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Starsense Review

Pig

By Pig
in Member Equipment Reviews

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Pig

Pig

Posted
Posted

Ok short review because I didn't do much

The time I switched it on = 17:25

Time finished = 17:29

Completely aligned in under 4 minutes :grin:

What did I do = Nothing (I went and stirred the onions I could smell cooking) 

Objects searched = Moon, Altair, Vega, Albireo, Dumbell, Double cluster and Cappella. (it isn't that dark yet)

Accuracy = 100% all  objects bang in the middle using a 17.3mm Delos ( 136 x Mag )

Changing  to a heavier eyepiece 31T  to see if there was any changes to the pointing accuracy = Made no difference.

Summary

In one word - Brilliant :evil:

Gadget guys this is a must buy.

For the lazy bugles out there, like me, I cannot fault it.

Viva la evolution :laugh:

I am off back outside now byes

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Pig

Pig

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Thank you Allan

It will certainly help may aging but very muscle ridden and toned body :shocked: (not) from having to bend about

I have just completed a 360 degree sweep every object I selected smack is bang in the centre  :smiley:

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Pig

Pig

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Mmmm, I have money burning a hole in my pocket as I'm now not buying a newer car.

Don't think the other half would be too happy me buying one of these though.

Well they only cost £25 :shocked:  ask my Mrs :grin:

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M4lcs67

M4lcs67

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Top review, Shaun. I was mearly waiting for someone to come up with an impartial review. Now I have one and the thing works I will most likely be asking for monies for Christmas in order to buy one. (I could just go ahead and buy one now, but the other half might get a little miffed as I keep spending on astro gear). If I use Christmas as a ruse in order to get her on side, then collect the money together and get one from FLO's next delivery. Once the initial rush is over they will be plentiful.

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Pig

Pig

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Malc

They work superbly I am very pleased indeed. :smiley:

My only quibbles are the instructions they are not as clear as they could be :-

1. I did not have to calibrate as it says in the manual I just switched it on and it did all the alignment,  I pressed enter 2 times at the end as it was centred, maybe if it wasn't I would have centred it and then press enter, I just don't know

2. Tell the handset to get your time and location from the GPS before you start alignment.

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vlebo

vlebo

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I think I know the answer to this question but I will ask it just to make sure. Starsense will only work on a Celestron mount ( I am looking at the CG5 ) but will it be ok to put it on any ota  eg  Skywatcher Explorer 250P -DS OTA ?

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Pig

Pig

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If the required OTA is mounted on a Celestron mount ( See the list of compatible mounts) I see no reason why it shouldn't work :smiley: There is no link with the OTA and the SS other than that it is perched on it.

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Chris Rowland

Chris Rowland

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Yes, only on Celestron mounts, it is very closely integrated with the hardware. Any OTA will do, it comes with two finder brackets, the big Celestron style, with the shoe, and the Synta style dovetail.

Operation with CG5 mounts is spotty.  A few people, including me, find that it doesn't work but it does with the ones at the factory. I guess that it's something to do with the age of the mount and newer ones are OK.

I think everywhere will be out of stock, our local dealer said that he sold all he had in 30 minutes.

Chris

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reddoss

reddoss

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Posted

Ok short review because I didn't do much

The time I switched it on = 17:25

Time finished = 17:29

Completely aligned in under 4 minutes :grin:

What did I do = Nothing (I went and stirred the onions I could smell cooking) 

Objects searched = Moon, Altair, Vega, Albireo, Dumbell, Double cluster and Cappella. (it isn't that dark yet)

Accuracy = 100% all  objects bang in the middle using a 17.3mm Delos ( 136 x Mag )

Changing  to a heavier eyepiece 31T  to see if there was any changes to the pointing accuracy = Made no difference.

Summary

In one word - Brilliant :evil:

Gadget guys this is a must buy.

For the lazy bugles out there, like me, I cannot fault it.

Viva la evolution :laugh:

I am off back outside now byes

Sounds like an interesting gadget. Presumably if you are setting up a GE mount the user would have to do an accurate manual polar alignment for the thing to work properly.

Also, what happens if part of the sky is obscured by trees or buildings etc, does it still work ?

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M4lcs67

M4lcs67

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Hey reddoss,

I sent a query through to Celestron tech support last week about that very thing and they responded that yes the StarSense will work with a restricted view. Just set it up facing a clear piece of sky and start the alignment. If it slews to somewhere that is hidden say by a tree or building you can just override it and it will move to somewhere else until you are happy with your alignment.

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Pig

Pig

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Redross,

As above for restricted views :smiley:

The instructions say only a rough polar alignment is required for GE mounts. I would like to add that have only used  AZ mounts and I do not have the foggiest idea about polar alignment so please check with the supplier should you decide to purchase one :smiley:

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Chris Rowland

Chris Rowland

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The Auto Align mode will move and try again if it can's see any stars.  That seems to work fairly well for obstructed sites as long as it's dark.  If the obstructions are light there's a possibility that it will see stars in the obstruction and manage to get a position.  The alignment will then fail because the position is wrong.  The solution is Manual align, you drive the mount to three or four clear areas and the SSA collects good images of the sky and gets a good alignment.  There's been a lot of discussion about strategies for improving the lot of people with obstructed skies and I'm sure that this will be upgraded.  BTW, obstructed means obstructions above about 40 degrees altitude, you don't need to be in the middle of an airfield.

Chris

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Tykeviewer

Tykeviewer

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Re: polar aligning, my reading of the manual suggests that you set up your mount so that it points approximately towards the pole, the SS then does an autoalignment in the normal way.  Then, to accurately polar align, the SS slews towards the pole star, and directs the user to make the fine mechanical adjustments to their mount.  You would only need to do this if you needed an accurate alignment for long exposure imaging. 

Paul.

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