Celestron AVX review!

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Күн бұрын

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@chrisknight2448 3 ай бұрын

The AVX was my first mount and I admit I had problems at first. Mine is very capable of great guiding. It wasn't always the case though. I now use a mini PC with CPWI, N.I.N.A., and the star sense auto guider. With that setup I get just as good of guiding as my EQ6r pro. Main thing I've found is don't overload it. Mine came with an 8" Newtonian that, in my opinion, was way to heavy for photography, even though it was marketed as such. With my Redcat 71/QHY183 setup it does great at 5min exposures. One issue I still have is you have to remember the combination to plug in and turn on everything or CPWI will give you issues connecting to it. I wasted quite a bit of time to figure that out...........

@DSOImager 3 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing your experiences. A redcat 71 is pretty much perfect for the AVX. :)

@KJRitch 10 ай бұрын

I’m a beginner and purchased a C8 with AVX bundle on sale last June. Now I want to try some imaging so I purchased an ASIAir Plus. I’ve been having Go To issues with ASIAir but don’t know if it’s due to AVX but have a new start up procedure I’m testing. First night with this procedure was successful but need more sessions to verify. ASIAir has been more of a problem than the AVX. Next step is to add guiding and I’m going to use a Celestron OAG and ASI174MM Mini. I’ve only got a Nikon D5100 for DSO, but purchased a ASI585MC for planets but I’ve taken a few shots with it objects like M27, M33. I’ll stick with the AVX until I out grow it and it proves unable to handle more complex projects. I’m retired so I’ve got the time to tinker. Thanks for the review.

@DSOImager 10 ай бұрын

Thanks for your comments. Good luck with your imaging. The 585MC should do really well on deep sky objects. CS!

@KJRitch 9 ай бұрын

Just started using a Celestron OAG. The guiding now allows me to use longer exposures. I've tested up to 5 minutes and the stars appear round. Practicing on Horsehead Nebula without any filters yet. Unfortunately, the ASIAir Plus 256 I'm using gives me mount disconnects whenever I'm guiding and imaging. I can't even go an hour. Working with ZWO.

@DSOImager 9 ай бұрын

@@KJRitch Good deal on the OAG. The celestron OAG I hear is one of the better ones too. Hopefully ZWO can help with the mount disconnects, that's got to be frustrating.

@kushanvyas7728 5 ай бұрын

I have celestron 8se with Avx mount with zwo 585 planet camera. [ WITH STOCK REDDOT FINDER ] My question is if i buy Zwo asiair mini then is it compulsory to buy zwo eaf and guiding scope or camera for viewing Dso.

@DSOImager 5 ай бұрын

I don't own an asi air, but my understanding is that it only works with zwo gear (except for mounts and dslr cameras)

@IntProtocol Ай бұрын

...I was considering the AVX mount and this is EXACTLY the info I needed...Thank you very much.

@DSOImager Ай бұрын

@@IntProtocol you're welcome.

@davidstearn1342 9 ай бұрын

I bought my AVX as a package with the C8 in December of 2022 along with the Hyperstar 8, 533MC Pro and the ASIair Plus and EAF. Back then the AM5 was making its debut. So far I have been pleased with the AVX. I just started guiding with the Askar guide scope and ASI 174 mm. My guiding has improved and I find that if I have a good Polar alignment and the rig is balanced that the guiding is more consistent although I have noticed that the RMS is not consistent. My next step is to move the image train to the back with an OAG and SCT reducer. Once I master that I will look at upgrading my mount to an AM5 or 3. I figure that when ZWO comes with revised models of the AM series the AM3 and AM5 will go down in price.

@DSOImager 9 ай бұрын

Good to hear that it's been working for you. Running an OAG should help. CS!

@drandrewclarke 8 ай бұрын

I gave up on mine. Keeping it for planetary and moon but bought AM5. After 2 dismantles and addition of an extra bearing (see Jason Burn's excellent video AVX build tutorial) still poor guiding. On the plus side I am now more than comfortable with the ins and outs of guiding thanks to much reading and adjusting every setting on ASIair for the AVX. The AM5 just does it and when time is precious with few opportunities for imaging I feel it was worth the expense.

