02/07/13 11:33 AM

I think it's rubbing your DEC motor housing rather than the body of the mount, proper.

Take a Dremel tool and remove material from the plastic motor cover where the two contact, and your problem should be solved.

Regards,

Jim

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mpgxsvcd
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 12/21/11

Loc: Raleigh, North Carolina

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: jrbarnett]
#5666939 - 02/07/13 11:45 AM

Quote:

I think it's rubbing your DEC motor housing rather than the body of the mount, proper.

Take a Dremel tool and remove material from the plastic motor cover where the two contact, and your problem should be solved.

Regards,

Jim

If the Alan wrench is a pain I am going to do that.

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Ben B
member

Reged: 02/03/13

Loc: GA

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: mpgxsvcd]
#5667256 - 02/07/13 03:04 PM

The counterweight hitting my altitude adjustment screw issue I briefly mentioned earlier is more of a problem than I thought - I can't use GOTO without babysitting the altitude screw and rotating it to the horizontal position temporary then tightening it back. And of course the mount likely shifts a bit when doing that throwing off my alignment off.

Here's a picture of the clearance between the counterweight and my altitude adjustment screw under optimal conditions: http://www.flickr.com/photos/benbrowning/8453228753/

And here's a picture of how they contact when the declination axis rotates at all so that the flat side of the counterweight isn't directly facing the screw: http://www.flickr.com/photos/benbrowning/8453229061/

I've put an email in to Celestron's support to see if they offer any suggestions. Does anyone else have ideas to workaround this? Things I've thought of so far but don't really like are attaching more weight to the telescope so I can slide the counterweight further down the shaft and cutting the altitude screw to a shorter length but losing its rounded top in the process.

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mpgxsvcd
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 12/21/11

Loc: Raleigh, North Carolina

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: Ben B]
#5667310 - 02/07/13 03:36 PM

Quote:

The counterweight hitting my altitude adjustment screw issue I briefly mentioned earlier is more of a problem than I thought - I can't use GOTO without babysitting the altitude screw and rotating it to the horizontal position temporary then tightening it back. And of course the mount likely shifts a bit when doing that throwing off my alignment off.

Here's a picture of the clearance between the counterweight and my altitude adjustment screw under optimal conditions: http://www.flickr.com/photos/benbrowning/8453228753/

And here's a picture of how they contact when the declination axis rotates at all so that the flat side of the counterweight isn't directly facing the screw: http://www.flickr.com/photos/benbrowning/8453229061/

I've put an email in to Celestron's support to see if they offer any suggestions. Does anyone else have ideas to workaround this? Things I've thought of so far but don't really like are attaching more weight to the telescope so I can slide the counterweight further down the shaft and cutting the altitude screw to a shorter length but losing its rounded top in the process.

There is an easy fix for that. Get a bigger telescope. Or at least ask Celestron if they will provide you with one.

In all seriousness. Can you get two smaller weights and slide them both down or slide one down and one up?

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Pak
super member

Reged: 09/15/12

Loc: The Great Arc

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: mpgxsvcd]
#5667331 - 02/07/13 03:45 PM

Hacksaw off more of the flat side of the weight then, since it is a little lighter, slide it down the shaft a little more.

Edit: Forgot a word.

Edited by Pak (02/07/13 04:02 PM)

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Ben B
member

Reged: 02/03/13

Loc: GA

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: Pak]
#5667365 - 02/07/13 03:59 PM

I do like the idea of using some smaller weights - I don't see any offered by Celestron but Orion has a 7.5lb weight that fits the CG-5 so should fit the VX as well.

Cutting the existing weight is not a bad idea either although it doesn't look like something that would be that easy to cut. Once I add a DSLR and guidescope to my setup I'll probably need the full 11lbs though.

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bilgebay
Post Laureate

Reged: 11/06/08

Loc: Türkiye - Istanbul and Marmari...

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: Ben B]
#5667427 - 02/07/13 04:25 PM

When I received my CG5 together with a C5 on it, I had to drill holes in to the counterweight as many as I needed to balance the scope with a 6mm drill bit. You don't drill it all the way through so that the counterweight looks nice at least from the top. You can hide the holes with a material of your choice, including Gorilla tape or something similar. Drilling is much easier than cutting as well.

Once you have a lighter counterweight, you can position it on a lower position and keep clear of the altitude screw.

Hope this helps

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EFT
Vendor - Deep Space Products

Reged: 05/07/07

Loc: Phoenix, AZ

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: Ben B]
#5667441 - 02/07/13 04:31 PM

Quote:

The counterweight hitting my altitude adjustment screw issue I briefly mentioned earlier is more of a problem than I thought - I can't use GOTO without babysitting the altitude screw and rotating it to the horizontal position temporary then tightening it back. And of course the mount likely shifts a bit when doing that throwing off my alignment off.

Here's a picture of the clearance between the counterweight and my altitude adjustment screw under optimal conditions: http://www.flickr.com/photos/benbrowning/8453228753/

And here's a picture of how they contact when the declination axis rotates at all so that the flat side of the counterweight isn't directly facing the screw: http://www.flickr.com/photos/benbrowning/8453229061/

I've put an email in to Celestron's support to see if they offer any suggestions. Does anyone else have ideas to workaround this? Things I've thought of so far but don't really like are attaching more weight to the telescope so I can slide the counterweight further down the shaft and cutting the altitude screw to a shorter length but losing its rounded top in the process.

Vixen counterwieghts are much smaller in diameter than the Celestron and Orion and they also fit on the CG-5 CW bar. They also come in lighter wieghts.

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cn register 5
sage

Reged: 12/26/12

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: EFT]
#5667595 - 02/07/13 06:13 PM

It might be worth moving the counterweight down until it clears the screw and accept that it's slightly out of balance. That's what I do if I've got a light scope on it.

I get the impression that the mount doesn't care too much about being unbalanced, one evening I forgot the counterweight bar and weight entirely and it was fine until I moved to the other side of the meridian when the hour angle clutch slipped.

Or tape a brick to the OTA of course

Chris

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Ben B
member

Reged: 02/03/13

Loc: GA

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: cn register 5]
#5667606 - 02/07/13 06:20 PM

These are all good suggestions. For now I filled a small old camera bag with a few rolls of coins and bungee-corded it to the telescope's tube rings which gives me enough weight on that end to move the counterweight down enough to just clear the altitude screw.

I played with the screw a bit more and it looks like anyone above 40 degrees latitude wouldn't have to worry about this at all - the angle of the counterweight shaft to screw makes it a non-issue. Anyone lower than 30 degrees with a total OTA + tube rings + accessories weight of more than 12 lbs probably won't run into the issue either.

For those of us lower than 40 degrees N latitude and lightweight scopes be prepared that you may need to rig something up or purchase a lighter counterweight.

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Alan S
professor emeritus

Reged: 10/27/07

Re: Celestron VX mount [Re: Ben B]
#5667742 - 02/07/13 07:50 PM

Cut a .25 inch off the altitude lock screw?

Just a thought...may be easier and cleaner that messing with the existing counterweight.

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