Hello,
I am very new to the hobby and currently have a Celestron CG-4 mount. I have started to get curious about if there is any way to autoguide with this mount despite it being kinda low-end. I briefly did a little bit of googling and it seems like there are a few potential options out there for this; some seem more complicated than others. I have not looked into any of the options too deeply yet, but I was wondering if anyone out there happens to have experience with modding a CG-4 for autoguiding and if so, what is the easiest, most effective option? I know someone is going to be tempted to tell me to just get a better mount but right now that just really is not an option; I have to make due with what I got and I am just trying to see what potential paths I might be able to take.
Also, I am wondering if anyone has any experience with the CG-4's polar alignment scope and if it is really as difficult to work with as the reviews make it sound. Currently I just get a very rough polar alignment using the finder scope on my OTA, but obviously this method is very inaccurate and so I only get about 15-25 seconds of exposure time before the stars noticeably trail. If the alignment scope really is as much of a pain as people make it sound I don't know if I really want to spend money on it. That being said, is there any way to at least somewhat improve alignment using the finder scope? I know obviously Polaris is not supposed to be perfectly centered so is there a method or technique or whatever that I could use to get closer to where I should be pointing just by looking through the finder and the OTA? Obviously if I find out the alignment scope really isn't that bad I will just drop the money on it. Just looking for options.
Thank you for any assistance,
EvanSpiesTheHeavens
I am very new to the hobby and currently have a Celestron CG-4 mount. I have started to get curious about if there is any way to autoguide with this mount despite it being kinda low-end. I briefly did a little bit of googling and it seems like there are a few potential options out there for this; some seem more complicated than others. I have not looked into any of the options too deeply yet, but I was wondering if anyone out there happens to have experience with modding a CG-4 for autoguiding and if so, what is the easiest, most effective option? I know someone is going to be tempted to tell me to just get a better mount but right now that just really is not an option; I have to make due with what I got and I am just trying to see what potential paths I might be able to take.
Also, I am wondering if anyone has any experience with the CG-4's polar alignment scope and if it is really as difficult to work with as the reviews make it sound. Currently I just get a very rough polar alignment using the finder scope on my OTA, but obviously this method is very inaccurate and so I only get about 15-25 seconds of exposure time before the stars noticeably trail. If the alignment scope really is as much of a pain as people make it sound I don't know if I really want to spend money on it. That being said, is there any way to at least somewhat improve alignment using the finder scope? I know obviously Polaris is not supposed to be perfectly centered so is there a method or technique or whatever that I could use to get closer to where I should be pointing just by looking through the finder and the OTA? Obviously if I find out the alignment scope really isn't that bad I will just drop the money on it. Just looking for options.
Thank you for any assistance,
EvanSpiesTheHeavens
