What dovetail bars are used with various Celestron mounts?

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	What dovetail bars are used with various Celestron mounts?

Answer The most common dovetail bar size in the telescope market is the Vixen-style bar, which is 1-3/4” wide. This is the size used with the dovetail clamp on the Advanced GT (CG-5) mount. It is also used with the LCM, SLT, SE and Allview mounts, with the AstroMaster and SkyProdigy series telescopes and the AstroMaster tripod. Whether sold separately or already mounted on optical tubes (OTAs), Celestron refers to these dovetail bars as CG-5 dovetail bars.

Larger mounts are made to carry larger optical tubes and payloads and use the second most common size, the Losmandy or CGE-width bars that are 3 inches wide.

The CGE dovetail bars are used with CGE, CGEM, CGEM DX and CGE Pro mounts and are found on all of our EdgeHD OTAs.

In addition, dovetail bars can be used either atop or underneath OTAs to mount accessories like guidescopes and counterweights. Celestron’s 80mm guidescope rings mount on a CGE dovetail bar.

Unlike the widths, a dovetail bar’s length – whether CG-5 or CGE – varies considerably depending on the size and weight of the OTA. Adapters are available in the aftermarket to allow fitting a CG-5 dovetail bar to a mount's CGE-width dovetail clamp and also a CGE dovetail bar to a mount's CG-5-width dovetail clamp.

Article Details

Article ID:

2464

Created On:

Feb 08 2011 02:20 PM