Adrian_P

Brilliant idea and not one I’d have thought of. I’ve used a lead acid jump starter in the past but mostly because I knew I could power the scope mount via a cigarette lighter to DC cable. I’d never thought that there was such a thing as a USB to DC power cable or that it could ever output enough to power a mount. I’ve actually got a 13,000 mAh lithium ion jump starter with USB outputs in the wife’s car so I could always give that a try. What a great idea.

Ah, I see. The reason I asked was because my scope doesn't have a finder shoe and I'd been struggling with a stick on RDF for a while. As you say, though, a 70mm F10 refractor is a bit big and long for a finder scope, even if it could also double up, partially at least, as a counter weight on a twin saddle mount. It does make you wonder whether Celestron could chuck a Starsense onto, say, a 50mm finder scope, charge £150 or so and still make an honest profit rather than making folks cannibalise a perfectly good beginner scope just for a mirror, some plastic and a software license.

This question is either so obviously stoopid or self evidently true that I almost hesitate to ask it, but I’ll go ahead anyway. Could a de-mounted Starsense scope like the Explorer 70LT be mounted on a twin saddle mount alongside your ‘good’ scope and be used effectively like a finder scope? So you use the Starsense to find objects, centre them with the 70LT, and then observe with your regular scope. I ask because I was thinking of getting a finder scope sometime and one one of these, even with a mount, is not massively more expensive. Would also help to balance the load without weights. Just an idea.

Ah, I stand corrected. I was thinking the V4 was the same as the V3.

Ok, so the USB end of the USB to serial cable goes into the PC. Connect the serial end of that cable to the serial end of the serial to RJ45* cable. The RJ45 end of that cable goes into the middle socket in the bottom of the hand controller. Don't plug anything into the mount. Does that help? *The Synscan instructions call it a RJ45 port but I have read discussion that it does not meet the RJ45 standards. I've used the term here generically.

I've just been updating the firmware on my V3 handset this afternoon. The one I used, purchased several years ago, is very much like this one. https://www.amazon.co.uk/StarTech-com-USB-Serial-Adapter-Prolific/dp/B00GRP8EZU?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_2

Thanks very much both. I was probably going to get it from FLO but, I guess, even the best supplier can't open and test every single item before sending it out the door. So it's really good to get a short things to check over on first arrival. In terms of observing, I'm strictly a visual kinda guy. I have no interest in imaging whatsoever. And seeing as my opportunities for observing are quite limited, I thought it would be a really good choice to replace my old GOTO mount. Thanks again both, and regards from the very South West corner of Essex!

Hi all. I haven’t posted for a while but would appreciate some views about an upcoming potential purchase. I currently use a William Optics 80mm fluorite refractor on an old Skywatcher Synscan GOTO mount. The one with the cheap aluminium tripod. I’m looking to get a new mount soon and the AZ GTI seems the obvious choice. I’ll eventually ditch the tripod but, for now, am just looking for the mount. Of course, I’ve read how good a mount it is, but one not without its QA problems. So, if I do get one, I was wondering if there are some immediate checks I can make to see if I’ve got a decent one. Clearly, I should wait for first light to be definitive but is it possible to tell I’ve got an obvious lemon during initial unboxing? thanks Adrian