Celestron Advanced VX Series Go-To German Equatorial Mount

$1,179.00

Availability: In stock

For beginning and intermediate DSLR and CCD imaging, as well as visual astronomy, the 30 pound payload capacity Celestron Advanced VX mount is one of the most advanced and cost-effective go-to equatorial mounts you can find.
Our Product #: AVXEQ
Celestron Product #: 91519
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Product Description

While the new Celestron Advanced VX go-to mount is superb for visual astronomy with smaller telescopes (30 lbs and under), it was designed specifically to provide exceptionally cost-effective performance for imaging. It's an ideal platform for beginning and intermediate DSLR and CCD imagers, as it has the imaging-friendly features of Celestron's larger telescope mounts, but at a fraction of the cost of those larger mounts. For example, it has permanent periodic error correction (PPEC), an autoguider input, and the ability to image across the meridian without doing a meridian flip, so you can seamlessly image the best part of the night sky.

Experienced imagers will love taking this portable Celestron VX mount to a dark sky site (the head weighs only 17 lbs, the tripod only 18, plus an 11 lb counterweight), as it provides all the performance of the larger Celestron observatory mounts in a portable package. If you're new to imaging, the Celestron Advanced VX mount will help you get started with the hobby and keep up with your needs for years to come.

Features of the AVX mount: The mount includes dual-axis slewing/tracking low-cog DC servo motors with positioning encoders on each axis for go-to computer control. The new motors provide improved tracking performance and more power to handle an unbalanced load than previous Advanced Series drives. Built-in adjustable backlash compensation and permanent user-programmed periodic error correction (PPEC) permits precise corrections during astrophotography and when observing visually at high powers. There are nine slewing speeds, with a fast maximum slewing rate of 4° per second. Tracking rates include sidereal, solar, and lunar.

The scope is supplied with a car battery cord to operate from the cigarette lighter plug of your car or from a rechargeable 12V battery pack. The mount requires a 12VDC 3.5A power source, so the Celestron 17 amp hour capacity Power Tank #4517V is recommended for extended use in the field. The Power Tank can be recharged hundreds of times and will operate the scope all night long without danger of running out of power. Celestron AC adapter #2338PRO is also available to operate the scope from household AC in your back yard.

A sliding 11 pound counterweight is locked in place a single hand-tighten thumbscrew. Additional optional counterweights are available, making it easy to rebalance the scope if you add heavy photographic accessories. The mount is easily capable of handling the scope and any reasonable combination of photographic accessories you might want to use. Snap-on covers keep the motor drives free from dust and debris. A set of optional vibration suppression pads #4525 under the tripod feet will improve the telescope damping time for steadier high power observing.

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. The scope can be used over a wide 7° to 77° latitude range in both the northern and southern hemispheres. The scope includes Celestron's unique All-Star computerized polar alignment that lets you do an accurate polar alignment even when Polaris is hidden by trees or buildings.

NexStar+ computer hand control: The supplied NexStar+ computerized hand control has an internal clock and a built-in database of more than 40,000 stars and deep space/solar system objects it can find for you. These include the complete RNGC, Messier, Caldwell, IC, and Abell catalogs; selected SAO stars, such as variables and multiple star systems; the planets, the Moon, and more. There is enhanced information on over 200 of the most note-worthy objects.

You can also store and edit the right ascension and declination of 100 additional user-defined objects of your own choosing, such as the comet and asteroid coordinates published monthly in Astronomy and Sky & Telescope magazines. The computer control can find any of those objects with at your command, and accurately track them for visual or photographic application.

All of the database and telescope operation information is displayed on a double line, 16-character, liquid crystal display on the hand control. The NexStar+ hand control offers multiple language programming (English, French, Italian, German, Spanish). There are 19 fiber optic back-lit LED buttons to make it easy for you to control the computer without affecting your dark adapted vision. There are two AUX ports, an autoguider port, and an RS-232 communication port on the hand control that allows you to operate the telescope via a personal computer. The computer hand control software can be upgraded over the Internet from Celestron's website, assuring that you always have the most current software version at your command.

Several different alignment methods are built into the NexStar+ computer, allowing you to choose a level of computer accuracy in automatically finding objects with which you are comfortable. You can choose two-star align, quick align, one-star align, last alignment, or solar system align. Each of these computer-guided alignment methods is easily accomplished in only a few short minutes. You can be observing in less than 15 minutes after you first take your scope outdoors, including telescope assembly time.

In addition, the NexStar+ computer hand control is GPS-compatible (using an optional inexpensive SkySync GPS module) for full GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite accuracy. Adding GPS to the computer is something no competitive scope can do. With the Advanced VX Series go-to mount and the SkySync, orienting the scope in time and space on earth and aligning the scope on the sky becomes almost as easy as simply turning the scope on.

