My experience with the iOptron CEM120 after 1 year of use

[@AZ4Runner]

That is a super sexy mount!! iOptron thought of everything.. DISCO is still Alive!!!! take care & clear skies Logan.

[@LogansAstro]

Disco is most certainly alive and well indeed……. well in my head anyway 🤣. Yep, love the mount but only recommend moving it once. I think it would be a great addition to Isaac’s playhouse….. um I mean observatory, don’t you?

[@Lasastard]

Cool stuff. I recently got the successor to the CEM60, the CEM70. Some of the engineering in the CEM120 was carried over, like the locking mechanism - which makes for a really painless experience all around.

[@LogansAstro]

Yes I have to agree the locking system is so much easier than the CEM60. Thanks for checking out the video

[@JoesAstrophoto]

Great review Logan! I’m really loving my CEM120 as well now. It’s pretty much a forgotten piece in the mix, which I think is the sign of a good mount. My guiding is similar to yours as well depending on the seeing. I was cruising along last night in the .3s and then later on the seeing went bad and I ended up at .7 lol. Thanks for the shoutout as well! It’s such a great community we have.

[@LogansAstro]

Thanks Joe. I’m glad to hear you are loving the CEM120 and thanks for those pointers on tuning PHD2. Until I started doing astro, I never really looked forward to winter but now I do, with longer imaging hours and more importantly less humidity and better seeing so I don’t get so stressed about my total RMS error 🤣

[@crm114.]

Great overview, thanks. I’ve just bought one (after returning a faulty EQ8). I’m one of the people who set it up and take it down each night I use it. I have to carry it about 2O metres so not too bad. Very impressed so far, the first time I used it my guiding was in the 0.3-0.4 arc sec range without any optimisation.

[@LogansAstro]

Thanks Cliff. Yep it's a very nice mount. 20 meters isn't too bad I guess - good weight training. Glad to hear you are getting 0.3 to 0.4 arc sec range. Makes such a difference having a nice reliable mount and able to keep (almost) all the subs taken in a session.

[@TheWonkyAstronomer]

Great overview of this mount. I just bought one a couple of months ago and would also recommend it.

[@LogansAstro]

Thanks. Yep it’s a damn nice mount. Glad to hear you are enjoying it.

[@AstroSoundscape]

Certainly is a real beast of a mount Logan and it's packed full of features. Looks a super solid package. I'm not sure even Luke could lift that outside 🤣. Nice overview Pal.

[@LogansAstro]

Thanks Ollie. Yeah its a bloody good mount but definitely one I plan to only lift once.

[@SimonsAstro]

Great video Logan. That really is a nice mount! If I could have an observatory, that’s the mount I would have👍 Clear skies

[@LogansAstro]

Cheers Simon. I nearly went for the CEM70 but the whole cabling system/inputs/outputs etc swayed me to the CEM120.

[@Astro_Shed]

Great and useful video, just a note on the 120 clamp hand bolts, you said you are not keen on them as hard to grip, you do realise that there is an Allen bolt in the middle to tighten them with an Allen key…? I think that is the idea, my EQ8 is the same…👍🏻 Am looking at this mount myself….👍🏻

[@LogansAstro]

Thanks for that tip. Now you mention it, I do remember seeing those Allen key slots but never thought to use them.

[@Larstronomy]

That's an absolutely wonderful setup! I have a CEM26 here, lots of similairities in terms of the dovetail locking screws. I've defnitely hurt my hand trying to tighten everything, not a great experience. I've actually put screws at both ends of my vixen dovetail plate (pointing down). In case the horror scenario where it starts sliding does occur these screws will hold it, good for a bit of peace of mind.

[@LogansAstro]

That’s a good idea to have a bit of “ insurance” to stop the rig sliding off as once I did have my SCT start slipping on my CEM60 as I thought it was done up tight but wasn’t quite tight enough.

[@Larstronomy]

@@LogansAstro I'd imagine that's a very scary feeling. Technology has come a long way and the fact that we are able to take pictures of deep sky objects from our backyards is amazing, but dovetail saddles are a nightmare, they really need to invent something better.

[@avt_astro206]

Awesome Review Logan. What a Dream Mount! My Next Step Is to purchase an Eq Mount, an Affordable One, Haha :- )

[@LogansAstro]

Thanks Avanteesh. Yes this one is probably not considered "affordable" (although for some it may well be). Hope you get an EQ mount soon - youll love it.

[@paulsmith1981]

I have the Cem 120 E2 version and it has been nothing but trouble from faulty wiring to the mount trying to slew beyond its mechanical limits.

[@LogansAstro]

Sorry to hear your mount is causing such issues.

[@arthurwiegman5512]

I use my CEM 120 in combination with a C 14 on a iOptron Tri Pear 360 and transport my equipment to a dark location by car. I tranport my mount in a trolleycase.

