Celestron mount as a plan B....

[Orange Haze]

Happy new year all. I'm still weighing up my new scope options, favouring a 10" or 12" skywatcher goto Dob (thanks to advice from some friendly SGLers).

While a new Dob is still very appealing, in these austere times I am also thinking of cutting my costs a bit and perhaps going for a Celestron CG-5 GT GOTO mount. Should cost me just under £500. My thinking is that by just getting the mount I can get used to a goto, make sure it's right for me and in the future add a better scope. May work out more expensive in the long run however.

So, hoped for a bit of help with a couple of questions....

1. Can I put my startravel 120 on this mount simply enough or will I need a fixing plate of some kind?

2. How much scope will this mount comfortably take? Eg could I put a celestron 9.25 tube on it in the future?

Aware some people think this is a noisy motor but that won't worry me. Any reports on its accuracy however would be great. I'm more of an observer at this stage rather than having any ambitions of imaging. Maybe one day...

As always, appreciate the views and advice.

[Tinker1947]

FLO show this mount with a 9.25 

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/advanced-vx-goto/celestron-c925-sct-vx-goto.html

[hobsey]

The cg5 will take a 9.25 no problem.

The weight limit to the mount is 7kg for imaging and 10kg for visual.

And as said above the vx will also take it.

FLO sells the 9.25 and the CG5 as a package http://www.firstlightoptics.com/advanced-series-goto/celestron-c925-sgt-xlt-goto.html

[Orange Haze]

Excellent, at least by having this mount I'm in some way future proofing myself.

[Orange Haze]

Any ideas on if I can load my current scope onto it easy enough?

[hobsey]

I fit my ST80 to it no problem with tube rings and mini dovetail.

So in a word, yes.

[JamesF]

Any ideas on if I can load my current scope onto it easy enough?

I believe the ST120 comes with tube rings that fit directly to the AZ3.  Assuming that's what you have, you will probably need to buy a dovetail and fit the scope rings to the dovetail.  Then the dovetail should fit to the mount.

James

[Orange Haze]

It's currently on an AZ3 with tube rings so sounds good. Know these are pretty basic queries but still trying to learn the ropes. What is a dovetail?

[JamesF]

What is a dovetail?

One of these:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dovetail-bars/skywatcher-dovetail-mounting-plates.html

James

[JamesF]

I'd probably suggest the medium (21cm) one for the ST120.

James

[Orange Haze]

James, thank you! Can I ask you another question as you have my current scope plus two of the others I have been looking at, ie a 10" Dob and the C9.25. In terms of being the best all rounder, which would you suggest fits the bill best? I'm mainly looking to observe but may want to take the odd lunar or planetary shot in due course.

[JamesF]

For DSO viewing I'd take the 10" dob every time I think.  For visual planetary it's probably a tough call.  For solar system imaging either would work on a tracking mount, but the C9.25 has the advantage in terms of focal length.  The Skywatcher 10" dobs are quite hard on eyepieces though.  At f/4.7 they really show up the problems with the cheaper ones.

James

[Orange Haze]

I'd heard that about the eyepieces with the fast dobs, one of the reasons I am taking my time and considering a plan B. I'm sure you didn't acquire your collection overnight so hopefully whatever I choose eventually will be just another step on the journey.

[JamesF]

I'm sure you didn't acquire your collection overnight so hopefully whatever I choose eventually will be just another step on the journey.

Indeed not.  I've been picking up decent quality eyepieces second hand as I've seen them come up for prices I was prepared to pay.

James