Adjustable height tripod: The tripod has 2" diameter steel legs with a center leg brace for rigidity, with excellent damping characteristics. The center leg brace is drilled to form a convenient accessory tray that holds 1.25" and 2" eyepiece to keep them up out of the dew-soaked grass. The tripod can be adjusted over a 44" to 64" height range.e.

Dual Saddle Plate: The Advanced VX mount has a Dual Dovetail slot that will accept any optical tube using a Losmandy or Vixen style dovetail plate. Dual large hand-tighten knob holds your optical tube in place safe and secure.

Third Party Dovetail Plates

Vixen

The Advanced VX continues to be compatible with Vixen format dovetail mounting plates. However, the plate must have a dovetail that is at least 100mm long because the improved AVX has its clamping knobs spaced 90mm apart.

If a user wants to use the AVX with an optical tube that has a Vixen dovetail of less than 100mm, (s)he will need to replace the mounting plate with one that has a longer dovetail, such as the Celestron #94213 Universal Mounting Plate, CG-5.

Losmandy

The improved AVX is not compatible with Losmandy D format dovetail mounting plates. The CGE and Losmandy D formats are similar, but not identical. Losmandy plates are a millimeter or so wider, while CGE plates allow more surface area contact with the dovetail clamp.

If a user wants to use the AVX with an optical tube that has a Losmandy D dovetail mounting plate, (s)he will need to replace the plate with a compatible dovetail plate, such as the Celestron #94214 CGE Universal Mounting Plate.

Two-year warranty: The Celestron Advanced VZ go-to mount has a two-year warranty, double that of most competitive go-to mounts.

Tech Details

Weight 46 lbs.
Warranty 2 years

Reviews

Review by:
It only takes a look around CloudyNights to show that the "Advanced" VX is one of the most unreliable, terrible mounts ever inflicted on amateur astronomers. It does keep local council waste collection men employed though, as they regularly collect them from the curbside after their unfortunate owner launches it. Try a HEQ5 with belt mod or better yet an AZ-EQ5 (which will also prevent you from getting noise pollution letters from your council...) if you are looking in this weight category but wish to forego the nervous breakdown.
(Posted on 7/27/2022)
Review by:
The AVX is my first EQ mount. I have only used it for visual, but it is rock steady when used with my C6, as well as, my 4 inch and smaller APO's. It is so steady, that I am confident it could easily handle larger telescopes for visual use. Goto's and tracking have been very acurate even when I am sloppy with my alignment. I have found it easy to use and reasonably portable. Great mount. Great value. (Posted on 10/31/2019)
Review by:
This is a good mount for the money with a decent payload. The only real issue I have is the RA motor is very stiff and not smooth making balancing a little more difficult. Overall though this is a solid mount for under $1000 dollars. (Posted on 10/23/2019)
Review by:
This is my general go-to mount, which is solidly built and performs well. The 30 lb payload, excluding counter-balance weights, is sufficient for my 8" SCT, Orion CT 80mm guidescope, CCD cameras, Celestron Autofocuser, and other astrophotography accessories. The gears for RA and DEC are stable and respond well to guide commands, thus allowing for excellent capture of deep space objects. The mount is considered to be entry level, but well worth the cost. Since I haven't tried other more expensive equatorial mounts I can't compare, at least not now.

Highly recommend checking for frequent updates from Celestron (search for Celestron Firmware Manager) for mount, handcontrol, autofocuser, starsense, etc. components. Check readme files for list of firmware fixes, etc. to determine if an issue you're experience may have been corrected. (Posted on 10/23/2019)
Review by:
I purchased this mount several years ago to replace the light eq mount that came with my Celestron 8” SCT. It has proven a sold economy level portable computerized equatorial mount. Like any such equipment there is a learning curve but the provided documentation did a good job of keeping that to a minimum. Over the years this mount has worked well without issues. It hss as s probes ideal for planetary work I like. Given my experience with planetary photography I feel it is a great portable mount to introduce astrophotography to your toolkit. It is a winning mix of cost and function. (Posted on 10/23/2019)
Review by:
When polar-aligned and 3-4 star alignment is done, my avx tracks pretty good, when it is not too windy. (Posted on 10/18/2019)
Review by:
when my avx is properly aligned and coordinates are spot-on, the mount will track within 1-3 arcminutes, as long as it is not too windy. Using wifi works well, also. (Posted on 10/18/2019)
Review by:
I have been using one of these mounts now since they first came out with an 8" SCT, guidescope, DSLR camera, etc and it has exceeded mt expectations. I use it mainly for AP and it works well for the level I am at with processing and such. Aside from a couple of software conflicts, it has been troublefree over the years. Celestron tech folks helped me through those conflicts. (Posted on 10/17/2019)
Review by:
I have had this mount now for 3 years and it has been very good for me. I have been using it to drive a David Levy Comet Hunter at ~ 15lbs, a 50 mm guide scope, red dot finder, star sense, and two ASI cameras a 120mm and the 294MC with cooler. I usually can guide with about .2 to .4 RMS average over the course of a couple of hours using PHD2. I keep the software updated and I keep it clean. I also built my own cart with pneumatic lockable wheels so I can roll it out of my garage onto my front side walk. Here is a picture of it at first light (on vibration pads)

