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Secondhand C8 with wrong Dovetail.

Chris Hopson

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Chris Hopson

Chris Hopson

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Hi all, I've just picked up my first C8 from a nice chap who responded to my astrobuy & sell wanted advert. It is 2 years old and in excellent condition! We looked at a distant tree top through his eyepiece, and I was very surprised how good the view was, considering it was in his warm caravan looking through his kitchen window! Anyhow, I believe the dovetail currently on it is the CGE? it's far too big to fit on my AZ4 which is how I plan to use it.

I'm hoping someone could give me some advice on how to proceed from here, what options I have. ( I hope)

Look forward to hearing from you.

Many thanks

A proud new C8 owner. :)

Chris

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Chris Hopson

Chris Hopson

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Thanks for the info Dewler25, this is expensive though, I presume this attaches directly to the c8 ?

Many thanks

Chris

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Chris Hopson

Chris Hopson

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I loved my C8, I had one in 1999, wish I'd kept it :grin:

Well I hope this is the start of great relationship, I can't believe just how portable this is going to be, compared to my 8" flex tube I had.

Speaking of which is that a 22" scope in your sig! Wow wow wow!!

Chris

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Chris Hopson

Chris Hopson

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It is mate, but it's not really portable, 2 man lift, and you need a step ladder to look through the eyepiece lol, but it's computer controlled

Bet you've got dark sky's there! Have you got a picture of the beast?
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Chris Hopson

Chris Hopson

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So after having a quick look on the web i haven't found celestron selling their CG5 dovetail, only the CGE. Slightly surprised, but I guess most people upgrade to a stronger rail instead.

I do like the look of the adm vixen dovetail priced at £60 on FLO, but secondhand would be better for my budget.

It's a real shame I need 250 posts to place a wanted ad on here. It could take me another couple of years to have enough. :(

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hobsey

hobsey

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I don't know if it work out any cheaper to import it but here is another one to look at, same as the one I have on my C8 but it was already on there when I bought it.

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p5324_Baader-Dovetail-Plate---Vixen-Style-for-Celestron-C8-SC-and-8--Edge-HD.html

The C8 and AZ4 is a great setup, my AZ4 gets more use than my CG5-GT.

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Chris Hopson

Chris Hopson

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I got the ADM dovetail for my Edge 8:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dovetail-bars/adm-vixen-dovetail-for-ota.html

Not cheap, but the ADM stuff is great. I changed to the Vixen style one so I can use the SCT directly on my giro mount. What a punch it packs for its size :)

Hi Luke, The edge does look the business, hopefully mine won't be too far behind it optically.

Can I ask did the rail come with the screws etc, or did you use the ones from your CGE?

Cheers Chris

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Chris Hopson

Chris Hopson

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I don't know if it work out any cheaper to import it but here is another one to look at, same as the one I have on my C8 but it was already on there when I bought it.

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p5324_Baader-Dovetail-Plate---Vixen-Style-for-Celestron-C8-SC-and-8--Edge-HD.html

The C8 and AZ4 is a great setup, my AZ4 gets more use than my CG5-GT.

Hi Hobsey, and it's orange! It's good to here this setup will work well, I really impressed with the build of the AZ4.

Cheers Chris

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Luke

Luke

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Chris, I can't remember re: the screws, sorry! If you ask FLO via the "Ask a Question" button on the page, they normally get back to you pretty quickly.

I had a C6 and that was a great compact scope. I took it to my first SGL star party, and the second one as well, I think. We only sold it as the Edge 8 is pretty compact and portable too :laugh: I am hoping I'll have this one for a very long time, I think Michael has had his C8 for nearly 20 years! :cool:

Hi Luke, The edge does look the business, hopefully mine won't be too far behind it optically.
Can I ask did the rail come with the screws etc, or did you use the ones from your CGE?

Cheers Chris

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Chris Hopson

Chris Hopson

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Chris, I can't remember re: the screws, sorry! If you ask FLO via the "Ask a Question" button on the page, they normally get back to you pretty quickly.

I had a C6 and that was a great compact scope. I took it to my first SGL star party, and the second one as well, I think. We only sold it as the Edge 8 is pretty compact and portable too :laugh: I am hoping I'll have this one for a very long time, I think Michael has had his C8 for nearly 20 years! :cool:

Thanks Luke, I guess you could say that about the C11 as well. ;) But then the mount get bigger.

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hobsey

hobsey

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Hi Hobsey, and it's orange! It's good to here this setup will work well, I really impressed with the build of the AZ4.

Cheers Chris

The only problem with the setup is, when you're looking up to zenith you tend to be on your knees as the tripod legs don't really extend enough.

What I ended up doing is putting the mount on my cg5 tripod as the legs extend that little bit more.

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Chris Hopson

Chris Hopson

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The only problem with the setup is, when you're looking up to zenith you tend to be on your knees as the tripod legs don't really extend enough.

What I ended up doing is putting the mount on my cg5 tripod as the legs extend that little bit more.

Hmmm, this has also concerned me. I like standing when observing, and not found an option for a half size eq5 pillar just to raise it a little bit more. My mates got the eq5 pillar and it is so heavy. Think I might keep hold of the drum stool a little longer.
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Luke

Luke

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Thanks Luke, I guess you could say that about the C11 as well. ;) But then the mount get bigger.

:grin: I suppose it's all about what best fits your needs within budget! I wouldn't swap my 8 inch SCT for an 11, as my SCT is mainly for lunar, and most of the time, I can't even get the most out of the 8 our way for lunar imaging (I suspect heat rising from the roof tops all around us is to blame :confused: ), so there seems little point using a bigger, heavier scope :shocked:

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