Replacement mount for an lxd55

[michael23]

Hi all, I have an 8" sct on the meade lxd 55 mount which is very problematic, sometimes the gears just spin around or the control handset just loses power and does nothing at all. 

What would be a good replacement to look at? Easier to align the better! I have seen the meade light switch options, can anyone offer opinions on these?

[nmoushon]

Are you looking for a fork mount or a EQ mount or a alt/az mouth?

[Baffa]

I suppose one of the easiest mounts which should work with an 8" SCT is the Celestron Nexstar SE, it's an single arm fork mount.
If you want an EQ mount with easiest aligning I would go for Celestron AVX or better. Sky Watcher HEQ5/6 would also be a great choice, the alignment process needs you to know a few of the brightest stars though, no biggie

[michael23]

Probably an eq mount, I would like to get into long exposure imaging at some point, so a mount that supports that would be ideal. Thanks for the options.

[steppenwolf]

Probably an eq mount, I would like to get into long exposure imaging at some point, so a mount that supports that would be ideal

In that case, an obvious (and good) choice would be the Sky-Watcher HEQ5. This would knock spots off any LXD55/75 - even a fully working one

[michael23]

In that case, an obvious (and good) choice would be the Sky-Watcher HEQ5. This would knock spots off any LXD55/75 - even a fully working one

that sounds good, so it is this one you mention, I got a bit confused as I found the eq5 as well as the heq5. I have a gps module for my lxd55 mount, will that be usable on a new mount do you know? iirc it's one by bc+f

[nmoushon]

In that case, an obvious (and good) choice would be the Sky-Watcher HEQ5. This would knock spots off any LXD55/75 - even a fully working one

Couldn't agree with this more. Was going to suggest it as well. Its proven very worthy over my 2 years with mine.

[steppenwolf]

that sounds good, so it is this one you mention, I got a bit confused as I found the eq5 as well as the heq5.

Yes, that's the one! I doubt that the BC & F GPS will be compatible though to be honest  - these things are normally proprietary.

[michael23]

Thanks for the replies and help, very much appreciated, I shall hopefully see these mounts at astrofest. 

[Darrensw]

If you are going to go into astrophotography, the HEQ5 Pro Synscan is a good start, HOWEVER, an NEQ6 may be the better option if you have the funds. See Here

I have an 8" LXD55 AND a HEQ5 Pro Synscan and owing to having a mobile setup, I have struggled to get it to track accurately for long exposures. I have to set up and then put away each session. I can't leave the thing setup, so obtaining accurate polar alignment needed for long exposures is difficult. To overcome this problem I bought a side by side bar, a guide scope and an auto-guider. I managed to get them all set up and working, but it now looks like the payload is larger than the mount can handle. (insert expletive of your choice here!)

I'm now looking at an NEQ6 myself.

[michael23]

Sorry for the late reply, my laptop has died on me so having to resort to my phone.

Thanks for the reply Darren, I too would be setting up every time I used it too. Thanks for the linl, I shall take a look at some point.

[ollypenrice]

Be aware that long exposures at long focal lengths are inherently difficult. Even with an F6.3 focal reducer your 8 inch SCT has a hefty focal length, though not an impossible one. If you were using a small pixel camera (eg a DSLR) the requirement for precision goes up another notch. You'd need to autoguide and ideally do so with an off axis guider.

Olly

[michael23]

Thanks for that bit of info Olly, much appreciated. I had a look round at astrofest at the the skywatcher and celestron avx, The eq6 wasa a rather big piece of kit, I may well consider the avx mount at some point. Still got plenty of research and saving up to do though, especially as my laptop has now died as well!

[jimbards]

I have my 8SE mounted on an Orion Sky View Pro GOTO, and it has worked GREAT!

[newbie alert]

I have a 8 inch sct on a avx mount..im about to try oag but expecting the mount not to handle it very well..some new found friends image with sct's but they all use eq6 sized mounts..think the eq5 size will be on or over the limit.