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The CG-5 German equatorial mount supplied with this Celestron telescope does not come with a motor drive as standard equipment, but its manual worm gear drive slow motion controls will let you smoothly track celestial objects for visual observing with only an occasional twist of the wrist. Adding optional dual axis motor drive #MDCG5D will keep objects centered in the eyepiece continuously. If family viewing is planned, a motor drive means you don’t have to worry about the object being observed drifting out of view while changing observers. This is especially handy when observing with small children or groups of people (at star parties or scout meetings, for example). If astrophotography is in the cards, the #MDCG5D motor drive/drive corrector is essential. Snap-on plastic covers keep the drive gears (and the optional motor drives) free from small fingers, dust, and debris.
    The standard manual right ascension and declination slow motion controls have the appropriate length solid or flexible cables to make it easy to reach the controls with your particular length optical tube. Large easy-grip knobs make small control adjustments a cinch. To make a casual polar alignment for visual use quick and easy, there’s a latitude scale and fine adjustment controls in both altitude and azimuth. If astrophotography is in your plans, an optional polar finder is available to increase the accuracy of your alignment.
    The mount’s adjustable height tripod has 2” diameter steel legs, with excellent damping characteristics. There’s a center leg brace for rigidity. The brace is drilled to form a convenient accessory tray that holds both 1.25" and 2" eyepieces to keep them up out of the dew-soaked grass. A review in Sky & Telescope magazine said, “When the mount was fitted with a short-tube 90-millimeter refractor, vibrations damped out in just 1 to 1½ seconds after I gave a sharp rap to the tube. When I placed vibration-suppression pads (a Celestron option) under each leg, the damping time was cut in half. This is performance as good as by any mount I’ve seen at any price.”
    One or more counterweights are supplied, depending of the weight of the optical tube. The sliding counterweight(s) are locked in place with a single hand-tighten thumbscrew each, making it easy to rebalance the scope if you add heavy accessories. The mount is easily capable of handling the scope and any reasonable combination of accessories you might want to add. If needed, an optional 11 lb. counterweight (#1711) is available to balance very heavy loads. The mount’s payload capacity is over 35 lbs.
    An adjustable dovetail slide bar allows the optical tube to be quickly and precisely balanced fore and aft on the mount, eliminating the need for an extra counterweight to balance a camera or other accessories. Setup and takedown times are exceptionally fast, as a single large hand-tighten knob holds the optical tube in place. A second smaller lock knob prevents the tube from sliding off the mount should the hand-tighten knob loosen.
    The review in Sky & Telescope magazine concluded, “The Advanced Series CG-5 mount is an ideal platform for a 3- to 5-inch refractor, a 4- to 6-inch Newtonian reflector or Maksutov-Cassegrain, or a 5- to 9¼-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain. The smaller, shorter, and lighter the optical tube assembly, the sturdier the combination will be. When mated to a 4-inch short focus refractor or a compact 5-ince Maksutov or Schmidt-Cassegrain, the Advanced Series mount forms an amazingly solid platform that is virtually insensitive to vibration. Yet the complete package is light enough to be carried outside fully assembled”.

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