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I'm curious, how easy is it to align a Celestron Advanced C8-N GT ???

BenBroad

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BenBroad

BenBroad

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I had my mind set on a Nexstar 6" as I read it was easy to set up, but looking at other scopes this kind looks good as well, I'm curious about the set up of it. You don't have to align to north do you before doing the 3 star alignment?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

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Whippy

Whippy

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You do as the C8NGT has an equatorial mount. What you actually do is align the polar axis of the mount (not the scope) to the Northern Celstial Pole (NCP) and then do your alignment. Don't worry though, it's really not that difficult as the NCP handily has a star, Polaris pretty much on it.

As an aside, I did own a C8NGT (sold the mount, selling the OTA) and it's a great all-rounder. Large enough to get some detail on a lot of DSO's while the Moon and planets don't look to shabby either.

Tony..

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Black Shuck

Black Shuck

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Another vote for the C8NGT !! The instruction manual is pretty clear and describes the various techniques but do read it thoroughly and identify your scope and mount controls/adjustments before you start. If you roughly align the mount with Polaris by eye before you do the GOTO alignment then that will be good enough for a pleasant evenings observing. (Different story for imaging though!).

If you get stuck then do some more surfing, search SGL topics or post some questions. Someone's always willing to give you a hand on here.

Have fun with whatever you get!! :clouds2:

Cheers

Bill :)

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gary1968

gary1968

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Howdy, another vote for the C8NGT, I have one, had it for a year now, it really is a great value package. The views through it are great, DSO's look great and the moon / planets look amazing. The mount is simplicity its self to align, just choose 2 star align from the menu, it'll roughly slew to the best stars visible - all you have to do is centre them in the EP. Once done add 2 calibration stars, again it'll slew roughly to them you just have to centre them and then, its done. You can be up and running in 10 ~ 15mins once you get the hang of it....... :-)

As a comparison, I alos have a Nexstar 6SE. When it comes to the alignment process there is little to choose betwen them with regard to complexity, both easy and reliable to align. There is also little between them with regard to goto, both put the object into the centre of view of a 15mm EP. With regard to tracking, the CG5 mount with the C8NGT tracks a lot better for a lot longer as it is a EQ mount.

If I was to have only one setup, I'd go with the C8NGT due to its superior tracking and bigger apperature.

Hope that helps.................... ;-)

Gary

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thing

thing

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I have the same set up, you will enjoy it. Excellent all round system. Be careful when you attach the declination cable to the mount, it's one way only although you can fit it either way around. If you put it in the wrong way the scope will be looking for stars whilst pointing at the grass...............

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gary1968

gary1968

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I went for it today, I should get it delivered on Sat, cant wait.

Hmm thanks for all the advice and I'll look into that yahoo group.

Cheers!

Congrats Ben, I'm sure you will be really impressed. If you run into trouble just ask, we'll do our best to help........

Gary

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James

James

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I found this group: Celestron_AS to be absolutely invaluable when I first bought my CG5 Goto mount a couple of years back and I'd recommend it to any and all Celestron CG goto mount owners. (Some of the info applies to Skywatcher mounts too).

Under the Files section they have an FAQ which I think is the most comprehensive resource on anything to do with Celestrons CG mounts and is well worth a good read.

James

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