Problems with Celestron AS CG5 GT

Hello:

I bought a Advanced Series CG5 Go-To by Celestron last year. Due to the same malady that plagues us all (namely, not enough time and good weather), I have only taken it out to a viewing site about 4 times. To make matters more troubling, I have had issues with the Go To operation of the mount every time I have tried to do the 3 star autoalign.

Despite ensuring that date, time and coordinates are correctly loaded into the drive controller, it often points way far away from the stars in question. I then use the controls to each one of the three stars to complete the sequence. Thereafter, the Go To operation is good for about 5 or 6 objects before the mount starts to do point off target. During my last outing, after choosing a target from the database, it repeatedly "went crazy". The motors were just whirling away moving the telescope all around while the hand controller displayed a "NOT RESPONDING" message. On the plus side, the mount tracks fine if I find the object my moving the scope manually and then lock the motor gears.

Has anyone out there had similar problems? Is this mount a dud? Is there any hope for it, or should I take it out in back and shoot it right now? :C

Thanks for any advice you can give me.

Rey Cordero
TeleVue 60
TeleVue 85
Meade ETX 125
Celestron Super C8+
Celestron 9.25 on AS CG5 GT

>>>>Has anyone out there had similar problems? Is this mount a dud? Is there any hope for it, or should I take it out in back and shoot it right now?
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I have a CG-5 ASGT and had a few problem which were resolved by resetting the hand controller to the "factory values." I believe this reinitializes the controller to the factory defaults. Apparently these controllers "learn" so they can get off on the wrong track.

The Nexstar Mystery slew is well known.

A good place to get info on these is Michael Swanson's www.nexstarsite.org

I think with a little help you should get this up an running and you will soon forget you ever had any trouble.

jon

Almost definitely a low voltage problem.
Very consistent behavior when the power source is not sufficient. I've seen this a lot with my own mount, and others.
These things are power hogs. But, a stronger power source will probably fix your problem. They work very well with sufficient voltage. -Kurt Horsley

Be careful using an extension cord over 25' long when using the AC adapter. This was a problem with my NS8GPS.
Low voltage will certainly cause a lot of problems. If you use a battery, make sure it is fully charged and at least 12 amp hours in size.