@DSOImager 8 ай бұрын

Grats on the AM5. An excellent upgrade :)

@ianhagan7656 10 ай бұрын

Hi James, I am so pleased to see this post. As I watched it I thought am I seeing myself here? I took up the hobby about 3 years ago and the AVX was the first EQ mount I purchased along with a Sharpstar 76EDPH scope and have had exactly the same experience as you and basically arrived at the same conclusions as you do, for the same reasons. I now use an AM5 and ASIAIR Plus for deep sky imaging (2 actually). I am keeping the AVX for Lunar and planetary Congratulations on a very thoughtful contribution

@DSOImager 10 ай бұрын

Thanks Ian. I think this video is going to be validating for a lot of AVX astrophotographers.

@stresspro4085 10 ай бұрын

Got mine in 2014. Had multiple issues and sent to Celestron three times. One of the most frustrating pieces of equipment I have ever owned. Threw it in a closet and replaced it with an EQ6R-Pro and added a ZWO AM5. This was the best move I ever made.

@DSOImager 10 ай бұрын

Ugh.. being sent in 3 times.. what a pain. Glad you got up and running with the eq6 and now the am5. CS!

@lookbackintime 10 ай бұрын

In total agreement. A lot of hair pulling with this one. I almost quit the hobby a few times because of it. The EQ6R has been terrific.

@DSOImager 10 ай бұрын

Glad you stuck with it and picked up the eq6!

@williamswayne8090 10 ай бұрын

Thanks for the post I really appreciate the verification of what I have experienced. My AVX has been okay but I agree that it is subject to odd wanderings once and a while. It does take a long time to recover from dithers and at least 15 minutes after a Meridian Flip. All that said I love it, I have learned a ton using it and I gotten some very good results in spite of it's quirks. I am ready to spend some more $$$ on a better mount to host my C8 and my AT72EDII will continue to ride on the AVX.

@DSOImager 10 ай бұрын

Thank you for your comments. Sounds like a good plan to get something a bit beefier for the c8 and continue to run with the at 72 on the avx.

@dumpydalekobservatory 10 ай бұрын

Interesting review James I gave away an AVX & the new owner tinkered with it for hours but never managed to get it to work properly, the handset control setting up & used for visual it's a great mount but other than that for astrophotography it was poor. The old CGE pro I have in the observatory was Celestron's flagship mount & while mechanically it's pretty good the electronics have always failed on these. Mine was dead when I got it with the RASA & I nearly threw it as it just got in the way but after fitting the ONstep kit it's totally transformed the mount. Although if I could have afforded an EQ8 that would be in the observatory.

@DSOImager 10 ай бұрын

Thanks Tich! Celestron just doesn't seem to have a solid mount available for astrophotography. It feels like astrophotography was tacked on as an after thought. The whole mount line up seems focused on visual. It's surprising given the astrophotography focused scopes (Edge/Rasa)they have.

@dumpydalekobservatory 10 ай бұрын

I agree James for some reason Celestron use servo motors on the CGE & probably all their mounts which aren't the most reliable, the onstep kit I have on it now uses stepper motors which a far more superior in my opinion.

@actudoran 10 ай бұрын

yup my AS-GT does all of that ... sometimes resetting is the only option I found that after a consistent tune-up it became flawless for about a quarter of the sky... I'm consistently getting 0.4 RMS for about three hours with 0.5 secs guiding which is why I haven't sold it yet... and I'm using that quarter of the sky (no obstructions ) I have my C11 up on it at the moment for planetary work and it handles it ok ... as far as using a C11 on it for long exposure... not without a further 2k investment in the hyperstar... oh ... focusing the C11 is frustrating on the AS-GT mount... every 3-4 minutes it does go into a spike but I only take 60-90 secs exposures ... Bortle 8-9 here ... 17.9 sqm my 115/800 triplet likes it ... my Samyang 135 loves it I have no choice but to like it for now 😂 ... I'd rather have the AM5 too 😅

@DSOImager 10 ай бұрын

What steps have you taken to tune yours up?

@actudoran 10 ай бұрын

@@DSOImagercomplete tear down... remove the cogs and clean/polish, the bearings were good... regrease with lithium grease ... put together... tighten the contact points as much as possible ... then bang it with a hammer 😂😂😂 took me a while... no proper KZbin videos about it... and very generic docs on AS-GT... it's a bit different from the avx ... I consider it to be a touch superior but with buggy electronics ... at times it switches up and down commands so ... reset ... other times it doesn't connect ... got to search for background processes to see if it is open already and hangs ... oh ... I do a phd2 calibration almost every time I use it...