https://www.facebook.com/razorads/posts/10217822784709318

I have no complaints at all with the mount, it has delivered on tracking, ease of use, and it operates in the heat or the very cold without issue. Great job Celestron on making a quality affordable mount.
(Posted on 10/14/2019)
Review by:
This is a decent budget friendly mount that can produce fairly good results. I use some pretty light equipment on it so I am never above the 50% payload mark for imaging. Overall my guiding error is between 1-1.4 arc seconds on most occasions which works fine for what I do.

My biggest complaint on the AVX is the tightness of the RA and DEC, it is almost impossible to tell if you are balanced because both axis' are really tight. (Posted on 10/4/2019)
Review by:
As covered in all of the other reviews, the AVX has a great price, carries a decent 30lb payload, and is well-suited for visual observing as well as astrophotography. My experience with this mount is over about 6 months on a 120mm refractor, unguided. I can easily achieve 90 second subs with a moderate amount of alignment fussing. With careful leveling and polar alignment, I've achieved 120 seconds. I should be able to get 150 second subs after buying the aftermarket level from Starizona.
This leads to my major beef with the AVX: the mount does NOT have a built-in level! When I move my setup anywhere, I must remove the OTA and mount to access the flat table of the tripod to have a level place to measure level! To be sure, this is not important if you want to do only visual observing. However, the unguided (but well-calibrated and polar-aligned) mount will drift more if it isn't level. This is a limiting factor for shooting exposures ... the better the mount's level, the better the tracking.
The AVX can be controlled by the adequate NexStar+ hand control, or even better, remotely. My mount came with Starry Night, but I use Stellarium open source. Celestron's new CPWI app can also be downloaded and used. Alternatively, the AVX can be guided by connecting through a dedicated port.
I had one other complaint with my mount soon after I started using it. Both of the slew lock levers were installed so they caught the mount housing as the telescope slewed, loosening the RA and DEC locks (at different times) and foiling my careful alignment. These were easy to fix--in daylight--by removing the retaining screw, adjusting the lever position, and replacing the screw. I've heard of at least one other person who had this issue, too. This was a silly failure from the manufacturer.
These gripes notwithstanding, I'd buy the AVX again. (Posted on 9/27/2019)
Review by:
I adore this mount. I jumped from a Celestron DX to the AVX and was very excited with how well it works out of the box. All Start Polar Alignment is perfect, and the light weight and portability of the scope are second to none. Get this mount. (Posted on 9/10/2019)
Review by:
I have a Meade LX200GPS 10" but the OTA/tripod/fork weigh over 90 lbs and are difficult to move around to set up.
I purchased the Celestron Advanced VX and have been using it with an 8" SCT and a 100mm refactor. It works great with these two scopes. The tripod and mount head weigh less that 20 pounds each and are easily carried to my viewing site. A rough auto alignment works well for visual observing. When Paired with Celestron's StarSense and alignment is easy, accurate and quick. The only negative I have is the striction between the mount and it's bearings.. The head does not swing freely so balancing is difficult and likely effects guiding accuracy required for astrophotography. Still I have been able to get 30 second exposures with my 8" SCT. Longer exposures require guiding and very accurate polar alignment. (Posted on 9/9/2019)
Review by:
Had an old Celestron GT mount (second hand) that was driving me crazy. Got this AVX and WOW! What a difference! Works great with Cartes du Ciel computer sky chart, too. I have mounted everything from just a DSLR camera to a Explore Scientific 127 AR scope. (Posted on 9/9/2019)
Review by:
This mount has been good for the last 2 years that I have owned it. As long as your weight is well balanced, it will handle an 8" newt. Granted it does much better with my 80ED. Use it for astrophotography mostly, and generally guides well, especially with less weight. (Posted on 9/9/2019)
Review by:
The AVX is a great mount considering the retail price. It has enough payload for any small scope and a surprising suite of features. I use it for AP and although I don't get good results every time, I am generally pleased. My mount is several years old and the newer production has some enhancements. I use autoguiding routinely but have only tried controlling the mount by computer a few times using Stellarium. I am getting 1.5" RMS guiding with an SSAG and 50mm guide scope. Of course a heavier more costly mount would be better, and I will upgrade one day. My biggest complaint with the mount is the Dec axis. It is stiff and hard to balance, and has lots of backlash in the gears. (Posted on 8/14/2019)
Review by:
I've had this AVX for a few years. It is a very capable mount for visual use. I've used small refractors, an 8" SCT and even gotten my 8" f/6 Newtonian on it and it held it. That was probably the limit for it, though.

