CEM25P Discontinued?

[Yooster]

Was looking to get a CEM25P but I gather iOptron have discontinued them.

Anyone know if there is going to be a direct replacement for them or should I try and snap one of the few up remaining? I need portability and it fit the bill

[fwm891]

Superb little mount, very quiet and tracks/guides extremely well - shame if it goes but that's life I guess

[david_taurus83]

1 hour ago, Yooster said:

Was looking to get a CEM25P but I gather iOptron have discontinued them.

Anyone know if there is going to be a direct replacement for them or should I try and snap one of the few up remaining? I need portability and it fit the bill

What makes you think they are discontinued? They are still advertised for US customers to buy directly from their website. I hope its not discontinued as I'm trying to get a replacement motherboard for mine!

Cracking little mount though!

[Yooster]

4 minutes ago, david_taurus83 said:

What makes you think they are discontinued?

Email received from FLO. I hope not, had my heart set on one.

[david_taurus83]

22 minutes ago, Yooster said:

Email received from FLO. I hope not, had my heart set on one.

You are correct. It is unobtainium on the FLO website. Follow up email from me again it is!

[Bukko]

I noticed the bigger CEM60 has a new stablemate in the CEM70... Built in iPolar and a higher payload. When I saw the 25 was unavailable, I guessed the 60 would not be long for this world. Today I noticed the 60 is marked as unobtainable on the FLO site too.

The price difference between the 60 and 70 was not so bad, assuming you want the iPolar. But the 25 has no obvious replacement. The CEM 40 is twice the price so the only obvious iOptron choice for a £700 mount is the SW HEQ5.

I think they have made a hole in their range...

Gordon.

[Anne S]

It might be worth shopping around. I notice Altair Astro have one, head and counterweight only. 
 

[FLO]

On 21/07/2020 at 20:32, Yooster said:

Was looking to get a CEM25P but I gather iOptron have discontinued them.

It has been discontinued 😔

When we heard we ordered as many as we could so have a number arriving this week but I am not sure at this stage if we will have any remaining after existing customer backorders have been fulfilled. We will make them available if we do. We also have a couple in our workshop (one having a new motor fitted and another used for demo/display). They will be made available in time. 

HTH, 

Steve 

[Ouroboros]

@FLO Thanks for letting us know. I have been looking recently at medium sized, portable (ish) mounts recently so it’s better to know the situation with these particular mounts. 

It makes sense really. It had occurred to me that there appeared to be some overlap in iOptron’s middle-sized mount types on offer. 

Edited August 7, 2020 by Ouroboros

[MylesGibson]

Oh no!!!!!! Gutted about this. I have been saving for the last 5 months for one of these..... Only another 2 months to go and I'd have the money! I was looking forward to this purchase. I hope they either do a new revision of this model or come out with something just as good in a similar price range

[Ouroboros]

You might be one of the lucky few according to FLO.   Some might also come onto the market second hand I suppose. 

[Yooster]

Luckily I managed to find one about three weeks ago, with Literoc tripod but no hard case which is what I wanted. I've since ordered a custom built case from these guys for about £100 https://www.theflightcasecompany.com/case-designer/carry-case (look great for many other uses as well and will probably order more for other gear)

In honesty I presumed they must be replacing it as it creates quite a gap in the product range and I didn't want the expense for a CEM40 plus I wanted to keep it portable, so really didn't know what to do as I didn't want to order one then a new one comes out. In the end I didn't risk it and got one when I could from somewhere else.

Find it hard to believe iOptron won't replace it.

[Maho]

Newbie here

Wanted to ask if there are any risks associated with buying a mount that has been discontinued, and if so, what are they?

Furthermore, how does the CEM25 compare against the HEQ5?

I have an option to purchase the CEM25, was waiting out for the HEQ5 which I cant find anywhere (covid-19). Have missed 2 on the second hand market as it went in a matter of minutes!

I have a SW 130PDS.

Edited September 4, 2020 by Maho
addition to post

[Yooster]

3 hours ago, Maho said:

Newbie here

Wanted to ask if there are any risks associated with buying a mount that has been discontinued, and if so, what are they?

Furthermore, how does the CEM25 compare against the HEQ5?

I have an option to purchase the CEM25, was waiting out for the HEQ5 which I cant find anywhere (covid-19). Have missed 2 on the second hand market as it went in a matter of minutes!

I have a SW 130PDS.

I was thinking one risk might have been that a new CEM25 would be coming out with improvements (like CEM vs CEM25P) but haven't found anything to suggest thats the case.

I assume they will still be honouring warranties etc and at the end of the day if anything goes wrong there are a few independent people out there that can service and repair them.

For me I'd set my heart on a CEM25P so could overlook those concerns. 

I still think surely they will fill the gap somehow, although usually manufacturers have the new model ready to go when the discontinue the old lines?

[Maho]

1 hour ago, Yooster said:

I was thinking one risk might have been that a new CEM25 would be coming out with improvements (like CEM vs CEM25P) but haven't found anything to suggest thats the case.

I assume they will still be honouring warranties etc and at the end of the day if anything goes wrong there are a few independent people out there that can service and repair them.

For me I'd set my heart on a CEM25P so could overlook those concerns. 

I still think surely they will fill the gap somehow, although usually manufacturers have the new model ready to go when the discontinue the old lines?

Have ordered my CEM25P off FLO about an hour after posting that question

Grant at FLO helpfully swift in his response.

Thanks FLO!