Problems with my Celestron CG-5 Mount Power Port

Problems with Celestron CG-5 Mount

Up until this point, my Celestron CG-5 mount has been very good to me. Despite what I have heard, it has been a quality mount, capable of 5+ minute exposures, no problem (with autoguiding).  Recently though, the power has been cutting in and out.  Last Friday night, under clear, dark, moonless skies at the CCCA, I was forced to head home. Devastating! 

The frustrating part, is not knowing whether the issue is the power switch, the jack, or the entire power board itself.  The only thing I know for sure is that it is not the ac adapter, as I have tested it to work fine.

I have read many stories of similar issues online, and even got some great advice from some of the telescope retailers here in Ontario. Luckily, I was able to leave the mount with The Scope Store at Camtech Photo in Hamilton to repair the mount today.  I will keep you posted with the diagnosed issue and solution to help fellow CG-5 owners who may experience the same issue.

On a more positive note, I have recently ordered a Hutech IDAS lps clip-in filter for EOS Camera bodies.  The “lps” stands for “light pollution suppression”.  I have been wanting to get one of these for a long time, and finally coughed up the $250 and ordered one. My fellow astrophotography buddy has one and he swears by it.  I think it will make a huge difference in my photos, especially when imaging from the backyard.

Another handy addition to my astrophotography rig is a battery grip for my Canon Xsi. This will hopefully allow me to run the camera all night without switching batteries!

I hope to be completely back up and running by the end of the month, ready for all of the cool Spring/Summer DSO’s!

*UPDATE* – April 15th, 2013

My mount has been taken apart and fixed by Camtech Photo. I am very pleased with the service I have been given there.  I tested everything out on Sunday night by imaging M51 in my backyard.  SUCCESS! 

It appears to have been a loose connection to the the power input, and Camtech was able to fix the issue.

Everything is working great and even PHD has started working again.  I updated to the latest version, which seems to have corrected my problem.