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Mount for Celestron 9.25 - Advanced VX, EQ6 or CGEM?

Commanderfish

By Commanderfish
in Discussions - Mounts

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Commanderfish

Commanderfish

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Hello space wizards, Long time listener, first time caller Fish here. I am about to upgrade my set up from a SW Evostar 120 F8.3 EQ3-2 (sand filled legs). Thanks to a couple of week's research on this forum and CN, I have decided to go with the Celestron 9.25" SCT XLT (non Edge HD). This is because of the revised F2.3 mirror, larger visual back and better retention of collimation, plus of course increased aperture. This is a 10KG payload on the mount without imaging equipment. Edge is too expensive and so is it's focal reducer.

I need input on the mount. I want this setup to:

1) View planets, lunar and DSOs

2) I suspect it is likely that I will get into imaging at some point. Initially I'd be viewing only, and move on to lunar/planetary imaging as and when I get the equipment (autoguider, cam, adapters etc).

I am lucky to have a dark garden in Surrey (golf course to the south, unlit gardens to the west, one street light 30 metres to the north, my house, hill and farm to the east). The nearest big source of light polution is Kingston, 3.5 miles away. Viewing will be done almost entirely in my garden as I have little kids so don't get away often, though I may get out to star parties and dark sites a few times a year. So 90% of the time I only have to carry my gear 10 metres to the garden. I've taken a few decent shots of the moon just with a cameraphone held to the eyepiece and loved the results, though I know proper imaging is extremely tricky and expensive (yes I'll be buying Every Photon Counts). I know it's not a good idea to image DSOs with the C9.25 due to the 2350mm Focal Length. Instead I would image planets and lunar with the C9.25 and keep the 120mm Evostar Frac for future DSO imaging (it's possible that the frac would eventually get upgraded to an ED/APO in future years). I'm aware that I'm a long way from being able to image planets, let alone DSOs, however I would like to futureproof to the extent possible.

Now here are my options:

1) New C9.25 and new AVX mount (approx £1400)

2) Second hand C9.25 and EQ6 (approx £1700)

3) Second hand C9.25 and CGEM (if I can find one in budget... £1800? Getting unaffordable)

My questions are:

1) How happy are people with the stability of the C9.25 AVX for viewing? Does anyone wish they'd gone with a heftier mount for viewing?

2) Could I get away with the AVX mount for planetary and lunar imaging? The exposure times would be shorter, I have the cheap 6kg frac for DSO.

3) Is the EQ6 harder to align than the AVX? I've read very good things about the AVX, and the price is great. If teh AVX/CGEM set up , maybe I should spring for a CGEM?

4) Is the weight of an EQ6 (23.5kg plus counterweights and OTA) going to be such a nuisance that it puts me off? The best set up is the one that gets used... an AVX would be easy for me to handle

5) Any worries with buying the above gear second hand? I'd really appreciate your input!

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baggywrinkle

baggywrinkle

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I have the 9.25 on the AVX mount and I find it very stable and easy to set up. Take the weights off and it is very easy to move in and out of the garage.

I have the focal reducer and it works well enough for me.

The views I have had of the Monn and planets have been fantastic.

I have added StarSense and I find it works very well despite mixed reviews from other on this site.

I also changed the focuser to a 10:1 type as the focuser proveded it too course.

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Commanderfish

Commanderfish

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Hi all,

Thanks for your replies and apologies that all my formatting vanished from the original post!!  So hard to read.  Thanks for persevering! 

Sounds like users (cheers Peter and Baggy) are happy with the C9.25 AVX for viewing, but not for imaging without a serious mount, likely CEM (thanks Tinker and Kalasin. Questions:

1) Has anyone done any planetary/lunar imaging with the C9.25 AVX?

2) Do people think that  the AVX mount would be stable enough for imaging with my 120mm F8.3 Frac?  The scope only weighs 5-6 Kg (12lb) and the payload is 14Kg?

Cheers

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Tinker1947

Tinker1947

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PS, is there any way for me to edit my original post (I'd just add formatting)?

Thanks

Fish

You need a post count of 250 posts, well i think its 250. might only be 50 as that's another mile stone number that comes to mind for something to kick in..

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PeterCPC

PeterCPC

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Hi all,

Thanks for your replies and apologies that all my formatting vanished from the original post!!  So hard to read.  Thanks for persevering! 

Sounds like users (cheers Peter and Baggy) are happy with the C9.25 AVX for viewing, but not for imaging without a serious mount, likely CEM (thanks Tinker and Kalasin. Questions:

1) Has anyone done any planetary/lunar imaging with the C9.25 AVX?

2) Do people think that  the AVX mount would be stable enough for imaging with my 120mm F8.3 Frac?  The scope only weighs 5-6 Kg (12lb) and the payload is 14Kg?

Cheers

See this post re planetary imaging http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/238553-a-few-jupiters-from-6-march/

The max load for the AVX is 30 lbs so it should cope with your refractor (IMO).

Peter

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