"Tim Auton" wrote in message
...[color=blue][i]
Reaper wrote:
Roger Hamlett Wrote:
"Steve - www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk" wrote in message
...

After continued problems with my Celestron ASGT eq 5 mount and having
it
repaired twice I have now given up on the idea it will ever work well.

Have a look at the EQ6. It's a truly awesome mount!

It's not quite in the class of the G11 out of the box though, is it?
Not judging by the PE graphs and reviews I've seen. I've got an HEQ5,
the EQ6's little brother, and it takes a fair bit of tweaking
(stripping, cleaning, re-greasing, adjusting, replacing bits) to get
it smooth and get the PE down. I'm working on an entirely new drive
and goto system for mine (these are basically the same in the HEQ5 as
in the EQ6) as the supplied ones aren't up to anything but short
focus, short exposure photography and planetary imaging. The EQ6
groups are full of the same kind of tales. I don't hear of G11 owners
doing the same. Perhaps that's why the G11 is almost 4x the price!
There are plenty of posts on the Losmandy site, from people re-aligning
the drive system on the G11. It is an excellent mount for the price, but
you don't get rid of most fiddling till you go up to things like the
AP/Mountain Instrument level...

To the OP: If the primary use is for astrophotography and you're not a
tinkerer with a good set of tools I'd say spend the cash and go for
the G11.
The EQ6, is available 'prefitted' with a complete goto system from AWR,
and is extremely good value for money in this form. The 'native' periodic
error, seems low for a mount in this price bracket (interestingly, the
periodic error curves seem to change with the controller fitted, even when
PEC is not engaged, with the standard drives 'introducing' an odd error to
the curves...). Certainly, it is much more the sort of mount needed to do
photography with the weight being talked about.

Best Wishes