I have an old fork-mounted Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope (SCT). Can I convert this to a GoTo mount?
June 17, 2009
There is no upgrade available to convert your old Celestron fork-mounted SCT to a GoTo capability.
Instead, you need to convert it to a dovetail mounting. Here is an outline of the steps for this do-it-yourself project.
1. Remove the tube from the fork. The rest of the process only involves the optical tube assembly (OTA).
2. Find a dovetail bar. Celestron sells the wider 3 inch CGE or Losmandy-style bars. You can also check in the aftermarket, since we do not have the narrower 1.75 inch CG-5 or Vixen-style dovetail bars for sale. Try scopestuff.com, ADM Accessories, Astro-Tech, Orion, Ken's Rings and Things and Losmandy.
Mount the bar on your OTA.
Buy a GoTo mount either from us or another company that has a dovetail clamp of the appropriate width to accept your dovetail bar. You can find the Celestron mounts Here.
Mount your converted OTA to the clamp.
Enjoy your computerized stargazing!
Updated 12/16/13
Instead, you need to convert it to a dovetail mounting. Here is an outline of the steps for this do-it-yourself project.
1. Remove the tube from the fork. The rest of the process only involves the optical tube assembly (OTA).
2. Find a dovetail bar. Celestron sells the wider 3 inch CGE or Losmandy-style bars. You can also check in the aftermarket, since we do not have the narrower 1.75 inch CG-5 or Vixen-style dovetail bars for sale. Try scopestuff.com, ADM Accessories, Astro-Tech, Orion, Ken's Rings and Things and Losmandy.
Mount the bar on your OTA.
Buy a GoTo mount either from us or another company that has a dovetail clamp of the appropriate width to accept your dovetail bar. You can find the Celestron mounts Here.
Mount your converted OTA to the clamp.
Enjoy your computerized stargazing!
Updated 12/16/13