@DSOImager 10 ай бұрын

@@actudoran Cool, thanks for sharing. I am thinking about regreasing and tightening mine.

@MrDirtyRod 10 ай бұрын

My AVX lasted about 5 months and then lost a DEC motor. Replaced with a CGEM II which was a bit better and now an AM5 for my small rig and a CGX-L for my C8. Like you said it just fades away and just works.

@DSOImager 10 ай бұрын

Good to hear the mounts are working. One less thing to distract :)

@dacio144 4 ай бұрын

Tysm, you’ve saved months of frustration, was about to get one!

@DSOImager 4 ай бұрын

You're welcome.

@SimonsAstro 10 ай бұрын

Good honest review James! Still some decent images there! As you said, my HEQ5 is consistant and no trouble! And as you also know, the EQ6 is very good, staright out of the box, ive been getting 0.3 - 0.4 guiding! This mount may be better for visual, although I'm sure some have had good results! Clear skies!

@DSOImager 10 ай бұрын

Thanks Simon! Yea.. both EQ6's have been solid. Very happy with them :)

@drandrewclarke 9 ай бұрын

thanks for this. I am just setting out in astrophotography and I'm still in two minds. It is very frustrating I agree but then it has forced me to make the effort to spend hours on the internet and reading learning how to hopefully rectify it's shortcomings. Clear nights are few and far between here so I do forget some of what I've learned or my enthusiasm wanes between opportunities. At the moment I am still at the stage of trying different settings (I use ASIair rather than PHD2) and just recently learnt that AVX requires short exposure times for guiding. Although I promised myself and my wife I wasn't going to continue to throw money at the problem (ie buy an AM3) if I am happy I can do no more tinkering with the mount (already dismantled, re greased and adjusted gears) then I just might.

@DSOImager 9 ай бұрын

Thank you for the comments. Good luck!

@anata5127 10 ай бұрын

My first mount. Actually, my first Astro equipment. I sold every originally bought equipment, but not this one. I totally changed mechanics of mount as Jason Burns showed in KZbin video. It cannot compete with my current mount (10 um), but it blown away IOptron CEM70 and EQ5, which are long gone. Bottom line, superb mount if properly tuned.

@DSOImager 10 ай бұрын

Good to hear that you got yours dialed in. Just a shame that it takes that kind of work to get consistent results.

@anata5127 10 ай бұрын

@@DSOImager Yeah, I spent several days to make it right. Asked a lot of questions to Jason. It still has inconsistency when guiding southern target. However, I averaged 0.7” consistently, if no wind >10 mph. Interesting events happened about software. It was behaving as you described and additionally, it didn’t want to park scope. Eventually, I called to Celestron with complaint. Technical support person sent me some version of CIPW that fixed everything. Amazingly, main site of Celestron still doesn’t have this version, despite more than 1 year past. Moreover, besides software problem, it is clear where is problem. Problems are in bearings and lubrication. It doesn’t cost a lot to fix it. I just wonder why they don’t. It really cost nothing. I understand that bearings are USA made, but still.

@LogansAstro 10 ай бұрын

It’s a shame that’s the mount has had so many frustrations, but despite those, you have managed to produce some stunning images with it. It’s a good review video for anyone contemplating buying that mount for astrophotography.

@DSOImager 10 ай бұрын

Thanks Logan! This review was long over due. Hopefully it helps some people before Christmas.

@goldfish31ful 10 ай бұрын

great mount for the price! I bought mine in 2015 and still have and use it. Learned how to do a little maintanence on it and works just as good as it did when I bought it and maybe a little better.

@DSOImager 10 ай бұрын

Good to hear that it's been working out for you over these past 8 years :) What maintenance have you done to it?

@goldfish31ful 10 ай бұрын

@@DSOImager I've taken the DEC axis apart and regreased the ring and worm gear, adjusted the little spur gears.

@goldfish31ful 10 ай бұрын

@@DSOImager I also had the shaft of the DEC motor which turns the spur gear come loose so had to take the DEC motor apart and reposition the little gears cogs in it so the shaft would tighten up.

