Upgrading mount from Celestron AVX?

[Goraax]

I've got a Celestron AVX, but I'm not happy with its guiding capability, and I'm looking to replace it.

What mount would be a good replacement, for not too much of a price range difference?

[LewisM]

What scope will be on it?


HEQ5 is a fantastic all rounder for scope setups under 8kg for imaging

[glend]

There are alot of factors that affect guiding performance. Buying s new mount may not be the answer. Can you describe your setup and problems in more specific terms. How much load are you putting on the current mount? Etc

[metalage]

glend is correct, there are a lot of factors that contribute to guiding quality.

From a mount perspective, I use a skywatcher HEQ5 Pro (rowan belt upgrade), and with a 8" scope + camera + OAG + guide camera + focuser etc, I'm probably sitting around the 9kg mark. I feel this is right on the border for weight loading but typically I experience under 1 arcsec RMS guiding error. Any more will be due to the atmosphere or a particular night and I will typically stop shooting when this happens. Good nights it can be down to 0.5-0.6 arsec RMS error and sits at 0.7ish on average.

The HEQ5 is a good mount but does require fiddling and fine tuning to get good connection with the worm with minimal backlash. If you did want to buy a new mount, I would suggest aiming for the EQ6-R Pro even though it is a little more $ just to future proof yourself. It will be less susceptible to wind gusts as well. I'll be in the market for a iOptron CEM70 soon myself, one of the reasons is for the increased payload capacity.