Which is the better mount, EQ6 or CG-5

[Vince G]

G'day all,

I'm after some info regarding the EQ6 Pro mount and the CG-5 mount.

Can anyone tell me which is the better mount to track with, use goto, computer connection, and autoguiding.

Which one has the better PE.

I would be using a 10 to 14 inch 'scope, most likely a 10".

Any info will be appreciated.

Vince G

[TrevorW]

Personally I'd go with the EQ6 the CG-5 as far as I can see is the equivalent of the EQ-5 in base structure.

[g__day]

I'd suggest an eq6, its beefier (a 10" SCT is no light thing to move around). I don't like the CG5's tiny dovetails to hod up to a 15kg load - shudder at how narrow they are.

Both should have similar PE +/- 22 arc seconds, but EQ6's often have a controller that provides PEC.

With the right cabling and EQ6 hand controller - both can be autoguided with the right gear (OTA, CCD, cables and Guidedog, PHD, MaximDL etc), PC controlled under ASCOM -> freeware (Cartes Du Ceil) or professional (e.g. The Sky6 Professional Edition) astronomy packages
and both have goto.

The CG5 I bought was great value for around $1,100 the EQ6's with goto are around $1,499 from Andrews Comms now with a reasonable goto hand controller.

[Vince G]

Trevor and Matthew,

My thanks for your replies.
I decided on the EQ6 Pro and bought one.
I'll probably have to build another observatory next door to my 12" LX200GPS, unless I can squeeze in beside it.

Vince G

[Ian Robinson]

A CG-5 wont be much good with a 14" scope on top of it. It's OK with a 10" (I have had my 10" newt on mine - an older version - w/o GoTo.).

[g__day]

You're welcome Vince - I reckon that's the right call.

BTW - normally one auto-guides - especially at long focal lengths, so the size of PE isn't always as critical as the smoothness of the PE. If its a smooth error its much easier to guide out than a jerky one!