Finally broke down and ordered a new goto Gem from Astronomics. It'll take a couple weeks since they didn't have any in stock. Sending it to Dr. Clay for a supercharge first - so I don't get disappointed right off the bat. Hope to have it up and running in time for the 2009 IYA event at UAFS in April. It'll be fun to see how this mount stacks up to Larry's Atlas.
Mike

Looks like a very nice mount...............

Mike -

I'll be in the market for a GEM sometime fairly soon myself, so I'll be interested to see how they stack up as well. I would think the CGEM would be very similar to the Atlas - they're made by t he same company, so there shouldn't be a lot of difference. I have heard that the CGEM is a bit easier to polar align, and that the hand controller is easier to use.

Dave,
Ease of alignment and use of the Hand Control were both pluses in my decision. In any event, it should be a quantum leap over the CG 5 GT. Which reminds me; I've got to put together an add for the CG 5 and 8" Meade.
Mike

The new CGEM arrived Sat. (after advising supplier Fri morning that I was canceling the order 'cause Woodland Hills had them in stock). Astronomics sent me one from a 9.25" SCT (W/O the SCT, of course). What a beast! The EQ head weighs 41 lbs W/O counter weights (17 & 11 lbs).
The tripod is essentially a spiffed out CG-5 - not much difference there. Transporting the head was going to be a problem, but Walmart came through again! Solution - one big piece of American Tourister luggage (biggest they had) and a little trimming on the styrofoam box the head came in and now its on wheels! Set it up Sat evening & Bob come over to supervise a bit. Hand control operates pretty much the same as the CG-5 with some exceptions - but I didn't get that far anyway. Seems rock solid, though. WX & schedule permitting I'll have it out at the Nature Center Fri. night.
Mike

Sounds great! So now we have what, 3 of these puppies in the club? We may ned o change ou name o the CGEM Society....

I'll have to admit - it's a good platform for getting started in imaging.

I saw Mike's CGEM the other day and I must say, that's a VERY nice mount. Keep in mind that the hand pad is essentially identical to all the CG-5 mounts, but the CGEM boasts a MUCH more robust and heavy-weight assembly in the area of both axes, and even though the capacity listed for the CGEM compared to the CG-5, I'd be skeptical that the CG-5 will have anywhere near the drive and tracking capabilities that the CGEM has.

All-in-all, Mike has one of the nicest mounts in the club as of now. I'd say that only the Orion Atlas mount will come anywhere close to the capacity and capability of the CGEM, which I believe we have two of these mounts owned by current AOAS members.

Maybe this is a good idea for a new poll question, "what kind of mount do you have?"

Bob -

It's my understanding that the CGEM and the Orion Atlas EQ-G are basically the same mount, both built by Synta. They have the same capacity ratings, and are based on the same tooling, but they have different drives. The Atlas uses stepper motors, and the CGEM uses servos, which can deliver a bit torque. plus the CGEM uses Celestron's NexSTAR software and hand controller (same one on CG-6 and CGE-Pro) The Atlas GoTO has the SynScan hand controller, which is not quite as "polished" as the NexSTAR. However, all in all, I'm sure they would both carry the same load with equal aplomb.

I do want to point out that we have at least one Losmandy G-11 in the club. I believe that's what Mike Holloway uses.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that. But you really have to push it to place the Losmandy G-11 in the same category as the CGEM and the Atlas, at least IMO. The setup that Mike Holloway uses is head-and-shoulders above what anything else anyone else has right now. Or maybe its just that he gets so much more FROM what he has than anyone else ever has, myself included, and that's including what I ever did (or didn't do) with the CGE1400 as well. Mike Holloway has the equipment I'd like to have and accomplishes what I'd always like to do with anything I've ever used, but I can't seem to get it in gear.

Actually, I'd put that CGE in the same catagory as the G-11. In fact, the CGE is rated a bit higher for capacity (65lbs. vs 60lbs.), but I bet the G-11 will do just as much. Losmandy tends to be a bit more conservative on the capacity ratings than other mount makers. I think the problem with the CGE-1400 is the fact that it's carrying a C-14 SCT instead of the much lighter TV 127 that Mike has on his G-11. Frankly, the C-14 really deserves a CGE-Pro or Losmandy Titan (both rated at 90lbs.) to be really effective.

Nice to meet you again.Well,I saw Mike's CGEM the other day and I must say, that's a VERY nice mount. Keep in mind that the hand pad is essentially identical to all the CG-5 mounts, but the CGEM boasts a MUCH more robust and heavy-weight assembly in the area of both axes.Thank you.
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Memory Stick
mustang cat back

Curious that my words are used almost verbatim in your post Cristiano. Do you live in this area? Or did I see a mention that you were from Spain? Perhaps living in the US now and in our area?

Bob