Need advice on buying a scope

[theodore1991]

Hi, I'm looking for some advice on buying a Celestron C8 S-GT XLT Schmidt Cass. Basically it comes with the CG5 go-to mount, which according to various internet reviews/sources/catalogues has a latitude range of 9-72 degrees. Will this scope be able to be polar aligned in Singapore? Do I need to have a seperate attachment, or what must I do to have it work at this low latitude?

I thought of shipping it over from the US, any tips on how to ship it over cheap? What if I get someone to carry it over from the States? And what about customs/taxes?

[MooEy]

It would work with one of those vixen half piers.

Do note that the goto version doesn't work at certain position, the motor covers comes into contact.

~MooEy~

[cloud_cover]

Hi Theodore,
You will be able to align it for visual use: being about 8 deg off isn't too bad visually although your target will probably drift a little. You can minimise this by lowering the tripod leg directly in line with the N-S axis of the mount.
However, if you're thinking of doing astrophotography, then this will be woefully inadequate and you will not be able to align well enough for good long exposure photographs. At any rate the combination of 2000mm focal length scope + f/10 on a CG-5 is not an ideal setup for photography, no matter what the advertising says. Doable, but will require hard work.
If all you want to do is visual, then the Nexstar series with the alt-az type fork mounts may be a better option. They do not require polar alignment and are quicker to set up since you don't need to balance nor align north but they are bulkier since (I think) the Nexstar 8 scope is not detachable from the mount itself.
Wasn't there someone selling a used C8 locally? If you don't mind used stuff, its a cheaper way to go.
I think someone is also selling a rather modified CGEM, the big brother of the CG-5, modified with a special wedge for our latitude. I'm not sure but it may work out cheaper than a new set from the USA plus shipping.

[Gary]

Hi Theodore. Welcome to the forum. This is a bit off topic but perhaps you can tell us what you intend to use this scope mainly for. Then it may or may not justify the savings and effort you will be going through to bring a C8 SGT from US. As mentioned by cloud cover, do check out the buy and sell section in this forum. The sellers here may have already solve latitude issues in their own way for the items they are selling. Good luck!