With apologies to Carl Sagan – Extraordinary telescopes require extraordinary mounts! I have a large refractor, and have struggled for many years with inadequate mounts that made my viewing experience less than satisfactory – and astrophotography virtually impossible. One of the great problems with large scopes is very familiar to astrophotographers, both put great demands upon the mount's precision, reliability, and stability. Once one gets into the class of mount that will hold 30-40 kg or more, you enter rather rarefied territory. Names like the Losmandy Titan, and Astrophysics Mach I or 900 series get bandied about often, but the entry level for such a mount can be $10,000 or more even before you add the tripod – and that price puts them well out of reach for the average astronomer!
I have tried both the Losmandy Gemini mount (30kg capacity) and the Celestron CGEM mount (25kg capacity) for my 22 kg scope – but neither were satisfactory. Both suffered from insufficient strength and rigidity, and very insufficient clutches on both RA and Dec axes. The result of this is that the scope /mount combination behaved like a rhinoceros in ballet shoes, slewing was very sloppy, pointing errors tended to accumulate over time, and if there was the slightest vibration or wind – the scope became virtually unusable. I purchased the CGE Pro in April of 2011, and I've become an instant fan! The adjustable tripod features 3” stainless steel legs that allow you to adjust the tripod height from approximately 1 – 1.6 meters. At 26kg itself, this is no lightweight piece of kit, but you will never suffer from the wobblies when you set this fellow up and lock it in place.
The EQ head comes in two pieces, the lower pier/saddle contains all the electronics internally, and the connections for the hand controller, autoguider, RA and Dec motors are easily available. Another advantage of the electronics pier is that the connections do not move as the scope slews about. Many is the time when the slewing scope has unplugged itself, or wrapped a cord around until it threatened to unbalance everything – there is no problem with these things on the CGE Pro! The EQ head is massive at 25kg, and demands a two-man lift to put it up in the saddle. I suppose one could do it alone, but the weight and height mean that a slip in the dark setting up could easily spell disaster or even personal injury. Much better to be safe and set this one up with a pal. Of course, if you are making a permanent mounting, you needn't worry yourself after the setup is done the first time. Celestron refers to this as a “portable” mount – and I do take mine out rather regularly - but it certainly strains the definition of “portable”. The scope, mount, power tank, eyepiece case and an observer's chair completely fill my mid-size SUV.
RA and Dec motor cables are very sturdy, and like the power cable, they attach with captive threaded caps that lock the cables in place and assure a good electronic connection that is sealed against dust, dew and humidity. The only problem with the scope is the hand controller, or rather the very short cord that is supplied. With a larger scope and tripod, you do need more than just 2-feet of cable for the controller, and this is something I shall have to fix in the near future!
Alignment is very easy, and for those who are familiar with the Celestron GoTo system, the CGE Pro uses the same familiar One Star, Two Star, or 'Sky-Align' alignment protocol. Unlike lesser mounts however, the Pro has 'backlash control' that you can set to automatically compensate for backlash. Mine works brilliantly at the factory setting! Slewing is a joy, just 5-deg/sec, but without any wobble or untoward vibration. The scope moves quietly, smoothly, and stops on a dime. A HUGE improvement over the lesser mounts I've tried over the years! Tracking is very precise and reliable!
In short, if your scope is larger, heavier, or longer than average – you will want to consider this mount carefully. I don't thing there is anything on the market to compare until you are ready to spend twice the asking price.
