CEM 60 -- All The Pieces Parts Have Finally Arrived

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JayTee United States of America
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CEM 60 -- All The Pieces Parts Have Finally Arrived

#1

Post by JayTee »


Due to the extreme current situation, my CEM 60 mount and the TriPier tripod got caught up in the maelstrom of factory closures and work-at-home, etc. I received the mount back on 22 Feb but did not get the TriPier tripod until last Friday. I have a new object to put on the list of "what is the most useless piece of gear", answer, a telescope mount without its tripod. So, finally, we have unity and the two pieces are together and let the fun begin.

I took them both (mount and tripod) out Sunday afternoon because it was clear (finally) for an initial run-through and learning curve "flattening" event. All went well with the setup and getting to know how to engage and disengage the axes. The locks are magnetic and don't really cinch down, they just "engage" (say it the way Picard does). The mount runs very smoothly and very, very quietly even at the fastest slew speed (64x). The mount comes with a 9.5 Kg (21 lb) counterweight. My god that thing is heavy given its size. I initially attached my ES 80mm to the combo D/v rail saddle and found out rather quickly that that scope was way too light for that monster counterweight. So I switched over to the 6 RC (with a 70mm frac on top) and that was heavy enough to get it into a balanced state. I will say that I have heard that these mounts are very finicky when it comes to being in a balanced state - that it likes. All my previous mounts have had some sort of friction in each axis when you were trying to balance all the gear onboard so you never really knew how close to perfect balance you were. With this mount, the unlocked axes move as if nothing is impeding their rotation so consequently a 1 or 2 mm move with counterweight caused a noticeable difference in the balancing process. Obviously this means I need to get a lighter counterweight, most likely the 5 Kg counterweight. I believe the 2.5 Kg counterweight is too light given the payloads I'll be using. Here are some pictures to prove it really did happen.
TriPier 1.jpg
This shows the TriPier tripod which in and of itself is pretty cool, the pier portion can move up and down. That case off to the right is the case that houses the mount.
TriPier 2.jpg
These are my two new pieces of gear joined together. The latitude is still set to 0°
TriPier CEM60 and RC6.jpg
The RC6 and frac are attached with the latitude set at 21°

With the balancing done, on to the alignment. Well while reading the directions (yes, I do that) and getting the scope balanced on the mount, the sun was now far enough below the horizon for it to be dark enough to start the alignment learning process. I looked up to see which star/s I was going to use and NADA! My clear afternoon had turned into a completely overcast early evening. So I stood out on my driveway patiently waiting for some holes to open up. Finally, I got one 20 minutes later, I could see Arcturus. So I quickly selected the 1-star align procedure and told the HC I was using Arcturus. The initial slew only missed by about 10° so I quickly finished up with a slew and quick press of the "enter" button. Right then, Arcturus disappeared. I stood around for another 20 or 30 minutes and a hole opened up that showed Denebola, so I selected that star, off the mount went and it was in both scopes FOV. Now, mind you that I only used a compass to guess where North was so the fact that it put the star in the FOV was very encouraging. At that point, the sky closed down and I had had enough waiting around. I took the OTAs off the mount and moved everything back into the garage and called it an evening. Do I need to tell you that 15 minutes later the half of the sky I was using was completely clear!

Anyway, the initial trial was a success. I have many more features to discover about this potentially amazing mount. It has a built-in illuminated polar scope and there are 4, yes 4, USB sockets on the saddle!

More episodes later, but the clouds will dictate this schedule. Also, go over to the AP equipment forum and read my post (if you are so inclined) on the new CMOS camera I just bought today. viewtopic.php?f=24&t=9102

Happy trails and cheers,
JT
∞ Primary Scopes: #1: Celestron CPC1100 #2: 8" f/7.5 Dob #3: CR150HD f/8 6" frac
∞ AP Scopes: #1: TPO 6" f/9 RC #2: ES 102 f/7 APO #3: ES 80mm f/6 APO
∞ G&G Scopes: #1: Meade 102mm f/7.8 #2: Bresser 102mm f/4.5
∞ Guide Scopes: 70 & 80mm fracs -- The El Cheapo Bros.
∞ Mounts: iOptron CEM70AG, SW EQ6, Celestron AVX, SLT & GT (Alt-Az), Meade DS2000
∞ Cameras: #1: ZWO ASI294MC Pro #2: 662MC #3: 120MC, Canon T3i, Orion SSAG, WYZE Cam3
∞ Binos: 10X50,11X70,15X70, 25X100
∞ EPs: ES 2": 21mm 100° & 30mm 82° Pentax XW: 7, 10, 14, & 20mm 70°

Searching the skies since 1966. "I never met a scope I didn't want to keep."

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Graeme1858 Great Britain
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Re: CEM 60 -- All The Pieces Parts Have Finally Arrived

#2

Post by Graeme1858 »


That's a nice solid looking piece of kit JT.

Better luck next time with the clouds!

Regards

Graeme
______________________________________________
Celestron 9.25 f10 SCT, f6.3FR, CGX mount.
ASI1600MM Pro, ASI294MC Pro, ASI224MC
ZWO EFW, ZWO OAG, ASI220MM Mini.
APM 11x70 ED APO Binoculars.

https://www.averywayobservatory.co.uk/
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XwarpfactorX
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Re: CEM 60 -- All The Pieces Parts Have Finally Arrived

#3

Post by XwarpfactorX »


Glad to see your tri-pier has finally made it in! Although I have not had my CEM60 out as much as I would like due to weather, I am completely blown away by it's performance with alignment, tracking and guiding. I think you are going to love your CEM60 and I hope you get it back out under the stars very soon.
-Warp :sprefac:

Celestron CPC DX 1100HD, HD Pro Wedge
iOptron CEM60, iOptron Tri-Pier
AT115EDT
Orion ST80
Canon 1000D full spectrum
Celestron Neximage 5
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Juno16 United States of America
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Re: CEM 60 -- All The Pieces Parts Have Finally Arrived

#4

Post by Juno16 »


Very nice JT! Finally, after months of waiting, you have your fine new mount.

No friction in either axis? Can’t imagine that!

Sounds like a nice trial run. Looking forward to reading your first light report coming soon!

Congratulations sir!
Jim

Scopes: Explore Scientific ED102 APO, Sharpstar 61 EDPH II APO, Samyang 135 F2 (still on the Nikon).
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro with Rowan Belt Mod
Stuff: ASI EAF Focus Motor (x2), Orion 50mm Guide Scope, ZWO 30 mm Guide Scope, ASI 220mm min, ASI 120mm mini, Stellarview 0.8 FR/FF, Sharpstar 0.8 FR/FF, Mele Overloock 3C.
Camera/Filters/Software: ASI 533 mc pro, ASI 120mm mini, Orion SSAG, IDAS LPS D-1, Optolong L-Enhance, ZWO UV/IR Cut, N.I.N.A., Green Swamp Server, PHD2, Adobe Photoshop CC, Pixinsight.
Dog and best bud: Jack
Sky: Bortle 6-7
My Astrobin: https://www.astrobin.com/users/Juno16/
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