Help with chosing a mount

[Kaptain_Kremmen]

Can anyone give me some help as to the pro's and cons of the following mounts, HEQ5, CG5, LXD75 I know the obvious one is the lxd is goto and the cg5 is undriven, but i'd like to know which would be the better built and likely to last longer, also which would be more suitable for mounting a 102 newtonion on.

many thanks

Kaptain_Kremmen

[John]

Can anyone give me some help as to the pro's and cons of the following mounts, HEQ5, CG5, LXD75 I know the obvious one is the lxd is goto and the cg5 is undriven, but i'd like to know which would be the better built and likely to last longer, also which would be more suitable for mounting a 102 newtonion on.

many thanks

Kaptain_Kremmen

All of these will carry a 102 (mm presumably ?) Newtonain with ease but the HEQ5 will offer a degree of future-proofing as it's capacity exceeds the other 2 mounts and you can add GOTO at a later date.

I've not owned a LXD75 but I understand that its somewhere in between the CG5 and HEQ5 with regard to capacity. I've heard that the motors on the LXD75 are noisy and the GOTO is quirky but I've not owned one so can't comment from personal experience.

The HEQ5 that I owned seemed better finished than a CG5 to my eye at least.

John

[Sam]

I don't know about the other two but I have a HEQ5 and it's great - it's very robust and has no trouble holding my 8" Newtonian. It is quite heavy to move around but certainly manageable. The tripod is quite good and seems to be very stable. The motors are smooth and quiet. The mount costs around 400.00 GBP (can be cheaper by shopping around) and can be later upgraded to a Goto by paying another 330.00 GBP or there abouts. Or you can buy the HEQ5 pro with all of the extra bits in one:

http://www.firstlightoptics.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=proheq5

hope that helps.

cheers

Sam

[Kaptain_Kremmen]

Thanks for the info, the size scope should've been 10" not 102... my "shift" button is sticky.

K_K

[Sam]

Oh.. A 10" might be pushing it for a HEQ5.

[steppenwolf]

the size scope should've been 10" not 102..

In that case, the HEQ5 as a minimum! Forget the LXD75, weak, noisy, unreliable (although it does unbolt itself and out itself to bed which is handy) and the CG5 is not really substantial enough. To be honest, you could really do with the EQ6 for this OTA but the HEQ5 could manage it unless you want to do imaging and have a guide 'scope as well.

[Kaptain_Kremmen]

I'll be doing visal work only for the near future and the cost of an EQ6 is wayyy too high for my pockets. I've been told my europa has quite a light ota, the Orion site says it's 10kgs. so i'm after the next best and cheapest alternative

K_K

[Vega]

I've heard the HEQ5 is ok for visual use but not quite stirdy enough for photography with a 10". I know for most people using the 10" skywatcher Newt with a HEQ5 require the extended DEC shaft to get it balanced with 3 counterweights. But if your OTA is lighter as suspected, then you may not require one.

Matt

[russ]

try and get an EQ6 secondhand