Help Me Choose My New "Santa Approved" AP Mount!

[JayTee]

Well, it happened. Santa was very generous this year and this (along with the CFO's permission) has given me the funds to go forward in acquiring a new mount for AP.

Envelope please, here are the four top contenders that will keep me from going over $2,700 (all except one).

1) Celestron CGX
2) iOptron CEM 60
3) iOptron CEM 40EC
4) SW EQ6R Pro

Here's the data grid.

So if you own one of these and had to choose again based on the other mounts I have listed would you make the same choice? I would love to hear why. Also if you have an addition to make please chime in.

Thanks in advance. Both me and my sanity thank you.

Cheers,
JT

[Baskevo]

I vote CGX That's what I want eventually, but I am a total noob lol and I can't give you a reason over the others, except for what you've already said in the notes!

I bet you are excited though! I can't wait to see what you get with the new mount, JayTee!

[luker78]

I have a skywatcher heq5 right now and I would love to upgrade to the EQ 6R.... Very nice mount.

[yobbo89]

a few questions, ideal telescope you would put on it now and future telescope if you ever happend to upgrade it? satellite tracking ?

The cgx has spring loaded worms which is realy ideal to tune out any imperfections from eccentric worm wheels this should give you better tracking on meridian flips as well without the need to shift the counterweights, you could say it's competition would be the eq6-r in terms of spec, but you can see the price is higher with the cgx then the eq6-r and i have no doubt that the cgx will outperform the eq6 , i don't think the eq6 is spring loaded.

I would get the cgx if you plan to really load some weight on it.
other then that the cem 60 and 40 have a lot of good features and are lighter and would be a good choice for portability.

I think they all have sort of internal cables or cable management except for the eq6.

payload list

CGX EQUATORIAL 55 lbs (25 kg)
EQ6-R Pro 44lbs (19.9kg)
CEM60 60 lb (27.2kg) not including counter weights
CEM40-EC 39 lb (18 kg)

[UlteriorModem]

Ohhhh…. "not including counterweights" that is SO cheating!!!

I have the CGX-L which is the bigger brother of the CGX and am very pleased with it.

It tracks well, very aware of where it is pointing. Plate solve and synchs seamlessly. And has a good weight rating. They are able to track well past the meridian giving you more time before a flip is required. It is ruggedly built. Mine stays outdoors, covered, 24/7 365 (except for hurricanes). After a couple of years out there it still looks good except for a few galvanized screws that show signs of rust.

The only downside is the goofy polar alignment scope which is an add on (purchased separately) that sort of clamps to the side of the mount and MUST be removed after alignment. Otherwise it will have a pier crash. You can work without the PA scope if you can get initial setup in the ball park then fine tune the alignment with drift alignment. I personally got the scope to get me close(r) at first. Think I have used it twice.

[JayTee]

a few questions, ideal telescope you would put on it now and future telescope if you ever happen to upgrade it? satellite tracking?

Great question. Should have included that in the original post.

At this time and for the foreseeable future, I will use this mount to move two different AP OTAs. My 80mm APO and my 6" RC. Both of these OTAs weighs less than 15lbs, so weight isn't really a factor. Satellite tracking has never really been a goal.

The only downside is the goofy polar alignment scope which is an add on (purchased separately) that sort of clamps to the side of the mount and MUST be removed after alignment. Otherwise, it will have a pier crash. You can work without the PA scope if you can get initial setup in the ballpark then fine-tune the alignment with drift alignment. I personally got the scope to get me close(r) at first. Think I have used it twice.

I've never really needed a polar scope before so I don't see that as a big factor.

Honestly, right now I'm leaning toward the CGX.

[mention]JimMinCT[/mention] What do you think?

Cheers,
JT

[Bigzmey]

Can't comment on which mount to pick, but very excited for you!

[JimMinCT]

A couple more questions, ET...

Do you have a pier? The CEM60 does not come with a tripod for the price quoted.
But I have a pier and don't need to buy a tripod. That may be where some of the price increase comes from...
I do like my CGX, but I did have to play with the gear train to get it to track better. Something that I think
should have been done before I got it for the price.
Frankly, I'm not sure I would have gotten the CGX if the CEM60 was priced that low at the time.
I don't remember seeing it. And I looked at everything for months...
How attached are you to Celestron? I understand that is a big thing. I am as well. I love the ASPA routine, and I know the menu on the HC...
Are you willing to learn some new stuff?
Answering these might help you along a bit. The CEM60 is a very nice mount.
Richard, Kathy, and Scott all love their CEM40's...
Maybe ask one of them as well.
Cheers and good luck!

[AntennaGuy]

I've been leaning toward a Losmandy mount for my future dream system. Have you considered one of them?

