pat

[blink138]

hello everyone
i am starting to seriously look at a descent mount after reading many of these pages for the last nine months
i have noticed with the stronger oz dollar prices in some shops are starting to drop and i noticed a g11 g with tripod for 4.5K
this is a top contender and i want to know why the celestron cge pro has not received the same drop in australia as they still want more than 10K here compared to less than 5K US
i picked up a thread about a week ago from "wasyoungonce" (aka screamin j) about possible shipping from the US
i would like to think the cge pro a top contender also but the aussie price scares me a lot
any thoughts would be appreciated
p.s i have no OTA as yet
pat

[dpastern]

I'm sure others would disagree with me, but I'd be considering something like an EQ6PRO first up, before going for a super expensive mount. You can always upgrade later.

What do you want to do? Visual observing, astro imaging, or both? What interests you more, planets, DSOs, lunar?

Dave

[wasyoungonce]

Hi Pat....I ordered a G11 & Gemini from USA around 2 weeks ago.

The reason...price.

Why the G11 in lieu of the CGE....G11 parts availability...I can order spare & upgraded parts easily, ovision worm, capability...and many more excuses.

The downside...the Losmandy Gemini is not a very new handset system and could be considered "antiquated" wrt the newer systems available, especially the CGE nextstar system.

But...I can live with that.

Local dealers have to factor in ongoing support prices in their sale prices, I acknowledge that...but I also acknowledge that I can buy & import cheaper than local prices.

Why did I skip the EQ6 & go to a G11...I fear the local dealers have over ordered these mounts (the EQ6) & have a lot of stock ordered at poor $Aust to $USA exchange rates (although they are purchased from China so this maybe moot).

They want to clear these before lowering their prices. Consider the EQ6 was around $1600 Aust prior to the GFC...why isn't it now...the answer lies above.

All in all I considered the EQ6 but at current prices it is over priced so I decided ..bugger this...and the local dealer price margins..and I missed out prior to the $Aust dive last year...so in for a penny....in for a pound!:question:

Edit:
Meant to say ... Maybe wait until the EQ6 prices have fallen a little then buy one. A G11 is a big step up from an EQ6 in more ways that just mount ($) and is a considerable sum of money even for seasoned users. Maybe start of a little smaller & take it from there. Jumping in the deep end with a G11 & expecting great astrophotography ...can be a bit overwhelming and frustrating.

[blink138]

thanks for the reply david
i have thought about this long and hard and basically i am in this astronomy thingy for the long haul and my plan was to either get a rig to last five years and be able to build on before change rather than buying something i may change in a year or two and lose money
ultimately i wanted to spen decent money on the mount for imaging
pat

[blink138]

thanks too screamin j
i am determined to get a decent mount for the reasons i have mentioned to david, there is no going back.
it is just a matter of the best price for my hard earned
can you tell me again as i have lost your other thread on how much it costs from the US as the places i have checked do not ship here at all
pat

[wasyoungonce]

PM sent...but please be careful of jumping in at the expensive end head first.

It is a long & difficult road to navigate.

I must also say that your needs or what you think are your needs now are just estimates.

In a year or two of time your needs & ambitions will definitely be more focused & more than likely different.

So putting big bucks down now may see you changing to completely something different in a few years.

Take for example my C8...I love my C8 but lately I have grown very fond of my little ED80 and yearn for a ED120 or such like for simplicity of use & setup!

Anyway that's mu 2c worth.

[blink138]

fair point too but i dont plan lugging it about i have already spoken to the being much higher than myself (she who must be obeyed) and i will make a permanent spot for it
i think i am tap dancing on thin ice here but i told her that was the only way where i wont waste the money, not happy jan but im half way there
there
pat

[blink138]

by the way too i have been wondering what the hell pm means now i know
p.s "himself" is (was) my absolute favourite performer
R.I.P SCREAMIN J
pat

[bmitchell82]

Ill agree with you Pat, everybody always says OVERMOUNT OVERMOUNT. in which case its pretty much the way to go. and if i had the money i wouldn't have done it any other way as a EQ6 can give you way more headaches but when thats your budget you take a panadol and keep trooping along!

Out of the box a g11 will leave a eq6 for dead plus for ease of adjustment you wont be useing a small shifter to adjust the dec and your fingers wont be sore by adjusting the ra :)

As for the telescope listen to what everybody is saying! start of with a short focal length refractor as they are super forgiving then once you get your focus to what you want to image primarily then specialize plus this gives you some le way into learning guiding and programs and you will get reasonable results.!

things your going to hvae to learn:
taking the image is about 10% of the final product.! 90% of the image is in the processing!

Setting up the mount will be your biggest drama for a start as reasonable polar alignment is paramount!(i remember the days of spending 5hrs trying to win that game now its a matter of 15 minutes). then there is the dedication of attempting 1 maybe 2 objects a night
telescope/camera combinations.. VERY IMPORTANT sure you can grab a cam and connect it up but its almost like putting 15" cheese cutters on a drag car... the drag car is capable of great times. but the wheels are capable of driving mrs Daisy...

The only thing is don't be like a cirtain person i once saw at a star party! had a C14 on a Tak EM400 with a ED 80 and a whole swagger of gear in his boxes i think was high end photography stuff... first scope just imported it from US, HAD NO IDEA what he was doing, he was trying to polar align it with the mount pointing north.! then when told that he was walking backwards tried to lift the whole kit and caboodle 180deg... :eyepop::eyepop::eyepop:

[Manav]

I wish I had that kind of money :mad2:

[blink138]

brendan that is absolutely hilarious the first evidence i have heard of an "astro wanker"
seriously though from what i have read on these esteemed pages i do want a good mount to last me a long time as it has been hard getting this far with my lovely ball and chain so i feel i may get one good crack at it so dont F.I.up!
thanks so far for all the advice keep it comin please
pat

[wasyoungonce]

I wish I had that strength.....:D

[mithrandir]

Pat said CGE Pro. I have seen alleged testimonials from a couple of people who chose a CGE over a G11G.

The CGE is discontinued, and the only people who seem to have any are OPT. I asked Lee Andrews this morning for a CGE price and he quoted me about $AU4,500 with delivery by about Christmas. I don't think the accountant will agree.

He said something in the $AU8,000 to $AU10,000 range for a CGE Pro but I know that is definitely out of the question so I didn't pay much attention.

Andrew

[bmitchell82]

oh he wsan't that strong! thats why me and a mate where over the other side of the pad and where cringing! and sniggering :) ide give my left kidney to have a first crack at the scope like that he was dragging it along the concrete... so not only did he not have a idea what he was doing with the scope. but in general terms :) doofus :) hahaha and people laugh at me with my 15 dollar DSE guide scope!

but like i said pat you can do alot worse than a G11! :)