CGEM-DX & CGEM

Frist thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it.

I know strictly by weight a CGEM-DX{50lbs} would handle a 8" F/9 but would 72" be to long for the movement arm? Just can't afford the G-11.
As an alternative, would my CGEM{40lbs.} handle a 8" F/6?{38.25LBS}
In my opinion I think it would. What do you think?
De Lorme

8"f9 or F/6 10.50--Barride
Tube F/6 7.00--Hastings
F/9 10.00
Rings 10.00--Parallax
Wood Tube ends 4.00
MoonLight 4.00
Diagonal 2.00
ES 24mm Eyepiece .75
Total 8" F/9 41.25 LBS ; 8" F/6 38.25lbs

having mounted a 10 inch newt onto an even larger mount, I can tell you that moment arm is a big issue. Any wind will pick up that sail area of the tube and just shake it beyond acceptable levels. And I was using a huge William Optics GT1-HD that could hold 100 lbs!

If you're doing this for only visual work, I'd say the mount would be acceptable. If you plan to image, you're walking into a nightmare with this mount.

I personally will never buy another Celestron mechanical product. The parts and quality are getting cheaper every year. You're really getting what you pay for. Celestron has not learned that amateur astronomers are not looking for toys with plastic gears and cheap cast aluminum parts.

The G11 IS the only way to go whether you want to continue to use a long tube or move to an SCT or RC tube assembly. It's the most cost effective quality mount available. I know it's $3500 but you should be able to find a used one for much less. Then you can upgrade it to Gemini 2 when you can afford it.

Do this right the first time. That's my honest opinion.

Tom Picciani.

James,

I have a 6" f/12 that the previous owner mounted on an Orion Atlas. I was surprised how well the Atlas did with such a long scope. That said, breezes were a problem, as was damping time in general if the tripod was bumped. Anoth issue is scope balancing. The effect on balance of changing from a small eye piece (say an ortho) to a large eye piece (say a long focal length Nagler or Panoptic) is huge when you've got a long scope.

I already had a G-11, so the Atlas went up for sale here. The G-11 handles the 6" f/12 quite well, but I wouldn't try to photograph through it.