Sold!!!
I’ve owned and used this mount for about 9 years now. It has been a solid performer. I still use it but am looking to upgrade to a mount that can carry a heavier load for astrophotography. The ASGT is officially capable of up to 30 lbs but that payload would be visual only. I’ve had an 8″ SCT with smallish guide scope, total of 20 lbs successfully. Celestron used to sell this with various OTA configurations including 5″ to 11″ SCT, 8″ to 10″ Newts and up to 6″ refractors. This ASGT has very good GOTO capabilities, once you’ve gone through the alignment process it can find what you want with ease. The hand controller has, I believe, 13,000 objects in its database. When I had a camera with a 0.4 degree FOV attached and good alignment done the object would be in the view on the first try. The periodic error is a limiting factor, I had to limit exposures to about 5 minutes and throw out a third due to the blip when I was imaging. However, if you are not imaging or doing short exposures that won’t be a problem. The power switch started developing a problem a couple years back and, not being incredibly electronically skilled, I sealed the switch in the on position with silicone sealant. See the picture below. The switch is probably easy to repair if you know how. Other than this, the mount has the scratches you would expect from a mount this age but is in good shape. Selling the items below for $450 with central Arkansas delivery or pickup. Will be happy to assemble mount and demo it for you. If interested, contact me at jamesdixonlr at att.com or 501-258-1914. Will deliver to central Arkansas or meet you halfway farther out in Arkansas.
The mount includes the following:
- The mount itself.
- A Nexstar hand controller.
- Auxilliary port that allows you to connect your laptop among other things to the telescope. I’ve used this and planetarium software to drive the scope.
- Tripod leg spreader.
- 11 lbs counterweight.
- Both an AC and 12 volt DC power cord.