Goto is spot on with a good polar and 3 star alignment.

All Star Polar Alignment works well.

I've used it for DSLR photography at 650mm focal length and have been pleased with the performance. However, I'm a beginner at AP so I'm not sure what I'm missing.

A very good value mount. (Posted on 7/29/2019)
Review by:
I bought this mount hoping for better tracking than I got with my CG5. While it is somewhat better, it is unreliable for all but the most basic short exposures. Even with a perfect polar alignment and PHD2 setup properly, it gives passable tracking at best. In hindsight, I wish I'd saved a little longer for an EQ6 or some other belt -driven mount. (Posted on 7/29/2019)
Review by:
This is simply the best GEM for under a thousand dollars. Celestron support has been great, and they repaired a problem with my AVX for no charge under warranty. It performs very well and once aligned (using 'precise goto') puts any object dead-center in the eyepiece. (Posted on 7/29/2019)
Review by:
This mount has been great for me. It carries my ES ED80 and DSLR with no problem. The operator is not quite good enough to offer and negative feedback yet. (Posted on 7/22/2019)
Review by:
I've been using the AVX for imaging for a few years now. The mount performs surprisingly well as long as you don't ask for too much from it. Great imaging mount for ~80mm refractors. If you can keep the image scale above 1.5" the results should be good. (Posted on 7/22/2019)
Review by:
I have had this mount now for a couple of years and find it to be better than the Advanced CG5, that I started with. adjustment knobs are bigger which is a plus when wearing gloves 6 plus months of the year when adjusting the mount. Very pleased with how it tracks and how it works when being guided. I also like that it isn't heavy as I have to setup and breakdown every session. (Posted on 1/13/2019)
Review by:
I bought this mount as my first astrophotography mount and it has done well. I was close to going with Ioptron but all my Astronomy buds bought this one so I went with this mainly for support group reasons. I have seen some rather phenomenal images taken with this mount and have heard little to no complaints. I use this personally with my 8in Celestron SCT and Astrotech 120 refractor. I have gotten some decent images of Andromeda with it and am now working on getting Orion before doing some more challenging work.

Would recommend this mount to anyone starting out with Astrophotography. (Posted on 1/7/2019)
Review by:
This is a great beginning mount for astrophotography! Very solid and works great with my Skywatcher 80ED. (If you have a heavy scope, you will need a bigger mount than the AVX). I have owned this mount for over a year now and it has exceeded my expectations and I highly recommend it! (Posted on 1/5/2019)
Review by:
Best computerized mount for the price and lots of 3rd party accs. It is somewhat portable if you are in shape. My only regret is that I went over the capacity with my TAK FSQ106 and IFI ONAG (with two cameras) for AP work so be careful about capacity if you are into AP. (Posted on 1/4/2019)
Review by:
I have used an AVX for Visual and AP applications. I am primarily focused on AP. It has excellent tracking and images are pinpoint sharp with a small scope that doesn't push the rated 30lb capacity. For scopes up to 15 lbs or less (not including accessories), this mount is an excellent choice for AP use. For visual you can load the scope to its rated 30lbs with ease and for AP i would recommend keeping it to 75% capacity as an absolute maximum. Best Images ever of M45 with a 80mm ES triplet. Highly recommended. (Posted on 1/3/2019)
Review by:
Purchased to mount a small ETX90 as the ETX90 clock drive had failed...so much more solid than anything else I've used...now getting extra dovetails so I can mount my 2045 (4" schmidt) and 2020 (10" schmidt)...also thinking of getting a dual plate so I can put a camera and one of the smaller scopes on at the same time...solid construction...still waiting for "first light" but one comment...if you use small scopes but need the counter weight, be careful how close you put it to the base, as it may catch and cause the mount to stop while slewing... (Posted on 12/31/2018)
Review by:
I am getting back into Astronomy after several years away. Had dobs and Alt-Az SCT's in the past, and had never owned a GEM. There is a small learning curve, but no lack of material online & youtube. This thing is built like a tank and you won't want to try and carry/move it with scope and counterweight mounted... it's heavy enough without them. I got a free polar alignment scope and soft case for the mount (not tripod). Being older than I was the last time I was active in Astronomy (late 90's) I don't find contorting myself to peer through the alignment scope all that fun. Why hasn't someone come up with a right angle finder scope? But, that said, with a solid alignment I have had great success with the goto and tracking. It would be nice if they provided a better dovetail clamping system vs the 2 screws to mar and make divots on your scope dovetail, but they do hold it well. You can upgrade to an aftermarket clamping mechanism that won't mar but it's pricey. I bought mine on Black Friday and got a decent sale price as well as the mount case and polar scope thrown in so it was a good deal. I am happy after several uses of it and would buy it again. (Posted on 12/29/2018)
Review by:
This is a great mount for visual. I haven't used it for AP, so it might be a little undersized. I bought it used and the guy I bought it from tried to power it with 2 amp Celestron power supply that said it was for this mount, but it burnt the dec motor up. I replaced the motor and got the 5 amp power supply and everything has been fine since. (Posted on 12/29/2018)
Review by:
I liked my first AVX enough that I purchased a second one from Astronmics for traveling with my WO GTF81. I've since purchased a second OTA (Celestron 8SE) so that I can have two scopes out at the same time - one for imaging and one for observing on the AVXs.

