8 replies to this topic

[konrad]

I have never seen a CG4 mount in person but from what I can see its looks similar to an EQ3-2 mount  , the cg4 comes with 1.75 inch s/s tripod which is an option on the EQ3-2 mount here in South Africa  but the CG4 is almost twice the price here. One is white in colour and the EQ is black but otherwise they look identical (well from photos anyway)

Edited by konrad, 27 April 2017 - 09:12 AM.

[evan9162]

The CG-4 has ball bearings on the worms (not the axis), the (Orion USA branded) EQ3-2 just plastic bushings.  The RA gearing is slightly different between the two (which is bizarre, since the heads appear identical), so you can't swap motor drives between the two without experiencing tracking problems (too slow or too fast).  The Orion branded mount has a tubular aluminum tripod.

 

The differences I've listed are between the Orion USA branded Astroview EQ3-2 mount and the Celestron CG-4.  It's possible that the EQ3-2 mount sold internationally is a different beast and much more similar to the CG-4.  

[konrad]

Thanks

 

The EQ 3-2 sold in RSA  has bearings and is all steel attached is an EQ3-2  that is sold in RSA

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[evan9162]

What branding is it?  It may indeed be identical to the CG-4 save for the paint scheme...

[chummee]

I have both the Sky Watcher EQ3-2 and Celestron CG-4 and have just taken them apart for re-greasing. So, I know both mounts inside and out. They both have metal bearings on the worm gears for RA as well as DEC. CG-4 has less gunky grease inside but everything else looked the same. As far as the mount goes, they are identical. 

 

For other parts, my EQ3-2 came with a polar scope and the CG-4 did not. But the only important difference between the two is that CG-4 has a much sturdier tripod. Unless the mount is strictly for visual use, I'd strongly recommend CG-4. 

 

I transferred the the motor drives from the EQ3-2 to the CG-4. I don't expect there to be any problem, but I haven't tried it yet. Will report back if the new set up on the CG-4 doesn't track properly. 

[Jond105]

As far as motor drives go between the two, I use the Orion single axis drive on the CG4, at 200x I the image will stay center as long as I’m in the ballpark of polar alignment

Edited by Jond105, 18 April 2019 - 01:04 AM.

[Rob95060]

I have a Celstron C4.5

I wold like to identify the mount: the original instructions tell me it is equipped with a "German Equatorial mount" which takes an optional "Polaris Axis Finder with Illumination (#93605)"

 

The other literature provided with the scope is "New Polaris Equatorial Mount" "Supplementary Instruction Manual" that specifies the polaris axis finder as 15mm diameter.

 

What do I have? will any 15mm polar axis scope work?

[Yourjones]

I transferred the the motor drives from the EQ3-2 to the CG-4. I don't expect there to be any problem, but I haven't tried it yet. Will report back if the new set up on the CG-4 doesn't track properly. 

Hi Chummee

 

How has it worked out? Is the RA motor synchronised on both mounts? On a different note, do the worm shafts on both mounts have identical number of threads? Forgive me if this question sounds offensive, but my OCD has triggered me to asked. LOL

 

Thanks!

[pfloyd36069]

The CG-4 has ball bearings on the worms (not the axis), the (Orion USA branded) EQ3-2 just plastic bushings.  The RA gearing is slightly different between the two (which is bizarre, since the heads appear identical), so you can't swap motor drives between the two without experiencing tracking problems (too slow or too fast).  The Orion branded mount has a tubular aluminum tripod.

 

The differences I've listed are between the Orion USA branded Astroview EQ3-2 mount and the Celestron CG-4.  It's possible that the EQ3-2 mount sold internationally is a different beast and much more similar to the CG-4.  

 

My Orion branded EQ3-2 has ball bearings on the worms. It is about 13 years old though so they may have changed it later on. I don't know how accurate it is but this page (https://www.astroeq....php?link=ratios) shows the EQ3-2 and the CG-4 as having the same worm ratios.