New CG5 GOTO, any good?

Any one owns the new Celestron (CG5) EQ goto mount, with the steel legs?
It's hard to find any reviewer or info on it. Is it good for photography and
how accurate is it, any vibration?
I have an older Celestron GP EQ mount, how would it compare to that? I read
the new goto mount uses DC motors and Vixen motors are pulse type, more
accurate.

Thanks, JS

Szaki wrote:
Any one owns the new Celestron (CG5) EQ goto mount, with the steel legs?

JS,

I have gone through four of these mounts. The first one had a problem
with the RA axis. It moved 10-15 degrees when locked. It took several
disassemblies and reassemblies to locate the issue. A set screw on the
gear shaft not fully screwed in. I adjusted it and it worked OK. The
first usage after that, the electronics fried. On trying to align it, it
pointed the OTA at the ground.
I returned it to the local dealer I purchased it from, and they were
kind enough to swap the mount for a new one. I shpuld have tried it at
the dealer as it would not power up. I made another trip back to the
dealer who was pretty tired of seeing me by then. They opened another
mount and we tried it and it was dead. We tried their last mount and it
powered up. I took it home, but was unable to use it for a week or so
due to weather. When I finally was able to try it, the plastic shroud
around the Dec motor was cracked. More importantly, it still does not
align, let alone goto.
I don't have the heart to take it back to the dealer, so it'll go back
to Celestron for repair. Early calls to Celestron to have this repaired
were greeted with a message that due to Mars, cells would not be
returned for 7-8 days. Maybe they've gotten better.
The tripod is a clear improvement over the old extruded aluminum
version, and the few times the mount worked. It was off on initial
alignment, but when aligned, its goto worked well.
I believe this mount has the potential to be a great value and a solid
low-end mount, if Celestron is able to address the myriad QC issues.

Pat

Sad to read about your problems, Pat, but I'm not surprised. Meade had
nothing but problems (and still has) with the LXD55 mount, and the Celestron
mount comes from the same place...China. I honestly don't know how they can
market an item with such poor quality control.

Al


"Pat Nealy" wrote in message
...
Szaki wrote:
Any one owns the new Celestron (CG5) EQ goto mount, with the steel
legs?

JS,

I have gone through four of these mounts. The first one had a problem
with the RA axis. It moved 10-15 degrees when locked. It took several
disassemblies and reassemblies to locate the issue. A set screw on the
gear shaft not fully screwed in. I adjusted it and it worked OK. The
first usage after that, the electronics fried. On trying to align it, it
pointed the OTA at the ground.
I returned it to the local dealer I purchased it from, and they were
kind enough to swap the mount for a new one. I shpuld have tried it at
the dealer as it would not power up. I made another trip back to the
dealer who was pretty tired of seeing me by then. They opened another
mount and we tried it and it was dead. We tried their last mount and it
powered up. I took it home, but was unable to use it for a week or so
due to weather. When I finally was able to try it, the plastic shroud
around the Dec motor was cracked. More importantly, it still does not
align, let alone goto.
I don't have the heart to take it back to the dealer, so it'll go back
to Celestron for repair. Early calls to Celestron to have this repaired
were greeted with a message that due to Mars, cells would not be
returned for 7-8 days. Maybe they've gotten better.
The tripod is a clear improvement over the old extruded aluminum
version, and the few times the mount worked. It was off on initial
alignment, but when aligned, its goto worked well.
I believe this mount has the potential to be a great value and a solid
low-end mount, if Celestron is able to address the myriad QC issues.

Pat

Me too! Sorry to hear, you had so much problems with the mount. I talk to a
honest sales at Scope city, he told me it's no good for long exposure
photography, now I hear, can't even find a star. I just stay with my
Celestron(Vixen) GP mount, with Vixen drives, SCREW the GOTO.
I can find DSO's with the setting circles, with my reliable GP mount. They
selling this things (CG5 goto) for $699 (only mount), so another few hundred
$, one can buy a used GM-8, a Vixen GP-DX or Vixen GP for the same price.
Older SP-s even cheaper, I owned one, very, very nice. Japanese, knew how to
build these mounts.

JS


"Pat Nealy" wrote in message
...
Szaki wrote:
Any one owns the new Celestron (CG5) EQ goto mount, with the steel
legs?

JS,

I have gone through four of these mounts. The first one had a problem

I always believed that GOTO would eventually get a bad reputation because of
these cheap (often called affordable) Chinese mounts. That's really too bad
because a lot of potential users will be turned off to the wonderful virtues
of GOTO, who otherwise would not. If it's GOTO that you want, you should
have it but stick to the built in America mounts...LX200, LX90, and some
American built Celestron mounts. They cost a little more, but you could
rely on them for years.

Al


"Szaki" wrote in message
news:t95hb.524328$Oz4.386874@rwcrnsc54...
Me too! Sorry to hear, you had so much problems with the mount. I talk to
a
honest sales at Scope city, he told me it's no good for long exposure
photography, now I hear, can't even find a star. I just stay with my
Celestron(Vixen) GP mount, with Vixen drives, SCREW the GOTO.
I can find DSO's with the setting circles, with my reliable GP mount. They
selling this things (CG5 goto) for $699 (only mount), so another few
hundred
$, one can buy a used GM-8, a Vixen GP-DX or Vixen GP for the same price.
Older SP-s even cheaper, I owned one, very, very nice. Japanese, knew how
to
build these mounts.

JS


"Pat Nealy" wrote in message
...
Szaki wrote:
Any one owns the new Celestron (CG5) EQ goto mount, with the steel
legs?

JS,

I have gone through four of these mounts. The first one had a problem