Hey all, Well my mount has finally gone caput. Got some damage a number of years ago and has been flaky ever since, occasionally harder to guide on DEC, sometimes turns on, sometimes not and now finally the DEC motor will always run a very high speed, much higher than the normal max setting.

Guessing that it will be pretty costly to repair (probably boards + motor + dec casing) so looking for an alternative mount, preferably a beefier one. Current night equipment is a Megrez 90FD + piggybacked SD66, which was quite solid on the CG5 and for solar use it's a 100mm modded PST, which is OKish if it's not breezy (that's a 4 inch f10 so it's pushing things a bit far for that class of mount).

Was wondering what people thought of the HEQ5? I've never used a SW mount but I do remember a very favourable review Astronomy Now a few years back + eqmod looks good. The IEQ45 & CGEM is out of my price range and the HEQ6 looks to be a bit of a beast to transport compared to the others.

Or if someone has any other suggestions?

Trev

A lot of folks here use the EQ6 and get great results. It's not that big to move around compared to say a CGE and SW seem to be good with dealing with any quality issues that may arise. Dealers keep plenty of spare parts (unlike Celestron) and most people have no issues. It can handle a good bit of weight too which you might need in the future.

I had a similar problem with the dec motor on a CG5. There are many reports on the web of the motor only running at max speed, and they suggested that the problem is usually due to a failed encoder. I ordered a dec motor assembly from Rother Valley Optics (about £50 incl postage) in early December. It took a few weeks before they got one and sent it to me, but it did eventually arrive in January. Fitting the new assembly was a little tricky because it is a slightly different design from the old one, and because the electrical connections are awkward. However, after fiddling about for half an hour, it was sorted and working perfectly.

If your problem is the same, and it does sound very similar, you will be able to rescue the CG5 relatively cheaply. I'm happy to give further details of the dec assembly installation if you decide to go that route.

Mike

Thanks Mike! Come to think about it I do remember reading threads about the issue a few years ago. I tried to find a replacement encoder a month ago but Celestron have very recently removed their replacement parts catalogue. www.celestron.com/astronomy/parts.html Will drop a mail to the guys in RVO and see if I can get this to tide things over.

A lot of folks here use the EQ6 and get great results. It's not that big to move around compared to say a CGE and SW seem to be good with dealing with any quality issues that may arise.

Cheers John. That's good to hear - very hard to judge by just reading reviews on the web. Pity we don't have a bunch of showrooms in Ireland to check these things out
Looks like I would probably go for the heq5 or heq6 in the long run. Much appreciated.

Hi,

I had similar issues with my LXD55 (similar to the CG5) recently. Hand controller would sometimes work sometimes not and occasionally the motors would slew off at high speed. Meade suggested I buy a new mount. Tracked it down to the hand controller cable. Cut it back a few inches and put on a new RJ45 connector and it worked fine.

So as Mike says you might be able to repair it fairly cheaply.

Cheers,
~Al

TrevorDurity wrote:

Pity we don't have a bunch of showrooms in Ireland to check these things out
Looks like I would probably go for the heq5 or heq6 in the long run.

Im trying

celestron advanced vx mount www.celestron.com/astronomy/celestron-advancedvx-mount.html

Updated CG5 , coming out in a few weeks

nanook5 wrote:

celestron advanced vx mount www.celestron.com/astronomy/celestron-advancedvx-mount.html

Updated CG5 , coming out in a few weeks

Now that's interesting. Added stiffness and permanent PEC!

There seems to be some nice new kit coming out. The new GEM from iOptron looks very intriguing as well - never seen a design quite like this and it looks like it's coming in around the same price level. Mad looking yoke. www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat...5707877/Main/5704125 Those guys at iOptron are doing lots of good things at the moment. $799 in the US on release this April.


Waiting to hear about the motor and encoder assembly from Celestron dealers but as celestron won't ship directly but I note that that particular part has been the subject of much talk over the last couple of months due to a price increase in the US. They only show prices to US IP addresses so I had someone check the page. Went from up from $28 to $132. I wonder if it's a stock thing as they may be harder to come by now. The only other online price I could find was $160.

StephenK wrote:

TrevorDurity wrote:

Pity we don't have a bunch of showrooms in Ireland to check these things out
Looks like I would probably go for the heq5 or heq6 in the long run.

Im trying

yep, it's always good to see a great astro store open in Ireland! I see you do iOptron as well. Hear any news about the zeq25?

Some interesting new mounts coming down the track, but I hope Celestron do not abandon the large number of existing CG5 owners. That massive price hike for the dec motor assembly sounds ominous. The CG5 is an excellent mount with thousands of satisfied users; it would be a shame if they were 'forced' to migrate to newer (more expensive) alternatives.

Good luck in your search for spares Trevor. If it you can't repair it, hold on to the CG5, it will be soon worth a fortune in spare parts.

Mike

Excellent - the guys at Ace Cameras got back to me nice and quick. Only £39 for the part so I'll go for that and see how things work out. Thanks for all the suggestions guys!

Thanks for the help guys. I received the dec motor assembly a couple of days ago and tried it out last night. Looks like Celestron changed the design of the ASGT at some stage as the new motor is slightly different and mounting plate completely different. So removed it and put it on the old plate and hey presto - all good again. TBH I was half expecting the problem to be something else so it was great that this works.

In other news it looks like the price increase didn't hit this side of the pond yet as the part was only £39 + shipping from Darren in Ace Cameras. I was expecting it to be at least £100. Great and fast service.

That's good news Trevor, delighted to hear that your CG-5 is back from the dead. Mike