Andy38416

So I tried my brothers Nexstar controller today and it all worked fine straight away, so it must be an issue with the controller. I will probably buy the sky portal adapter for now and use my phone to connect instead of buying another handset. That way when I upgrade to the Nexstar SE I can just use it on that too. thanks for everyone’s help.

my brother has a Nexstar evolution 9.25 so I’m going to try and meet up with him over the weekend and try his handset in my slt - obviously socially distanced. i believe the handset is exactly the same. I agree with Cosmic Geoffs comments that the 127 will sell better working rather than just the OTA. I just wanted to double check with another handset before I buy another one. i’ve genuinely been down about it since celestron said it’s not a software issue. It makes sense to spend £115 on a handset rather than £800 odd on the 6se (even if I really do want that orange tube!).

firstly, thanks for all your feedback. Celestron got in touch today and all but confirmed it is probably a handset issue and there was nothing else they could suggest that i hadnt already done. Therefore i tried everything again, 0 when powering up, firmware update, but still just stuck on 'initialize' and wont let me slew or go into any options. Its so strange as i used it a few days ago but i guess its just rotten luck. I'll have to have a think if i buy a new handset or pull the trigger on a new scope and try and sell the OTA. At the minute i cant do anything with it as cant even move manually. My worry with buying a handset is if its the mount itself thats causing the issue. i'll have a think about how to proceed. thanks for your help.

My worry with the 8se is stability, from what I read the 8se is right at the limit of the SE mount. I’m trying not to write off the SLT and not desperate to upgrade, just trying to think of options. From what I gather it’s either an issue with the mount or handset, both could be costly unless there is something celestron come up with to fix the issue. therefore in my eyes I was thinking if I’m going to spend a couple of hundred to buy a handset or new mount, should I try and sell the OTA and out the money towards to the 6se. of course all of this I would need to run past my wife first 😊

so I think my Nexstar 127slt mount has died. I keep getting 'initializing' on the handset when i turn it on, have tried different power sources, tried the aux port, reset pressing 0 and updated firmware - all result in the same issue. because of this i cant use the scope, im waiting to hear from Celestron support tomorrow hopefully. I've had the scope for years so theres no warranty anymore and just considering my options. I see them as: 1. Potentially buy a new handset (if this is the issue) - which could be the starsense version (i've always wanted one). At least £100 for a replacement or £200 odd for the starsense version 2. Potentially buy a new mount (if that is the issue) i guess around £200 3. Buy a whole new scope and try and sell the 127 OTA - i've always wanted the 6SE, is this my opportunity? potentially Celestron will have something which will help the issue, but just wanted peoples thoughts. I dont know how realistic it is to try and sell the 127 OTA - do people even want these on their own? I guess what i obviously want people to say is 'buy the 6se you have always wanted' but maybe i need grounding and some sensible advice - there could be something i havent thought of. Many thanks Andrew

Thanks for reply Pat. The second night viewing actually went really well, although i didnt see a massive amount - no moon, jupiter etc. I really enjoyed just panning the sky slowly with a 17mm lens on. The first night viewing i was at my brothers and had a really wobbly table so viewing was like being on a boat at sea. The second night the table at my house was solid as a rock and just made for such a better viewing. Just waiting for more clear nights and i think my first view of the moon will be really good. I'm already thinking of getting the 200p as a step up scope but will leave it a good few months, maybe into the new year. Unfortuatly i cant stop looking at other telescopes / accessories since getting into it. I have already brought a 17mm and a 7.5mm plossel lens so now have 7.5, 10, 17 and 25mm and also brought a good barlow with a 1.5x and 2x increase. The only thing i might buy is an EQ mount. thanks for all comments though, it really has helped.

Thanks for the reply. I'm new to this site so still trying to figure it all out, plus using my phone to access it doesn't help. I did speak to someone and they said I shouldn't even be try to look at stars anyway but using them as guards to find other things in the sky. I don't have much light pollution but that night one neighbour had his insecurity light on all night but just tried to keep angled away from it. There's clear skies again outside tonight so waiting for it to get a bit darker and will try again.

Evening all, first time blog user and stargazers user so be gentle. This evening I finally got to use my Skywatcher Heritage 130p which I bought 2 weeks ago due to rain and clouds since. I must admit I was slightly disappointed, sadly there was no moon at all but plenty of stars. I must admit I don't know much about astronomy yet as still learning but have a feeling I did a classic mistake which was 'point it at the star and see' though all I could see was a closer White dot. I'm still going to read and learn more but any tips really would be great. I wasn't expecting NASA quality pictures and I know my scope is a starter scope, just hoped for more. Again any tips or what I should be focusing on would be great, I'm pretty gutted the moon didn't make any appearance. Thanks all in advance, remember I am a newbie.