HELP! Which one first? Chicken or egg?

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Don
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HELP! Which one first? Chicken or egg?

Post by Don »

I have a solarmax II 90 on a celestron advanced GT. I wanted to double stack it, but wasn't to sure on how this mount would hold up with the added weight. Was thinking of buying this, Celestron CGEM DX Equatorial Mount & Tripod. Question is, which one should I get first, the double stack unit, or the mount? Thanks in advance..


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Re: HELP! Which one first? Chicken or egg?

Post by solarchat »

my opinion of course, I have a little experience with these scopes and mounts...

You are already way under mounted. The CGEM will vastly improve your image quality by removing shake and tracking problems, far more than the addition of a 2nd etalon. No doubt to me, the mount first.


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Re: HELP! Which one first? Chicken or egg?

Post by Don »

solarchat wrote:my opinion of course, I have a little experience with these scopes and mounts...

You are already way under mounted. The CGEM will vastly improve your image quality by removing shake and tracking problems, far more than the addition of a 2nd etalon. No doubt to me, the mount first.
Thanks Stephen. There are 2 mounts that I've been looking at, the one above, and this one, Celestron CGEM Computerized Equatorial Mount. The first mount is rated at 50lb payload, this 2nd mount is rated at 40lbs. Would the extra cost, and weight of the (above mount) be a benefit, or would the $1500 mount work just as well for my setup? I only have the one scope, no plans on adding more.

Thanks again,
Don


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Re: HELP! Which one first? Chicken or egg?

Post by solarchat »

I would recommend the CGEM.


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Re: HELP! Which one first? Chicken or egg?

Post by swisswalter »

Hi Don

I can only second Stephen. The heavier mount first


Only stardust in the wind, some fine and some less fine scopes, filters and adapters as well. Switzerland 47 N, 9 E, in the heart of EUROPE :)

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Re: HELP! Which one first? Chicken or egg?

Post by Merlin66 »

The NEQ6pro (I think Orion ATLAS in the US) would be worth looking at.
I use one with a C11+cameras+spectroscope etc. etc. and it does a great job.


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Re: HELP! Which one first? Chicken or egg?

Post by marktownley »

The bigger mount first, no doubt.


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Re: HELP! Which one first? Chicken or egg?

Post by Don »

Thanks everyone, just to clarify, the non DX version would work for me, and save me $$ at the same time? Cool!

Looks like the Orion Atlas EQ-G Computerized GoTo Telescope Mount is about the same price range. Would this be an even better option than the CGEM? I'm not familiar with this mount. I will check opt, that's where I buy most of my gear. Thanks again..


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Re: HELP! Which one first? Chicken or egg?

Post by solarchat »

I would recommend the CGEM... the CGEM DX would be a little bit better...but the CGEM would be perfectly good and thats what I would recommend based on what you are saying here. If you want the absolute best mount fir the job, I would recommend an Astro Physics El Capitan...at about $50,000. :) If you want the absolute cheapest mount you can get away with, you already have it. Its always a trade off of price vs performance isn't it...:)

Every piece of gear I have ever ran across in this hobby so far has been priced exactly commensurate with its performance. You don't have to spend a fortune or buy the most expensive thing to get good stuff but if your first priority is price, you are going to sacrifice performance. I would suggest that you determine your requirements....in this case it is a good idea to double the weight of your scope as a minimum payload capacity of the mount and then choose what you like from brand loyalty or customer service experience with the vendor. That's still just my opinion. The mounts stability and dependability is probably the single most important thing in imaging. It is certainly the most important thing to reduce wasted time and frustration in either imaging or visual...:)

of course, everyone has an opinion, don't they...:)


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Re: HELP! Which one first? Chicken or egg?

Post by Don »

$50.000 EEK! That would pay off the house, well almost, lol. I know it's always best to buy the best you can afford. Looks like the Orion Atlas EQ-G only has a 1yr warranty compared to the CGEM 2yr, I like warranty's, not using them, just knowing you have em.

Well, is anyone interested in a brand new, 2 day old SM90 double stack filter? lol
I guess I bought the egg first, my setup wont handle the extra weight without buying another counterweight, and that's just down right scary!


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Re: HELP! Which one first? Chicken or egg?

Post by Don »

OK, got the CGEM, wow what a weight difference. Nice mount, haven't had the chance to use it yet, but wondered what the difference will be between this mount and the CG-5? Besides the added weight for stability. I'm I correct to think this mount will track the sun as it rotates? I've noticed with the old mount I would get about a quarter turn of the sun, in a counter clockwise direction during my viewing sessions. Do I have to do something special to get it to track the rotation? Thanks..


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Re: HELP! Which one first? Chicken or egg?

Post by swisswalter »

Hi Don

congratulations on the new toy. just try it and don't forget to align it North south and Level. in day light use a compass to find North, well away of the steel of the mount ;)


Only stardust in the wind, some fine and some less fine scopes, filters and adapters as well. Switzerland 47 N, 9 E, in the heart of EUROPE :)

from 7 am - 7 pm http://www.nanosys.ch

from 7.01 pm - 6.59 am http://www.wastronomiko.com some times vice versa ;)
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Re: HELP! Which one first? Chicken or egg?

Post by Don »

Thanks, I plan on a polar align, I'm in pretty dark skies well away from city lights so I'm pretty lucky in that sense. After that I will use marks as to where the legs will go each time out. The wife may notice a few circles on her paver walkway, lol...


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Re: HELP! Which one first? Chicken or egg?

Post by swisswalter »

Hi Don

for optical reasons I did not choose circles when I marked the positions of the legs. I drilled shallow holes ;)


Only stardust in the wind, some fine and some less fine scopes, filters and adapters as well. Switzerland 47 N, 9 E, in the heart of EUROPE :)

from 7 am - 7 pm http://www.nanosys.ch

from 7.01 pm - 6.59 am http://www.wastronomiko.com some times vice versa ;)
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Re: HELP! Which one first? Chicken or egg?

Post by Don »

swisswalter wrote:Hi Don

for optical reasons I did not choose circles when I marked the positions of the legs. I drilled shallow holes ;)
Ah Ha, I understand, a bit more permanent with less chance of operator error during setup. :bow :bow2


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Re: HELP! Which one first? Chicken or egg?

Post by swisswalter »

Hi Don

and almost not noticeable , important for my wife, maybe for yours too ;)


Only stardust in the wind, some fine and some less fine scopes, filters and adapters as well. Switzerland 47 N, 9 E, in the heart of EUROPE :)

from 7 am - 7 pm http://www.nanosys.ch

from 7.01 pm - 6.59 am http://www.wastronomiko.com some times vice versa ;)
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Re: HELP! Which one first? Chicken or egg?

Post by Don »

swisswalter wrote:Hi Don

and almost not noticeable , important for my wife, maybe for yours too ;)
:D You hit that nail right on the head ;) Well that works slicker than, well U know. Nice and solid, cant move the mount AT ALL, nice! :bow :bow :bow my master.. Your also right about it being less noticeable :D Now bring on the sun!! :band


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Re: HELP! Which one first? Chicken or egg?

Post by swisswalter »

hi Don

great, congratulations


Only stardust in the wind, some fine and some less fine scopes, filters and adapters as well. Switzerland 47 N, 9 E, in the heart of EUROPE :)

from 7 am - 7 pm http://www.nanosys.ch

from 7.01 pm - 6.59 am http://www.wastronomiko.com some times vice versa ;)
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