[@LogansAstro]

That sounds like a beast of a setup.... and a good weight training workout setting that all up.😃

[@frackcenturion]

i just purchased a skywatcher heq5 pro for the ed80 telescope and now watching this it looks like your guide scope is the size of the ed80 lol

[@LogansAstro]

Congrats on getting the new mount. Yes my mount is a bit of a beast hence why it is staying put never to be moved again 😂

[@stevecreasey2966]

Hi Logan, nice review of the CEM120! I am looking at getting one soon, however the only version I have seen on sale here (UK) is the "older" version with 4 x USB2 and 1 x USB3. Did your mount come with the 3 x USB3 or did you add it later? Thanks in advance

[@LogansAstro]

Thanks Steve. My mount came with the 3 x USB3 already installed so I was assuming that the newer batch of this mount now came with that as standard. Maybe send a quick email to iOptron and ask where in the UK you can get the newer version.

[@silvanojs5148]

Mostranhoso gigantesco seu equipamento top demais 🎆 show

[@LogansAstro]

Obrigada

[@hael8680]

Thank you for the review. Do you have to use the hand controller when imaging with NINA? How is the interface done between NINA and the mount?

[@LogansAstro]

No I don't use the hand controller when imaging. The mount and NINA play nice together. The mount is largely controlled by the iOptron Commander but gets instructions from NINA for slewing etc. So long as you have the iOptron Commander software loaded onto the PC and have the ASCOM driver for the CEM120 loaded, all should work well.

[@ASTROKING-S]

Is this the non encoder version? Thanks

[@LogansAstro]

Yes this is NOT an EC version

[@ASTROKING-S]

​@Logan's Astro thanks for the reply, ive heard the ec versions conflict with guiding software. Apparently the encoders dont like being told what to do. My minds made up now, im getting a non ec version.

[@matthewbrown8679]

I would advise against encoders. Mine don't seem to help much.

[@LogansAstro]

Good to know. That must be disappointing given that the encoder versions are quite a bit more expensive. I have heard similar from others also.

[@matthewbrown8679]

@@LogansAstro I'm working through it to figure out how exactly to make good use of the encoders. They do get rid of periodic error, but guiding software easily does that anyway. My performance is about as good as what you describe.

[@DSOImager]

Awesome looking mount Logan. Is that a cdk I'm smelling? ;)

[@LogansAstro]

Oh how embarassing, I didn't realise on camera I had broken win....... oh hang on, you mean the telescope 🤣. Yes wouldn't that be nice but I don't think I have enough organs to sell for that something like that 🤔🤣

[@DSOImager]

@@LogansAstro lol!

[@SimonT65]

I'm happy with my CEM70EC which is the smaller cousin. Does the CEM120 not come with built in iPolor? I have a built in camera under the round cover on the RA Axis

[@LogansAstro]

I nearly went for the CEM70 but decided to go for the CEM120 for it's future weight capapcity. The CEM70EC looks like an awesome mount though. I don't know if there are versions of the CEM120 that come with the ipolar but mine didn't ( I think for the CEM120 it's an optional addon). I do my polar aligning using Sharpcap so didn't really need it.

[@meademods6024]

Iv been waiting on pulling the trigger on the new Astrophysics 1100 W/ Absolute encoders for over a year now. a bit over 10 G's . But researching different EQ mount this Ioptron 120 EC2 has my attention and for a bit over 8G's this might be a comparable mount to get. I have a TPO 65lb 14" truss RC and 80mm SV CF triplet on piggy back. and a 102 SV CF triplet. what are your thoughts?

[@Oxizee]

Jezus, what a big mount. I only use an AZ GTI :D > i.imgur.com/1T1xVpu.jpg . Both skywatcher fans :D

[@LogansAstro]

Yep it is a big mount and not something I would be carrying around. I like my AZ-GTI also and way more portable.

[@anata5127]

How do you balance it? Did you adjust CW shaft? I have awful tracking on my CEM70

[@LogansAstro]

I just balanced it as usual with moving the weights up or down the CW shaft. My mount initially tracked extremely well but did go off a bit recently, mainly in Dec so I tightened up the dec mesh just a tiny bit (www.manualslib.com/manual/2020372/Ioptron-Cem70.html?page=51#manul) and then did a recalibration and ran the guide assistant and that seemed to sort it. Before playing around tightening or loosening the mesh on the Dec or RA, I would run a calibration and the guide assistant in PHD2 to see if that improves things.

[@anata5127]

@@LogansAstro Thanks a lot for link. My mount is CEM70. As in attachment.

[@anata5127]

@@LogansAstro Yesterday, I applied so called “3D balancing”. This 3D balance for CEM is well covered topic on KZbin. It helped guiding. But, it has to be better. Main problem is RA. I will try mesh adjustments as you recommended.

[@LogansAstro]

@@anata5127 ok. When adjusting the mash, make sure the adjustments are very small and then check if things have improved ( very small rotations of the hex key). Did you try the guide assistant?

[@anata5127]

@@LogansAstro What does mean small? 1/8 turn? I never used PhD-2 assist function. But I will.