Celestron CGX-L Computerized German Equatorial Telescope Mount

Product Details

• Description
• Specifications
• Included Items
• Recommended Products
• Reviews

•  

  Celestron's CGX-L Computerized German Equatorial Telescope Mount is designed for observatories and travel systems and is capable of carrying some of the largest telescopes with ease. The Mount Head only weighs 45 lb yet is able to support a 75 lb payload capacity.

   

  Key Features

  

  Heavy-Duty Belt Transfer & Large Worm Wheels

  A lot of mounts today use spur gears to transfer rotational motion from the motors to the worm wheels. The problem with spur gears is that there is an intermittent amount play between the teeth of the gears. This play introduces mechanical backlash and hinders tracking performance, especially when autoguiding. By using a belt transfer the backlash mentioned above virtually disappears and tracking accuracy is greatly improved.

  The CGX-L has large, brass, spring-loaded 144 mm diameter worm wheels to handle heavier loads and track more accurately. Together with the stainless steel worm gears, they provide excellent gear mesh and reduce friction.

  

  Long Dual Saddle Dovetail

  Swapping telescopes is now a breeze. Smaller telescopes often use the lighter, less expensive Vixen-style dovetail bar. Larger telescopes are often equipped with the wider Losmandy-style dovetail bar for its sturdiness. The convenient saddle on this mount clamps down on both types of dovetails.

  The saddle on this mount has been elongated to 270 mm (approximately 11 inches) to better support larger optical tubes. This larger clamping surface area will reduce flexure and better stabilize a telescope.

  Built-in just below the dovetail saddle is two auxiliary ports and an autoguider port. This makes it easy to plug in extra accessories like the StarSense, WiFi module or ST-4 compatible autoguider. Since the cables for the port are run through the mount, you will no longer have to worry about cable snag.

  

  Improved Tripod

  The Celestron tripod was completely redesigned! It has a wider stance that keeps a lower center of gravity to reduce vibrations and uses massive 70 mm stainless steel tripod legs for improved stability under heavy loads. Each Leg has line-height markings which makes it quick and easy to set your tripod to the right height.

  The Accessory tray has been redesigned as well. It was reshaped so it can now remain attached when the tripod is folded up. It now holds three 1.25-inch eyepieces, two 2-inch eyepieces, and one smartphone/tablet in an upright position.

  

  Ergonomic Carry Handles

  These handles really speed up the setup and breakdown times for an astronomer who is on the go. No longer will you have to awkwardly lug around the mount head or have trouble centering it over the top of a tripod or pier.

  

  Altitude Adjuster

  Other EQ mounts are difficult and uncomfortable to polar align when a mounted telescope is mounted to it. Taking the telescope off the mount would be easier, but would give you a very inaccurate polar alignment once you put on an OTA. Celestron addressed this by using an armature that rides on ACME threaded rod. This allows you to easily adjust the mount with one hand under load!

  

  Homing Sensors

  Homing sensors are an awesome feature to have in an observatory setting. If power is lost throughout the night you can "home" the mount and resync on that position rather than creating an entirely new pointing model.

  It also makes a great position to park the telescope after a night of imaging. The next night you want to observe, just turn the mount on and sync.

  

  Internal Cabling

  Cable management can get messy. Where some telescope mounts can get caught on their own cables and ruin a night of observing, the CGX-L avoids this entirely. The cables that connect the RA and Declination motor to the motor control are all wired inside of the mount.

  In fact, if you wish to directly connect to the mount to a computer you no longer have to go through the hand controller. This mount has a USB 2.0 B type connector on the rear.

  

  Celestron PWI Telescope Control Software

  Celestron and Planewave Instruments have teamed up to develop a complete planetarium/mount control software. This program unleashes the full pointing accuracy potential of the CGX-L.

  PWI employs PointXP mount modeling, which accepts numerous star alignment points for the best possible accuracy. PointXP (also used in StarSense AutoAlign accessory) goes beyond the pointing capability of a traditional hand control. By adding multiple star alignment points, PWI accounts for various types of alignment errors, including instrument flexure.

  With a direct USB connection from your PC to the USB port on the mount, PWI’s Sky Viewer display makes for easy target selection or find your favorite deep-sky object in PWI’s extensive object database.

• specifications

  Computerized	Computerized
  Free Shipping	Yes
  Head Design	Equatorial
  Instrument Capacity	75 lb
  Latitude Range	3 to 56 Degrees
  Mount Head Weight	52.6lb
  PEC	Yes
  Ports	Autoguide Port
  Ports	Auxiliary
  Ports	Hand Controller
  Ports	USB 2.0 max
  Slew Speed	4 Degrees Per Second
  Telescope Connection	Dual Vixen & Losmandy
  Tracking Modes	EQ North
  Tracking Modes	EQ South
  Tracking Rates	Lunar
  Tracking Rates	Sidereal
  Worm Wheel Diameter	114mm

• included items

  • CGX-L Equatorial Head.
  • CGX-L Tripod & Accessory Tray
  • 1 x 22 lbs Counterweight.
  • NexStar+ Hand Control.
  • DC Power Cable (plugs into cigarette lighter socket).
  • 8mm Allen Wrench (contained in rear carry handle).