Getting the AC/DC power adapter is a must. The Lithium Powertank works quite well with it in the field, allowing for a full night of observing.

The newer AVX has some improved electronics over my first one from 2014, but it still goes strong. @Richard mentioned that movement is pretty stiff, and I observed this with my newer mount as opposed to the older one. I don't think it is an age issue though. I think Celestron has put some thicker grease in it now. However, it doesn't seem to have affected my imaging. (Posted on 12/27/2018)
Review by:
I wasn't planning on using the AVX for astrophotography when I bought it. I was pleased that when I got hooked on taking photos, the mount was up to the task even when used with my longer focal length 6" Maksutov. The All Star Polar Alignment software works well with the mount to get very close to polar alignment. Combine this with the built in periodic error correction and some fine tuning using manual drift alignment and you can easily get 1 to 2 minute exposures with fairly round stars. The mount also works great with auto guiding. My only reserves are the sticky RA and Dec axes that make it a bit difficult to judge proper balance. However, the performance hasn't really been affected so it is a minor issue. In summary, this is a great mount at a very competitive price point that in combination with a scope that is within its weight capacity will allow anyone to delve into both visual observation and astrophotography. (Posted on 12/23/2018)
Review by:
Im a newbie to AP, but just bought this mount. Looking for a scope and the rest of my equipment. Looking forward to the results. (Posted on 12/23/2018)
Review by:
The AVX is a solid, capable mount with a great GoTo. Coming from a Celestron SE mount (which works pretty well at locating and tracking), I was surprised to set up the AVX for the first time (and not level or align it as well as I would my manual GEM), go through a two-star align, and then punch in a star on the other side of the sky and have have it put dead center in a 17mm Plossl. With a 30lb capacity, it's been able to hold every scope I've put on it and stay rock steady. (Posted on 12/23/2018)
Review by:
I purchased this mount to support an Astrotech AT115EDT for AP. I spent much time trying to balance price, portability, and capacity, but finally after consulting with the good folks at Astronomics purchased this over more expensive and much heavier mounts. I have been pleasantly surprised, as it is more than adequate to support the scope and DSLR, and is well supported by software such as PHD2. I still suspect I will upgrade at some point, but this mount provides a good and relatively inexpensive option while I work my way up the learning curve. (Posted on 12/23/2018)
Review by:
I've had this mount for a few months now as I recently got into Astrophotography. I got this mount due to the fact that I was on a budget and due to the fact that I cannot see the star Polaris due to the fact that my big tree in my front yard is blocking it, and I wanted to have a perfect polar alignment for long exposures on Deep Sky Objects. I always use my nikon D5300 unmodified Camera when imaging with this Mount and the telescope I use is the ASTRO-TECH AT72EDII REFRACTOR OTA FPL-53 F/6. This is a great telescope for this mount because it is very lightweight and it has a low focal length which is best for imaging. If you are planning to put a big telescope on this mount that has a large focal length and is trying to do DSO AP, I would say forget it because it is almost near impossible unless imaging planets. This is designed for small lightweight telescopes for imaging and visual use and not "big" ones at least for imaging. Visual is a different story. The All-Star Polar Alignment is extremely helpful as well if you have a hard time with polar alignment. (Posted on 12/20/2018)
Review by:
Incredible for its price. Does everything I need it to do for AP. Sturdy, well built for my dslr+lens setup. You may read about issues this mount has on the interwebs but I have not experienced any of them. This mount was a one stop shop for me. (Posted on 12/12/2018)
Review by:
This is my fourth year using the AVX for astrophotography. Portable and easy to set up and polar align in the field. A polar alignment scope isn't necessary for this mount; the built-in polar alignment routine works well enough for short subs and is accurate enough for a good start for drift alignment. Easy to interface with autoguiding programs using the Celestron ASCOM driver. Mine had lots of declination backlash but was able to reduce backlash with a simple gear adjustment. (Posted on 12/10/2018)
Review by:
I owned an AVX mount for about a year and wouldn't you know it but right off the bat, out of the box, it worked just fine without one single issue and has ever since. A friend liked mine so much he bought a used one after we cleared all the last person's data it worked wonderfully. He agrees with me that a GPS is a necessary add-on. He's been using his for AP ever since. He doesn't have any kind of a view of Polaris either. He says he uses ASPA and auto-guiding; it works for him, anyway. I like my AVX so much I bought it a gift of a StarSense Auto-Align. Makes a good experience even better. (Posted on 12/8/2018)
Review by:
Been very happy with this mount. I use the accessory polar finderscope followed up with a 2 star alignment using 4 calibration stars and the pointing accuracy and tracking (unguided) have been repeatable and steady. My load for the mount is usually about 12-14 pounds which the mount handles effortlessly. I deducted 1 star from my rating because the polar finderscope is not included and the mount is a bit difficult to balance due to not turning quite as freely as other mounts I’ve seen. (Posted on 11/26/2018)
Review by:
This is my first equatorial mount and it took my astrophotography to a whole new level. For being a budget mount I have been amazed it what it is capable of. When I first got it I was still using an 8 inch reflector that was pushing the maximum payload capacity but it still produced some excellent pictures when it wasnt windy. Now that I have an ED102CF it is a beautiful thing to look at and operate. With autoguiding I have taken very steady 10 minute exposures when balanced properly. A lot of bang for the buck. (Posted on 11/20/2018)
Review by:
I just wanted to update my previous review based on recent experience. As I have improved my skills in this hobby I have to admit that I am more impressed with this mount that I was initially. I just imaged M27 with 5 minute subs and was very happy with the results. Using Maxim 5 and a guide scope the RMS was 0.15 on RA and 0.3 on DEC. Round stars! I think I could have easily have gone for exposures twice as long but I was being conservative since it was a work night and I didn't want to waste any shots.

