Celestron GoTo Mount

[median parrot]

Although I plan on purchasing this in probably 5 months at the minimum, just want to have a starting price. Does anyone have any experience with this mount? https://www.highpointscientific.com/celestron-advanced-vx-avx-equatorial-mount-91519

[serene pollen]

It isn't recomended

Thats all i know

[potent quarry]

It depends on what you plan doing with it. I own one, and I am happy with it for observing or picture planets / the moon. For astrophotography tho, you should consider not pushing its weight capacity to around 50%. Anything above that: you should hypertune your mount. This is not hard to do yourself, but it’ll cost you a €100 - €150 and an afternoon of work. If you’re not into that, you should throw in that extra couple of 100 bucks to buy an EQ5 which is within the same range of capacity and options

And btw: the tripod legs are a bit too thin for steady astrophotography. So if you plan to do that, just don’t extent them all the way but keep your setup close to the ground for more steadyness concerning wind and stuff

Over all imo: I’ve been able use the AVX, EQ5 and CEM 28, and the last two are of considerably better build quality then the AVX. For comparison, it’s like the audi and bwm VS ford (no offense).

[lofty timber]

What do u plan to put on the AVX? It overall isnt the best option but isnt the worst either. Itd also like 99% need guiding as if im not mistaken it has issues in the DEC axis the most (i could be wrong abt that) if u dont mind spending a bit more id suggest a HEQ 5 pro IF possible as compared to the AVX and HEQ generally the HEQ 5 performs better and even tho the payloads are the same the HEQ 5 i find seems to be able to hold alot more and more comfortably, again not saying the AVX wont give u some great images i mean 1tu used a C8 on it and got amazing results but he had to throw alot of his subs away cos of the issues it had. He could do 2-3 min subs i believe without trail (sometimes) and i can do 10 minute subs without throwing any (with the exact same C8) but again his images was amazing but his mount is broken and the HEQ will last u alot longer than the AVX will

[median parrot]

I plan on doing deeper deep sky ap compared to my 360mm fl rn. Something like a f4-f5 newtonian with a longer focal length. The main thing I really want is a GoTo system. 2 nights ago, it took me upwards of an hour just to find m51. My red dot finder helps but isn't perfectly aligned with the scope.

[lofty timber]

Yeah if you want galaxies id definitely recommend the HEQ 5 its GoTo is really good and very accurate even at 2032mm so yeah id say spend the extra for a much better quality mount

[median parrot]

Alright

[median parrot]

I know that the difference of the HEQ5 and HEQ5i is that HEQ5i has wifi. Why is the one with wifi cheaper?

[potent quarry]

Definitely go future proof and skip the AVX

[lofty timber]

Uhh no idea lemme check that

[potent quarry]

The problems with the dec axis @lofty timber mentions can be reduced by hypertuning the mount, but it won’t do anything to the base build quality that just doesn’t cut it compared to the eq5’s or cems’s

[lofty timber]

Honestly not sure i cant even get the HEQ5i where i live XD I personally would stick to the normal and to connect it to a laptop or something i use a wire but overall my experience with the mount has been one of a kind and i think you cant go wrong with it

[potent quarry]

For example, they use bearings that aren’t designed to be loaded the way they’re used in the AVX mount

[lofty timber]

Yeah did think it was DEC but yeah i agree i find skywatchers EQs and the CEMs are definitely better going than celestrons mounts XD they all seem really bad imo

[potent quarry]

Yehh it really depends on what ur going to use it for and what ur expectations are, but yes for AP the celestrons are at the lower end compared to the alternatives in the same price range

It’s possible to generate nice images but it is a lot more work, and it requires a lot more luck

[lofty timber]

Well tbf 1tu images are really good for a C8 and a AVX but he did kinda have to shoot double the time to get the desired amount of exposure it seemed but heres some of his stuff for example with the AVX

[potent quarry]

Yeh exactly. I’m also happy with mine, but with a c9.25 on top even my hypertuned avx is not cutting it anymore. But with great effort, patience and luck it’s definitely an okay mount

[lofty timber]

Yeah i definitely think just to make it a more enjoyable experience/performance boost the HEQ 5 is the best option in that identical price range imo

[potent quarry]

Agreed. Beautiful pics btw! 🍻

[lofty timber]

Haha they arent mine those are 1tu`s images lol

[potent quarry]

I know but just great pics

[lofty timber]

Thanks XD i agree his images are great

[potent quarry]

@median parrot If u’d like to see more great examples of what’s possible with this mount, visit www.astroforumspace.com and get in touch with Wido. Wido is a Dutch amateur astronomer who have been using the AVX for a considerable amount of time before upgrading it to a eq6 (i think). He made beautiful results with it. He is also very easy to communicate with, so if you’d like to get information from him, you can easily get in touch