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Will my CG-5 take the weight??


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I currently have a Starwatcher 150 on Celestron CG-5 mount. If i upgraded (just a pipe dream at the moment) to the skywatcher 250 OTA will my CG-5 handle this scope, perhaps with an extra counter weight to balance it??

If not - recommendations please!

I'm on a budget but my eye was drawn to the advert on the back of Sky at Night magazine showing several Skywatcher scopes on mega nice but ££££ mounts. The 250 with the motor mount is around £1400 but the OTA is £400. If i could mount the OTA on my CG-5 and then save for the all singing and dancing mount i may be able to stave off my cravings for a while..

Honestly i despair at myself sometimes! Nothing is ever big enough or good enough for long.:D

OR!!!! could anyone recommend alternative scopes/mounts bearing in mind my poverty. I'm really keen to get some good deep sky views and my 150 is struggling a little.

TTFN

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I've used my Orion Optics 10" F/4.8 on my CG5 mount. The mount was OK for visual use but the whole affair was pretty massive and quite unweildy I thought so I'm sticking to using that optical tube on my alt-azimuth mount. For a bit under £400 you could get a complete 10" Skywatcher dobsonian or even, if you are patient, you might be able to pick up a used 12" dob for that money which would certainly satisfy your cravings for DSO viewing.

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I wouldnt suggest it. I switched from my original 8SCT on a CG-5, to an 9,25 SCT and cried my eyes out. I changed it with an eq-6 and I am very happy.

A good friend had his 10" on a cg-5 and he had to balance the scope to the outmost perfection in order to maintain an acceptable level of vibrations.

Regards

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If I'm getting a new EQ6 i may aswell save a little longer and get the 250 on the advertised eq6 pro thingy with motors and goto etc...

Thought this might be the case :D

Can the Skywatcher 250 on the EQ^6pro goto be bettered for the money??

I really crave more light grasp but i work for the NHS and under the new government that means i'll soon have to resort to eating my children just to stay alive. I've discussed this with them and we all agree that this acceptable so long as i get more light grasp!

TTFN

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Not sure about switching to a Dob mount john - i'm pretty used to my EQ. Never had a dob but ---well you never know. the current trend for truss mounted affairs seem to imply collimation every time you set up :D not keen on that idea... I like to take mine to wales regularly for the darker skies (and the caravan) and i wouldn't want to mess about too much with set up more than i do already,

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Wich CG-5 mount do you have?

The new Advanced CG-5 mounts come with a 2" steel tripod and two 5,5kg counter weights.

If you have the latest version of the CG-5 mount, it can handle a 10-11 kg load for visual use. (theoritical max load is 15-16kg.)

I can't seem to find the exact weight of the 250P DS OTA, as the Skywatcher website is bugged and shows 2,37kg or something for the tube. Wich is wrong. I expect it to be more around 10kg?

So as long as the OTA is not exceeding 11-12kg, it should be doable on the latest Advanced CG-5 mount with 2" steel tripod.

You have to balance the mount really well and shield it from wind to minimise vibrations.

Photography is out of the question tho.

You will have to save up for an EQ6 or CGEM mount for that.

Or go for the 200P DS OTA instead.

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If i'm going to get a nice big scope, i don't want to have to upgrade again for a long while. i hope to get a DSLR at some point in the future, at which time i'll be trying my hand at astrophotography. If i do get a Dob now - tempting as it is, i'll have to buy another set-up in a couple of years if i want to take pics. (i am really tempted by one of those truss-tubed Dobs right now so i can get it sooner tho) Hmm i'm getting undecided now :D

Jerokane - my CG-5 was brand new about eighteen months ago and came with a very sturdy (and heavy) tubular steel tripod. I think the tripod would take a heavier scope but i'd need another counterweight cuz the weight that was supplied needs to be right at the very end of it's counterweight pole to balance my current 150. would the mount struggle tho?? i don't want to damage the screws.

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Celestron sell an 11" SCT on a CG5 so what does that tell you?

Nothing beyond the fact that they are cheapskates! Their 9,25 on CG-5 is supported marginally, and the fact that they pair the two for budget reasons, does no justice to the excellent OTA.

I had the exact setup and it vibrates like hell. I had to extend the counterweight bar a good 15 centimeters and add another 2Kg on top.

Dimitris

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Ha ha cheapskates indeed!

I've heard others say the same that putting this scope on a CG5 is madness. I've got to say that looking at the photo is does look mental.

One day I'm looking to put a TAL 200K on my CG5. I hope it will take it!

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I've heard many times that Celestron SCT's are often sold on undermounted EQ's so i'm not surprised to hear that. Looks like i'll have to fork out the full £1400 if i want that skywatcher then :D Suddenly that truss-dob is lookin very tempting

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The latest Advanced CG-5 mounts are supplied with two 5,5kg counterweights.

That is a possible total of 11kg on counterweights.

I find it strange that you have to put your counterweight all the way to the end to balance your 150 OTA. :D

Can't be a 5,5kg counterweight then.

As I have the C8 SCT and I have a single 5,5kg counterweight about 2/3 position on the bar. So that's far from the end even.

So I guess you have a previous model CG-5 mount then. :D A non-computerised one? As the new CG-5 mounts are GoTo only. Just like Skywatcher only selling motorised GoTo HEQ5's now. They stopped with the EQ5. Everything is going GoTo now.

My mount weights 20kg already. And that without the counterweight, bar and scope.

These new CG-5 mounts are really heavy and sturdy. So I guess Celestron finally learned a thing or two.

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Yeah the tripod is strong as you like but i'm worried about the actual mount. It's a non motorised mount. I didn't want goto cuz i've been learning my own way around the sky to build up a little experience. i like the idea of motors for photography (hopefully in the not-too-distant future) but I've been happy with my manual mount thus far.

The big question now is do i get a big Dob now and a big EQ mounted scope in a couple of years or forgo the Dob and put the money towards a Goto EQ mounted scope of decent aperture in the future??

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Yeah the tripod is strong as you like but i'm worried about the actual mount. It's a non motorised mount. I didn't want goto cuz i've been learning my own way around the sky to build up a little experience. i like the idea of motors for photography (hopefully in the not-too-distant future) but I've been happy with my manual mount thus far.

The big question now is do i get a big Dob now and a big EQ mounted scope in a couple of years or forgo the Dob and put the money towards a Goto EQ mounted scope of decent aperture in the future??

If you got the 2" tripod. That's an important factor when it comes to stability and vibrations.

You just need to get hold on two celestron 5,5kg counterweights. Wich you can buy seperately. Or just one, if you have a 5,5kg counterweight already (altho I doubt it seeing your earlier statement).

If it's this one you have: http://www.celestron.com/c3/product.php?ProdID=91

Then it's pretty much the same as the new Advanced GoTo CG-5 mount. Just without the motors.

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Celestron sell an 11" SCT on a CG5 so what does that tell you?

Advanced Series GOTO - Celestron C11-S GT XLT GOTO

That they'll do anything to get a sale.

(That blurb further says, 'An autoguider port is also included for astrophotography.' So you could do

astrophotography on that mount with a focal length of two point eight metres?? They don't actually say you can, I know, but a reasonable person would take that to be what they are are saying. No-one on this forum needs me to tell them that the idea is ridiculous.)

Olly

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