Why not the CGE Pro

[Earl]

There is always talk of many mounts on SGL, Mesu, 10 Micron, AP, SW etc but I very rarely see the CGE Pro been talked about, are there any reasons for this?

[SnakeyJ]

Something I've been wondering also Earl - I'll tag along for the ride/info...

[Grotemobile]

http://www.harrisontelescopes.co.uk/acatalog/Celestron_CGE_Pro_Computerized_Equatorial_Mount.html

I presume you mean this.I think it is the price.

Lot of dosh.Nothing wrong with the mount.

Steve

[CodnorPaul]

Mount is meant to be fine, a little more noisy but slightly better apparently than the SW ones, but the neq6 is slightly cheaper and very close in quality I understand so most go for that

[pete_l]

tI very rarely see the CGE Pro been talked about, are there any reasons for this?

Natural reticence, I think.

£4k (or £1k for that matter) is a lot to spend on something, sight unseen, that has not established a good reputation - if only because nobody has written anything: either good or bad, about it. And most magazine reviews, that are limited to a couple of pages which include BIG photos and explanations of the most basic principles, barely scrape the surface (and often seem scared of saying anything even vaguely critical, too).

One of the most fundamental problems with buying astro kit is the difficulty of trying it out, or even of having it demonstrated, before you part with your monkey. Not simply because few of us go to astronomy shops (which are only open during business hours when most are working, and there's nothing to look at) but also because of the miniscule chance that on the day we *do* decide to go shopping, there will be a clear sky.

Mounts are particularly difficult to buy, just by going on the specifications. So many of the important questions can only be answered by "it depends". The questions that most people want answers to would be: "will it track accurately with a XYZ telescope?", "Can I image with it?", "Will it break, fail or become unreliable?" and "who else is using it?".

That last question is generally the only one that gets a large enough number of unequivocal replies to make people feel secure in buying blind. Which is why there tend to be clusters of equipment that are popular - for no other reason than they are popular and therefore represent a known quantity and quality. It might be a herd instinct. But with the lack of first-hand experience, assured answers, the chance to "fiddle" with it of even use it under a night sky, that's the best we can do.

[lardy]

I like mine ... It takes the 14" without a murmur, the 6" Frac no problems and even maintains alignment with the "smash your head into the weight bar while crawling on the floor" ... it breaks down into manageable lumps should you want to transport it to a darksite ... a very robust stable mount.   

[lardy]

Forgot to add ... I had an EQ6 Pro prior to getting my first CGE Pro .... chalk and cheese ... the CGE is a far better  and a far far sturdier mount, better designed and easier to adjust, it does have its faults (a bit cluttered with the Dec/saddle locking handles) built like a tank 

[Earl]

lardy have you done any AP with one?

[lardy]

No I'm purely visual ... but looking to dabble this winter with a DSLR. If you read up on the mount it does say (and been reported) to be a capable AP mount. My reasons for getting the CGE Pro was I had my 130mm APM on the NEQ6 pro (forgot the N last time) and it looked like the slightest breeze would topple it over.  

[lardy]

It's not going anywhere in the mount ...solid as a rock, got the dent in my head to prove it

[Earl]

Cheers

Overall im curious why i dont hear of many imagers using these as im very happy with my CGE it is also a serios stepup from the eq6 as would be expected, but is limited by not going over the meridian at all. id like a mount that can give me a few hours over without the extra hassles of a flip.

[Paul M]

It's not going anywhere in the mount ...solid as a rock, got the dent in my head to prove it

That's a nice looking set up. I'm drooling

Just wondering though, even though I'm sure it gives great views of your Artex ceiling, have you ever thought of doing some astronomy with it?

[Dixie]

Some of the early CGE Pros had poor periodic error - as did the mount's predecessor the CGE.  They CGE Pros were revamped a bit a few years ago and that apparently improved things somewhat.  There are reviews of the mount kicking around - check Cloudy Nights.  I seriously considered buying one when they came out for my C14, but took one look at the height of the dovetail saddle and walked away - the mount sits far too high for anything but refractor owners in my opinion.  Try lugging 60 lbs above 5 foot 10" in the dark. The multitude of levers has also come in for a bit of stick - but they are no worse than the hard to tighten dovetail bolts on the EQ8.  You really need to compare like with like - the EQ6 is a much smaller mount, comparable with the CGEM.  The CGE Pro and EQ8 sit in direct competition - if that's possible given they are produced by the same company.  Of the two I'd probably go with the latter, but as with all mounts at this price point nothing is perfect.  If you are into AP, the EQ8 interfaces with EQMOD, a much better remote option than Nexremote.  My opinions only!!!

Richard

[lardy]

Hi Richard,

My Meade 14' OTA  on a CGE Pro... swapping it around for another OTA, no problems, I made a low platform from slotted angle on castors ... rotate and drop the OTA down on its nose, slacken it off and wheel it away, job done   

[Dixie]

Sounds a solution - but can't help wondering why they made the rig so darned high?  Do you have a pix?

That Meade is quite a bit heavier than the C14 so well done everything together.

Richard

[philj]

I have the old CGE in my observatory, had it 9 years, use it for visual and imaging and I love it, had to sort a couple of things with it to make it more reliable but its a great mount. Never had issues with Pe, guides well.

Comparing the pro with an eq6 isnt really the right comparison though, eq8 yes.

. The new pro version uses much of the same electronics and motors as the original version so I understand, celestron have just revamped it and taken on board some issues with the original. Therefore its a good mount but pricey which probably puts people off.

[Dixie]

Have you replaced the cables on your CGE between the pier and motors?   Mine were very flakey so I modded it using the Gary Bennett kit.

There was a thread on SGL a few years ago about the improvements made to the CGE (they did indeed revert back to using the older CGE Pittman motors).  http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/164622-celestron-cge-pro-enhancements/

Not sure how long Synta will sell two mounts pitched so closely with each other - ie EQ8 and CGE Pro.

Rich

[rowan46]

the cge pro sells much better over in the usa so I imagine it will be around a while yet

[philj]

Have you replaced the cables on your CGE between the pier and motors?   Mine were very flakey so I modded it using the Gary Bennett kit.

There was a thread on SGL a few years ago about the improvements made to the CGE (they did indeed revert back to using the older CGE Pittman motors).  http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/164622-celestron-cge-pro-enhancements/

Not sure how long Synta will sell two mounts pitched so closely with each other - ie EQ8 and CGE Pro.

Rich

Yep, did that the other year, much better than those delicate rj45 things. The cge has always had a good following in the states, the yahoo group helped alot in the early days, answered alot of questions and got to know about Gary Bennet mods from there.

I cant really seecelestron/synta ditching the cge, maybe the two will morph into something new in a few years and that will take over

[lardy]

Have a watch of this Rich, It's Youtube .... It's were I got the Idea from for mine. 

c14 is a small scope (Part II - Smart Easy Way for Girly Men)

[Earl]

My CGE well, its not mine for much longer as I have an AP 900 coming in the next few weeks, has the upgraded leads and upgraded alt-az controls all far better than the off the shelf model.

My curosity is based up never seeing any imagers using the CGE Pro, 4k is not expensive in that field as mounts go, almost one of the cheaper options.

[pyrasanth]

I still have the original DX mount which was supplied when I bought my Edge 11 HD. I'm keeping it as my portable mount for when I get an OTA that is a bit smaller so I can hop around to a dark site. However I have never viewed it as my main mount & saw it's limitations from day one but it will be good for visual use.