Starslayer

Yes it is a red dot finder and I actually had no issues like some in lining it up. Some have to shim them. The difference is it is clear against the objects I am picking out a mile and a half away yet the Telrad just disappears in my view at a fraction of that distance.

Have you read this thread? I am in Surrey and have purchased the same as pointed stick. This scope ticks all the boxes for me even though the weather has not allowed me to really use it yet. I note your comments on manual mount etc. This is in your price range whether you go 5 or 6" and the software starsense thing is pretty ground breaking.

Thank you. Will play more when Zeus decides to give us a break in the weather. Without getting too technical I take it that the telrad works in a different way to the stock finder scope?

Having just purchased a scope and having googled wildly I decided on the Telrad. Easily fitted today and although it is a fair size I think it is fine on my 6SE tube. What I have had an issue with though is aligning it. In the house I can see the rings easily. Outside I have been aligning the stock finder with trees half a mile or so away but with the Telrad I can see nothing unless I pick a closer object and one that is more solid like a roof apex or similar. Is this normal? I can only assume that things will look much different with the Telrad once it gets dark perhaps? Time will tell but in the meantime I have replaced the stock finder as shown for daytime practice and until the blessed skies decide to clear one night. picture attached.

Hi. As a beginner I hope this is in the right place. I have the Celestron Explorer DX 6" Starsense and have invested in the diagonal as per title. Installed to OTA today as instructed by simply unscrewing the stock 1 1/4 " visual back and screwing this straight on. A bit of alignment and re focus on the trees in the distance and, shock horror, the image is inverted left to right on the y axis. Now I appreciate that this should be of no consequence when viewing the sky at night but I was certainly not prepared for this and wondered if I have actually done something wrong. I do not understand why this diagonal should be any different to the stock one although the latter is inserted into the visual back and screwed down. Is it the visual back that has something to do with this? Is the clue in the title perhaps? "Mirror" diagonal?

I too have wondered about the collimation issue but since we have not had a break in the cloud in the 8 days I have had the scope then frustration is the ongoing dessert of the day. 🙃 May sound silly but when defocusing does it matter which way that goes? Not withstanding any other upgrades my solar filter has been ordered ready for 10th. Odds on clear skies? Knowing my existing luck - Mmmm.

👍🍺

Ok group effort case solved. Calibration was turned off. Sky safari now points the same way as Skyview Lite. I am also not getting the “cannot find north so using magnetic north” message.

I think you have cracked it. 👍

I read all this and see people 'bigging up' sky safari but hey -

I don't think so. This is not a phone issue it is a sky safari issue. As explained above.

OK, giving up on this now after much googling. I did find this quote on FAQ on skysafari site though. Whilst it makes sense ( sort of ) it does not explain why Sky View Lite manages to cope ok. Finally, a word of caution: the solid-state compass built into the iPhone/iPad is notoriously inaccurate, and easily affected by interference. It was designed for street navigation, not astronomy, and it can easily be wrong by ten degrees or more. The compass may be useful for locating bright objects in a general part of the sky, but it's certainly not accurate enough to point a telescope.

No joy........ I wonder why skysafari cannot identify true north?

Thanks guys. Sorry I did not see this earlier. Got no alerts etc. Will have a look at what you suggest.

Hi. Despite being so new to scope ownership I have had SkyView Lite on my phone for a long time and have found it easy to use and interesting. Since scope purchase I now have Skysafari as well and of course starsense with the scope. My issue is that when I use the more basic skyviewlite and, for example ask for directions to the moon, it seems spot on. If I then do the same with skysafari I can see that it is pointing me else where everytime. Not far out but out. Is this maybe something to do with it also flagging up that I am getting an issue with true north as opposed to magnetic north. For me at the moment, the lite version is far easier to use but also more accurate. Have I missed something here? Edit - location services are enabled.

I am actually. not finding the rdf an issue. The UK weather is an issue. Had the moon to play with in day time today though and found the finder efficient with the standard 40mm lens supplied. Learning curve for me re focusing etc but enjoyed the play nevertheless. Roll on clear skies.

I may be well wrong here but I suspect they are talking about Starsense with the inbuilt camera etc rather than starsense explorer tech using the smart phone. Seeing this ‘misunderstanding’ alot in my research. A shame the two names are so confusingly close for what are really VERY different things especially to us beginners.

For what it is worth

No - that comment was in relation to having to shim the rdf. I appreciate that with mounts etc you tend to get what you pay for.

Useful advice but hey - we should not be having to do this with a £700 scope out of the box? 😉

Did you also 'see' the 'smudge' in daylight view?

Excellent stuff.. As you know (earlier pm) I pulled the trigger on the same set up with Baader zoom, Astrozap dew shield and a moon filter.. Paid for delivery for last Saturday and,(no surprise with DHL) it did not arrive until Monday. FLO spot on and all delivery refunded without question (Thank you) . Not had a chance to use in anger due to rubbish weather in UK but early observations from me are - this is quality and the technology promises bundles to a new guy. I got the rfd aligned ok I think but it will not get too much use any way. As a beginner I found some googling was required to use the filter in the right place. I had assumed it screwed to the top of the eye piece. Wrong!! The dew shield can only be put on one way around due to the necessary cut out. When done the label is then upside down. Small point and easily rectified by reapplying or removing all together but loses points for attention to detail ( see pic ). My big issue is the design of the tripod. The accessory tray assists stability yet it is hand bolted in place and has to be removed to close the legs up again sufficient to pass through a doorway. I want to be able to move this in and out of the house with ease. It is compact and light weight ( part of reason for choice) but I am already leaving the tray off so not to have to keep reattaching. Time will tell what effect this will have on stability. Like pointedstick I have only used in daylight to find my way around it. I was concerned about a small greyish smudge in the middle of the 'view'. I thought this may be some misting up but now believe ( after research ) that this is in fact the secondary mirror I can see and that this will go when used at night. ( Comment on that one appreciated please. ) Onwards and upwards and looking forward to a fascinating journey.

Thank you. I have managed to zoom some video close ups of set up etc on youtube and it appears that there is a large aperture for this. Just wanted to be certain for obvious reasons. I think some 3rd party options will be far cheaper and far more powerful than the celestron ‘GO’ option. Looking at 3 x the mah for the same price as Celestron offer and well recommended.

Does anybody with knowledge of the Starsense explorer models know / or confirm that the phone can actually be connected to a power bank whilst in the cradle on the scope and in use? I have googled extensively but cannot find the answer to this. Thank you.

Looks great. Clearly the phone will need a powerpack of some sort. Big drain on battery would think. My only concern with this over the 130 is that the latter is tried and tested and well reviewed. The SCT is SO new.