Who Made the CI-700 Mount for Celestron?

Can anyone here tell me who made the CI-700 mount for Celestron? The obvious answer would be Losmandy but I'm curious if the entire mount was made by one manufacturer or were different parts subcontracted and then assembled by Celestron? If the mount was indeed made by Losmandy, does it utilize the same drive system and therefor have the same accuracy?
Any history of this mount would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in Advance - Rob

Hi Rob -

The CI-700 was not made by Losmandy, it was made by Celestron. Celestron used to use Losmandy G-11 mounts, but then started making the cheaper CI-700 mount to replace it. The CI-700 is not nearly as good a mount as the G-11, especially in terms of tracking and PE. It is, however, just as stable, and makes a good mount for visual use.

Hope that helps,

-Jake

Rob: The CI-1700 is my mount of choice for long exposure CCD imaging. It is a superb mount, very stable wity very low periodic error. I routinely use my for 20 minute exposures with no problem. In my opinion it's every bit as good (and in some respects better) as the Losmandy G-11 and I've used both.

regards,

Flint Thomas

I'll even things out. Have a very nice CI-700 and had G-11. Out of the Box the CI-700 out performed in tracking the G-11 ith stand. gears. I've been told by others this is typical. Some say the "upgraded" (ie - extra cost) worm gears for the G-11 makes the mount track better then the CI-700 - but I never had them so I can't really say. It can handle every bit as much weight as a G-11 - I carry a C-9.25 and a Megrez 80 side saddled. Is the fit 'n finish on the G-11 better? yep. But the performance is nearly identical. Most of the "Negatives" IMO are a bit silly - like the non-adjustale tripod. Big deal. I can count on one hand the number of times i've had to adjust a tripod in the field. The only negative issue I have with the mount is its a bit too modular - that is way to many parts. I'm forever re-tightening allen screws....
Here is a very good tech write up buy a Mech enginer from a few years ago:

http://astro.umsystem.edu/apml/ARCHIVES/FEB03/msg01088.html