Any advice on what to do with Celestron Nexstar 8SE motor/arm?

[Aschro]

Hi all,

I recently received a new Celestron 8SE from an online dealer here in the states. The package was quite large and heavy, and after unpacking it all I pulled out the mount/arm/motor or whatever it's called, and I immediately heard something rattle around inside of it. I did a little investigation but it seemed as if it was some sort of metal object inside the arm. As it was brand new I was a little leery of opening it up, though it does thankfully have standard phillips head screws. I asked Celestron support via email and was told that perhaps I was hearing the hand control bang against the housing. I tried not to take offense, though that sounded an awful like a "did you try turning it on, sir" kind of reponse.

Well, after thinking about it, hey, I repaired the screen on an iPad for crying out loud, I can certainly remove a few screws and take off a plastic housing! So I did. It was relatively easy, though a few parts overlap and you have to take a few plastic pieces off. Once I'd done so, I found a loose black bolt inside. I peered around inside as best I could but it didn't seem as a bolt was missing from anywhere, so I sealed it all back up and gave it a go.

As I don't have much experience with the Celestron 6/8SE, I don't know if the motor/gears are performing optimally. I've had trouble getting it to align, but have made some progress. Seems as if the motor / computer doesn't like the 8 AA batteries, they seem to drain fast. Also, when aligning, it seems to lose alignment. It tracks ok, but after a while seems to slip.

Everything else about the package is great. The optics look great, the factory collimation help up during transit, the tripod and other aspects are in perfect working order. Packing this entire thing up and sending it back would be a pain, and seems wasteful.

Anyone else experience anything like this? I've re-contacted Celestron support and am waiting for a reply. What should I expect from them? I've heard mixed reviews about their customer support.

Thanks!

[Coastliner]

Hi, I have the 4SE and the first response I have for you is DITCH THE BATTERIES!! (Caps lock for comic effect rather than shouting).

From my experience with the 4SE the batteries do not last long, and the voltage only has to drop a small amount to make it do crazy things to alignment etc. The voltage will drop if the temperature drops as well as the normal drop with use. Do not be tempted to use rechargeable AA's either, they are only 1.2v per cell rather than 1.5v.

I bought a lead-acid battery and connected it to the scope with crocodile (alligator?) clips, that served me very well for a long time.

As for your other problems I cannot help I'm afraid, my scope has been trouble-free.

Neil.

[Aschro]

Thanks Neil! After the experience last night I have a powertank on order! Starting to realize that buying that scope was just the beginning of a very expensive hobby.

Have had trouble getting it to align, period. Yesterday had some first succeses after I restored factory settings then entered everything in again, which isn't too hard given that these days you can get lat/long off your smartphone. Also installed a brand new fresh set of batteries (until I get that tank I'm out of luck).

It was bizarre, aligned with 2 star auto. Chose Sirius, centered it, it swung over to Polaris' neighborhood. Wasn't too tough to center, and that was it! Asked it to go to Jupiter and it got pretty close, and tracked it pretty well. Allowed me to play with some filters and the Barlow. Then, since it was so bright, checked out the moon - amazing detail on the craters, etc., and the shadows really made them pop. Then even thought was bright I thought since I was having success I'd have it slew over to some named objects... and I'm a newb so who knows, maybe it's too bright to see that one? And that one? And the next? Ok, back to Polaris... which is apparently now due south. Ok, Jupiter. Oops, right alt, 180 wrong on the azimuth. Seems as if somehow the thing had lost its bearings completely. Asked it to go to the moon, and it started whirring away, then slowed but kept panning... 360 degrees, never stopping, just a slow slew.

At this point it was getting late, and cold.

[Aschro]

Also Neil, noticed you have a 60D. Do you use that for astrophotography? I have one as well, but haven't even started considering astrophotography. Would imagine I'll need a reliable alignment / goto before I start down that path.

[Aschro]

Ok, attached to AC power.  The motor never sounded quite like this.  A shame Celestron sells these to people without AC power and lets them believe 8 AA's will provide enough juice to actually slew the darn thing.  I had bizarre issues, such as reversal of the celestial sphere.  No, Polaris isn't in the southern sky, after all!  

This post has a couple of great diagrams of what was happening:

http://www.cloudynights.com/topic/481533-nexstar-11-alignment-tracking-positions-inverted/

At least my problems weren't motherboard related!

[MarkJ44]

Hi

Your problems are common with new users, i recently got the 5SE and encountered the same thing. Your problems wont be resolved untill you get the power tank, and I agree Celestron should be up front about it.

The other bit of advice i would provide is to get yourself an illuminated reticle eyepiece, I got a 12.5mm one, improves the accuracy of your GOTO by heaps, first centre with your standard EP (25mm in my case) and then finetune it with the reticle and then align. I also do 3 star align and widely spread.

Good luck.

[Coastliner]

Aschro, really glad you got the power sorted out. Alignment advice - I second Mark's advice above, I also have the 12.5mm illuminated reticle, absolutely brilliant, and agree about using wide-spaced stars. Also, a very common problem for us in the UK is remembering to enter the date in mm/dd/yy format, we are used to dd/mm/yy. It is also important to level the scope as well. Take your time with the initial setting up, it will help you immensely.

60D - yes, I use it for astro, the video is reputed to be broadcast quality. I have taken videos of the moon that have been breathtaking. I bought it because I needed the flip-out screen to prevent me breaking my back setting the thing up for high objects!

[Aschro]

Thanks for the advice Mark & Neil. I was eyeing one of the reticle eyepieces. I've already have a lot more on order than I expected. "No really, honey, just this one last thing and the setup will be complete!"

Also eyeing the Celestron bino viewer - Televue stuff is too rich for me!

Glad to know I can use the 60D for astro too! Bought a macro a while back and that's a lot of fun. Looking forward to trying it out on the other end of the spectrum as well.

[knobby]

if you don't have a reticule ep, you can defocus the star to make it appear larger, it's easier to center that way

[OneEyedSam]

"No really, honey, just this one last thing and the setup will be complete!" .

Hehe, astronomy, the gift that never stops giving

[Coastliner]

if you don't have a reticule ep, you can defocus the star to make it appear larger, it's easier to center that way

Nice idea, that.

[knobby]

Nice idea, that.

And cheap !