[AntennaGuy]

I've been leaning toward a Losmandy mount for my future dream system. Have you considered one of them? Maybe something like
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... html/specs

[Lady Fraktor]

https://www.avalon-instruments.com/shop ... -fi-detail

[JayTee]

A couple more questions, ET...
1) Do you have a pier? The CEM60 does not come with a tripod for the price quoted.
2) How attached are you to Celestron? I understand that is a big thing. I am as well. I love the ASPA routine, and I know the menu on the HC...
3) Are you willing to learn some new stuff?

1) Good point on the pier. I should have picked up on that fact. Here's the one I think would work well given my light payload: https://optcorp.com/products/ioptron-tri-pier
2) I've actually wanted the CEM 60 for longer than the CGX. It was your excellent results from the CGX that swayed me in that direction.
3) I pride myself on being an equal opportunity employer of all manufacturers. So learning "new stuff" is fun for me.
*

I've been leaning toward a Losmandy mount for my future dream system. Have you considered one of them? Maybe something like https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... html/specs

Thanks for the input AG. I did look at this mount but over the years I've heard more complaints than praises for Losmandy mounts. The other detractor is that both axes are worm driven and not belt driven.
*

https://www.avalon-instruments.com/shop ... -fi-detail

That beautiful mount falls into my dream category (but not listed) from a previous post as it is nearly double ($4,700) from what I can afford.
Dream: 10 Micron, MESU 200
Plan A: CEM 60 EC, CGX-L, SW EQ8R Pro
Plan B: CGX, SW EQ6R Pro, CEM 40 EC

So at this point, I'm now leaning toward the CEM60 but I'm remembering Hondo's (Scott) troubles in initially setting up this mount. [mention]Hondo[/mention] what say you?

Thanks all, the gears are still turning in my head on this one. No definitive direction yet.

Cheers,
JT

[Micke187]

I have looked alot on the eq8r- pro for myself as it looks like a really good mount for the money. After looking at astrobackyards review of the mount im really leaning on getting one in the near future. The benefits for me if i get a eq8r is that its eqmod supported. So for me its almost a plug-play for knowing how the program works as iive always used eqmod.
yeah its a little bit more then your budget but if i were in your shoes i would definitly save up some more and purchase one of the little higher end mount

[JayTee]

Thanks Micke,

At this time I do not have a functioning AP EQ mount. Because of this, I feel compelled to move rather quickly and with two kids in college my ability to save additional money is somewhat limited. So as much as I would love to have an EQ8R Pro, I'm going to have to pass because of expediency.

Thanks again for your input,
JT

[JimMinCT]

As I mentioned earlier... frant, (Richard), and KathyNS are both also running CEM type mounts. Additional sources of info are never a bad thing.
Best of luck, ET!

[Hondo]

So at this point, I'm now leaning toward the CEM60 but I'm remembering Hondo's (Scott) troubles in initially setting up this mount. @Hondo what say you?

Thanks all, the gears are still turning in my head on this one. No definitive direction yet.

Cheers,
JT

Hi JT and congrats on your soon to be new mount. WRT my CEM60, it now performs exceptionally well. After much back and forth with Ioptron techs, I installed new control boards and adjusted the belts. I get an RMS of anywhere between the 0.30's (really good seeing) and the 0.60's (poor seeing). I usually average in the low 0.50's to 0.60's on most night. This is at 1255mm through my VRC-8 with an OAG. I throw away very few if any subs and my stars are round and tight. The one very important thing that I have found is to balance it completely neutral, no east heavy required and low aggression settings in PHD2. The mount performs best that way. Screen shot below is from a fairly recent outing. Congrats and good luck in whatever mount you choose.

[JayTee]

Thanks Scott,

I think yours is the clencher post.

I've been Jonesing for CEM 60 for a while now and while the CGX did temporarily cloud my vision, I think it is now clear that the CEM60 is the way to go.

Thanks all, you've all been exceptionally helpful.

Cheers,
JT

PS [mention]KathyNS[/mention] and [mention]frant[/mention] there's still time to weigh in if you feel the need.... jt

[Hondo]

You are welcome! One thing to add, if you do choose the CEM60 make sure it is the non-EC version. There have been and continue to be problems with the EC encoders, not only the CEM60 but all the CEM EC mounts.

[JayTee]

You are welcome! One thing to add, if you do choose the CEM60 make sure it is the non-EC version. There have been and continue to be problems with the EC encoders, not only the CEM60 but all the CEM EC mounts.

I had planned on that. I read the Open PHD Guiding Google group everyday and know exactly of what you are referring.

Thanks again,
JT

[KathyNS]

PS @KathyNS and @frant there's still time to weigh in if you feel the need.... jt

I don't have any opinion about the other mounts. I do like my CEM60. I just wish that my guiding graphs were as tight as Scott's. Still, my guiding tends to stay within one pixel on the imaging scope, so it's not too shabby.