The weight is very reasonable. Even with a scope mounted it is fairly portable. Not a lightweight by any means but most people won't need to do more that remove the scope and reinstall it making setup quick.

I am raising my rating of this mount to 5 stars. I feel that at this price, you can't go wrong. Are there better mounts out there at this price? I don't know but I can say that whether you do pure visual or guided photography, as long as you stay within the weight limits you will be very happy with this mount. (Posted on 11/1/2018)
Review by:
It was my 1st mount of any kind and it has served me fine. I used it with the Starsense which has it's own HC but still quite similar to the original but he mount worked fine for my 6" RC loaded with Moonlite stepper SS and finder. Quite amazed at the capabilities of a $900 mount to do 15min subs"guided" and most of the lost subs were from flyby traffic.
A good and tough beast for a reasonable price. (Posted on 10/19/2018)
Review by:
When I bought this mount during my first testing I found the Dec axis to be very stiff. I contacted Celestron support and after several conversations they asked me to send it back. They repaired and returned it and I have been happy with it since. I have used this mount for some deep sky photography but would not recommend anything longer than a couple of minutes even with guiding, although that my be just due to my lack of skill. I now use it mainly with a 127mm F8 refractor for visual observing and some planetary photography. Overall I would recommend it, but wait for a sale. (Posted on 10/18/2018)
Review by:
I like the Celestron hand control and mount software which is very user friendly and full featured and the ASPA polar align works nicely. The mount tripod is tall and sturdy. I do not like the lower capacity or auto-guiding performance as well as my iOptron CEM60-EC. Celestron uses gear reduction drive motors that make it impossible to remove enough backlash in my estimation. The iOptron CEM60 does not use a gear reduction motor but is direct drive although there is a belt drive off the motor. Way less backlash which helps a great deal for auto-guiding especially on the DEC. (Posted on 10/16/2018)
Review by:
Good value, for a solid tracking mount, but where you save on costs, be prepared to pay on time and effort. Getting this scope polar aligned can be quite a task since you'll be bringing your own level and reticule eyepieces to it, and it's time consuming. If money were no object I'd have gotten something with more user friendly features, but this is pretty good if you're a broke astrophotographer like myself. (Posted on 10/16/2018)
Review by:
Bought my AVX about a year and half ago. Am very pleased with it. I have it mounted on a concrete pier in my backyard, with a C-8, and accompanying accessories, and it is rock solid tracking. I am still in the early stages of learning AP, and having a mount that provides great tracking is essential. AP is a daunting enough task without having to worry about your mount not doing it's job, and the AVX is doing exactly what I need... I expect I will move up in time, but until that happens, the AVX is the mount I depend on. (Posted on 10/16/2018)
Review by:
I have had several different Go-To mounts in the past 12 years, I have to say for this class size mount, nothing else I previously owned comes close to this one. Very well made, handles my loads well even when I don't get them balanced very good, I have put everything between a AT72ED Refractor to a Celestron 9.25 SC. (Posted on 10/15/2018)
Review by:
This is my primary mount. I'm a big guy, so I can easily keep it assembled in my garage and lift the whole thing, scope and all and take it into my yard, maybe 70 pounds total weight (could be more or less, I'm awful at accurately gauging weight) with scope and accessories. I use the 5-amp DC adapter that celestron makes, for about 60 bucks to power the scope so I don't have to worry about battery power. It came with a cigarette-lighter adapter for use with a power tank battery or a car.