@davidstearn1342 10 ай бұрын

I use the AVX with the C8, Hyperstar 8v4, ASIair Plus, ZWO EAF, Askar Guide Scope, ZWO 174 mm guide cam and 533 MC Pro. I have been getting very good results and as long as my rig is balanced and my polar alignment is good so is my guiding. Wind is my biggest challenge but I think using the ASIair makes things a lot easier.

@DSOImager 10 ай бұрын

@@davidstearn1342 Good to hear that it's working for you. :)

@ronlundgren4391 10 ай бұрын

I’ve had a CGX for about three years now and have had the same experience of inconsistent guiding. I wish I would have went with an EQ6. I will be replacing it eventually.

@DSOImager 10 ай бұрын

That has got to be frustrating. Everyone that I know who had a CGX eventually runs into inconsistent guiding. It's a shame.

@John_Hudson_922 10 ай бұрын

I got mine 4-5 years ago, and being my first and only mount so far, its been a frustrating experience. I am looking forward to having a new mount one day because the AVX just feels like a very dated and compromised product. A good intro...maybe an intro into doing things the hard way so we appreciate the better mounts? The main question I have is, do i sell it, or keep it for planetary or something

@DSOImager 10 ай бұрын

I'm keeping mine for visual only.

@victortapia-montano8114 3 ай бұрын

I have a totally different experience and do not agree with your conclussions. I have an AVX that I purchased last year (2023). I have an Edge HD 8 mounted on it. I use a HyperStar, an ASI183MM'pro with a filter drawer, an ASAIR Plus 256 GB, an ASI220mm guide camera, the Celestton GPS SkyAlign, along with the PLL Alto and Giotto, and the StarSense. I have had no issues with it tracking. It does a maervelous job. I ran into some of the issues you mentioned, and it was the ASAIR Plus. The problem was that whenever I entered into the ASAIR from my tablet, it was getting the wrong location coordinates, even when I manually entered the correct ones before connecting. Now I enteer frm my phone, which has the right coordinates, and since, it works beautifully and at the end, it parks my mount at the home position. There is a video from Astrobender on the process to get it right with ASAIR, and he is gott it right. When I use it with the Eagle5 and using NINA and CPI, I use the StarSense Autoguider and have zero issues. It guides and moves smoothly. I take exposures anywhere from 30 to 120 seconds long, depending on the target, and rarely have to discard shots (most of the time, it is because shooting stars or the police chopper just getting in the way). Lastly, you can set RA limits in the mount via the hand controller or via CPWI.

@DSOImager 3 ай бұрын

Good to hear that your AVX is working for you. Running hyperstar and keeping the subs short certainly helps. Also good to hear about the mount limits. Does it hold those values after being powered off and unplugged or do they need to be entered everytime at start up? I imagine CPWI would hold on to it. I do stand by my conclusions. We can agree to disagree :) Clear skies!

@JoshuaMancilla-z8q 8 ай бұрын

I can get 10 minute exposures with the AVX and an 80mm refractor with no real issues using the ASIair plus. Such an easy mount to use!

@DSOImager 8 ай бұрын

Good to hear! I have gotten 10 mins subs with my avx as well.. just not consistently enough.

@JoshuaMancilla-z8q 8 ай бұрын

@@DSOImager How long are you able to get decent exposures on the 8"? I have the nextstar 8se OTA but that hasn't always been the best for me

@DSOImager 8 ай бұрын

@@JoshuaMancilla-z8q I have not run my 8" on the AVX. Only on the EQ6. I will run 10 mins subs for narrowband and generally don't have a problem as long as seeing conditions are decent and the wind is less than 8 mph.

@cpdudeyt 10 ай бұрын

I dont know why this mount is being Mostly hated in the comments. I havent used it yet and bought mines in august. I have tested it and Everything Works just fine and Hopefully I get good images with it. I will always be careful with it and Will do everything possible to prevent issues.

@DSOImager 10 ай бұрын

As I showed it is possible to get good images with it. Good luck with yours. :)

@cpdudeyt 10 ай бұрын

@@DSOImager Thanks but the comments on this video really scared me lol. Mines works Great Right now And I hope everything will be good.