Celestron Advanced VX Mount Tolerance

Open PHD Guiding Project PHD2 Orion 50mm Mini Guide scope Celestron Advanced VX Equipment Equatorial Mount
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Scott Deming avatar
Scott Deming avatar
Hello! I recently purchased the Advanced VX mount and am very happy with it. I'm currently using the Celestron Omni XLT 150 6" newtonian on it. The mount has a 30 lb. weight capacity. With the XLT 150 and other accessories, I'm at around 17 lbs. I am VERY interested in purchasing the Orion 8" Astrograph newtonian. The Omni weighs 12 lbs. and the Orion weighs 17.5 lbs. My total weight will now be at around 22 lbs. My question is - will I still be able to image effectively with the added weight? I'm using a ZWO 120 mini as a guide camera, along with an Orion 50mm Mini Guide scope and PHD2. I took 3-1/2 minute subs the other night and had no star trailing whatsoever. Can I expect similar results with the larger, heavier newt?

Thank you in advance for your guidance!

Scott
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matthew.maclean avatar
matthew.maclean avatar
This may be a very simplistic suggestion, but try adding an extra 5lb weight to your current setup and see if the guiding is still good enough (not forgetting to re-calibrate PHD2)? Something like an ankle weight strapped to the outside of the tube, or even a package of sugar or flour would give you a good approximation probably?
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Scott Deming avatar
Scott Deming avatar
Great suggestion! One question, isn’t part of the possible issue the actual size of the tube? More mass to be blown around?
matthew.maclean avatar
matthew.maclean avatar
A weight isn’t a perfect test certainly, but at least it will be the same kind of telescope. The new one would be 2” bigger diameter and probably a little longer? I assume much of the extra 5lb will be in the mirror, so the center of mass probably isn’t too different than what you have now?
Scott Deming avatar
Scott Deming avatar
Makes sense. Thank you so much for your guidance!
Chris Sullivan avatar
Chris Sullivan avatar
I've used an 8" carbon fiber Newt very successfully on an AZ-EQ5 (except when it's breezy), but the mount didn't tolerate my RC8 well at all and the total payload was only about 2 lbs. heavier.
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Scott Deming avatar
Scott Deming avatar
Thanks Chris. What does your 8" Newt weigh?
Chris Sullivan avatar
Chris Sullivan avatar
With rings, it supposedly weighs 19.1 lbs. (I think the bare tube is around 16.5 lbs.) I weighed it with my camera, coma corrector, OAG and guide cam and came to 22 lbs.
https://explorescientificusa.com/products/208mm-newtonian-f-3-9-with-carbon-fiber-tube
Scott Deming avatar
Scott Deming avatar
That's about identical to the Orion 8" Newt, which I JUST BOUGHT! I calculated the entire thing will weigh approximately 22 lbs. with cameras and finder scope. I actually called Celestron and Orion and asked them about the AVX's ability to effectively run and guide with this scope and they both said it would be fine. In fact, Celestron said they sell the AVX with larger scopes than the Orion and it works great. So, fingers crossed, but with the 3.9 aperture and my new ZWO 294 color camera, I should need super long exposures.

Thanks again for the replies!

Scott
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