The polar alignment cover and cap are awful. The little plastic cap will not say in place, it will fall out, and you will either lose it, or accidentally break it. ADM make all metal replacements, in bright orange color that will no break and are hard to lose, get these. Also, if you plan on using it for astrophotography, get the polar alignment scope while you're at it because this does not come standard with a polar alignment scope.

It does not have a bubble level on the tripod or mount! That was a stupid mistake on celestron's part in my opinion, but Starizona makes a bubble level specifically for the AVX that you can stick on to a flat spot on the front of the mount to remedy this problem.

To transport, I recommend you get one of the soft-cases offered by a couple different manufacturers or run the risk of dropping, loosing or breaking parts or having them scattered in your vehicle.

All-in-all, I spent about $900 for the mount and tripod, and about another $250 in accessories to make it more usable, $1150 to $1200 total. Keep that in mind when purchasing. (Posted on 10/14/2018)
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This was my first real big AP purchase. My wife had gotten me a low end Celestron setup for Christmas a few years ago. While it was a good learning tool I just couldn't do the AP exposures that I wanted. With the AVX that all changed! It's easy to set up and its capabilities are perfect for the LP in LA. (Posted on 10/10/2018)
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I purchased this mount to begin exploring Astro photography. For the first few years I struggled with accurate tracking even guided off-axis and with a guide scope. I was ready to sell it just due to this reason and decided to take it apart first to see if there was something wrong with the setup. There was. The RA worm gear was so tight it took all I had to barely turn it. The motor was struggling but I had now idea that was going on. I set the backlash on RA axis and adjusted out the side to side play on Dec and now my guided tracking is outstanding. Im getting excellent 6 minute subs using a guide scope on a 8" Celestron Evolution. My suggestion is to pay to have it professionally tuned. (Posted on 10/7/2018)
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I've been the lucky owner of this mount since 2013. I bought it along with a Celestron C8 Schmidt- Cassegrain tube. I use this mount for outreach and do so at least 70 times a year on average. It has travelled to many places including national parks dark skies festivals and last year's Great Eclipse. It has never let me down, except one time that I fired it up and it wouldn't boot. But a quick reload of the firmware took care of it. I have used it for astro imaging and am really happy with it performance. I have even used it with a dual saddle and load it with a Lunt Lst 80 and a WO Megrez 90mm(with a Cal K filter) telescopes for solar viewing, and it performs flawlessly. My mount have taken quite a beating but still going strong after 5 years of use and seems to be up for a few more. I do believe, you would be making a wise choice if this is what your budget calls for. Good luck!!! (Posted on 10/6/2018)
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I bought this mount several years to do astrophotography and spectroscopy. It worked very well. The software makes polar alignment very easy. The internal database on the hand control is huge and I have had no trouble finding the objects I want. I have an Astro Tech 3” f/6 and a GSO 6” RC attached to the mount. Tracking has been good. I have taken lots of great photos and spectra. (Posted on 10/6/2018)
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I have been observing off and on for many years and decided to try astrophotography by upgrading my Celestar 8 (a push-to classic scope) to a go-to mount. With the wealth of information found on the internet and forums, and a budget to keep with, the Celestron AVX seemed to fit not only my urban requirements - but a mount easily transported. Before buying, I tracked down the user manual and spent time reviewing it. The instructions were rather clear and a hidden theme was "patience" when setting up and aligning the scope. I re-read the instructions several times. I placed my order and upon delivery I spent time indoors setting up the tripod and familiarizing myself with each component. The mount is machined well and heavy - good for stability. In the interim my dovetail arrived and the Celestar attached. It turned out that I needed an extra weight (which I had on hand) to balance the scope. Of course the clouds came in, but that gave me the opportunity to dry run the scope (hand controller and laptop connection) in doors. The hand held controller is intuitive to use. I have yet to use the scope outdoors, but with the other reviews I do not think I will be disappointed. In retrospect for a $100 more - I should have considered the mount with the 6" reflector. Would have been nice to have the extra scope. (Posted on 8/4/2017)
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This is my first astrophotography mount. I decided to buy the VX over the discounted CG-5 because of the improvements I have read about. I have NOT been disappointed.

Starting with a 430mm focal length small refractor (72mm aperture), unguided tracking has been very good. At 30 seconds I can get repeatable results and have been able to get up to 2 minutes without tracking errors although not very repeatable at that duration.

I even put my 8 inch Dob tube with 1200mm focal length on it and was able to take 60 25 second shots and only had to reject 6 of them for slight tracking errors.

The alignment process took a bit to learn, but now is second nature to me. The all star polar alignment is a great feature that gets an accurate polar alignment without using Polaris.

The mount comes with a cigarette style 12 volt DC adapter cable that screws into the mount which is a great feature that prevents the mount from rebooting in the middle of a session. I use a 12 volt DC car jumper battery pack to power the mount and have not had any power issues with it.

I am new to astrophotography so there are a lot of features on this mount that I have not used yet. I just purchased autoguiding equipment and look forward to taking longer exposures with it. (Posted on 8/4/2017)
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Finally, an inexpensive GEM that can actually do astroimaging. I've been deep sky imaging for about 5 years, and started with a CG-5. Never could tame that beast to get decent guiding. Now I do most of my imaging on an original (non-DX) CGEM with pretty good results. But that is only after a hypertune and steep learning curve. Got the AVX to use as a more portable setup, and I'm really glad I did.

First of all, this mount is very stable. It appears to use the same tripod from the original CGEM (non-DX) with the 2" legs. While it may have been marginal for the payload of the CGEM, it makes a very stable platform for the AVX. Vibrations quickly dampen, and you can actually focus the scope by hand without causing the image to move all over the eyepiece or CCD. Of course, for imaging, I don't extend the legs, so I can't speak to stability with the legs extended.

As for astroimaging, with good polar alignment, I have been able to achieve excellent guiding with both an AT65EDQ (SBIG ST8300M/Lodestar OAG configuration), and an AT6RC (same camera/autoguider). Of course, more payload and focal length will challenge this mount, but for these configurations, it works surprisingly well.

Fit and finish is very nice, and although the mount features plastic housings on a metal casing, it is well done. It doesn't feel like the plastic housings that were hung like ornaments on the CG-5. This is much nicer.

The goto is the venerable Nextstar+ controller, and once well aligned, is very repeatable. The polar axis alignment routine works well, and is essential for obtaining good guiding (although I haven't tried guiding without a good polar alignment, my guess is that DEC guiding will be much better than in the CGEM).

As much as I like this mount, I want to give a fair review, and there are a couple of cons. First, the telescope saddle features two large bolts that, while holding the telescope very tightly, will dig in and gouge the mounting rail of your telescope. While some may not care about such things, I do. ADM accessories has a non-marring saddle available for the AVX that works great. I recommend it.

My second con involves the stiffness of free rotation around RA and DEC when balancing. Much has been written about how important a good balance is to obtaining quality guiding and imaging, yet Celeston still seems to pack its mounts with mashed potatoes. No solution here yet, but I'm sure a hypertune is on the way and in my mount's future.

So, even though this mount isn't perfect, it is so much mount for such little money, that I rate it Great. (Posted on 8/4/2017)
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I have had this mount for a couple of months now, and after the first month where the skies were cloudy every night, due to standard astro equipment upgrade protocol,I have finally had a few goes with it. This was my first goto mount so it took sometime to get oriented with all of the allignment process and such but I feel very comfortable with the process now. The main reason why I got this scope is AP. The amount of features that are built into this scope with ap in mind is amazing. It may take me a full year before I truly understand and can utilize all the options. This mount was designed for people who understand all of the minute challenges that ap presents.

I was looking for a reasonably priced mount that I could use distinctively for ap and this is hands down the best mount for the price. The max payload is somewhere around 30lbs according to the specifications, and I am running just under that. I have a 9.25 sct with a canon dslr, and my mount has two dovetails. If I add the barlow and the finder I am probably at 27 to 28lbs. The mount handles it with very little signs of stress. The only times I have felt bad for the mount is when I changed out my attachments without adjusting the dovetail positioning (which is certainly not something I try to do), but the mount still held its positioning well.

I still have a lot to learn about the mount, but it feels and looks heavy duty. If someone took my mount away from me and handed me $1500.00 I would buy the advanced VX all over again and keep the remainder. Have not replenished my bank account enough to buy the autoguider, so I cannot give any statistical analysis. Looking forward to that day though. (Posted on 8/4/2017)
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