noah4x4

No, but Starsense is of great assistance if you find alignments difficult or uncomfortable (bending/sciatica etc). Starsense and SkySync GPS work well together.

Much depends upon what you are trying to do. The cable length limit for USB3 is 3 metres and USB2 is 5 metres. Beyond that you can try 'active' cables or powered hubs. I was attempting merely 15 metres by USB from scope to indoor mission control and spent a fortune on the highest quality cable and hubs yet failed. The drop off in signal was so great it wouldn't handle all my devices (camera, focusser etc). In these circumstances, only WiFi or cat 6 cable will offer solutions. I use twin computers and Remote Desktop software to control that at scope and use that indoors as a dumb terminal and display.

I hate to dampen enthusiasm, but have a 4SE I use as a visual grab & go when I fly, but I do not image with it, although I have tried. The 4SE is an f/13 scope. I don't believe you can put a focal reducer in its optical train as it has a fixed (flip mirror) eyepiece aperture. It is also not Fastar compatible. Hence, you are hence stuck with imaging at f/13. Imaging at f/13 can be very difficult even with planets. It is particular hard finding and keeping an object in its narrow FOV when maging. The 4SE wedge is crude, the tripod is not robust and its tracking not great. I would be surprised if guiding helped that much. You can get a Mak-Cass T-adapter to fit a DSLR, but the camera weight and wind judder is a serious problem. Frankly, I wasted a tonne of money on my 4SE and suggest yoy don't invest too much beyond a cheap webcam until you get a superior scope.

To further emphasise the range of a Celestron 8" SCT, my motorised autofocusser has a step range of 0 to 60,000. Of course, each step represents only a part turn of a manual focus knob. On Hyperstar at f/2 I achieve focus at circa 3,500. On a close daylight object at f/6.3 it is around 15,000. On a more distant daylight object perhaps 22,000. But on DSO's it is nearer 43,000. You might need to do a lot of manual knob turning!

Yes and no.... The report CFM gives that Starsense Camera "has been updated" is false. There has been no Starsense camera update since January 2014 (1.2. 13343). However, the Starsense HC has been updated, most recently August 2019 (1.20.19207). My understanding is that in the event that a SSA camera update is necessary, it will require the second cable. But as no SSA camera update is available, one cable will suffice until further notice.

Great to hear you have fixed. Your scope must have previously had 7.17.0031 (Also, April 2020) which on (today) reading the Celestron Firmware History web page I see introduced a few bugs. You have actually done me a favour. I had updated to 7.17.0031 and this now explains a different bug I have been suffering. I never expect two firmware updates in a couple of weeks. So I need to update too!

Sorry, I have only just seen your post. I gave up with SkyPortal and SkySafari. Far too many problems with WiFi. Instead I now use Celestron's CPWI for PC/Windows. However, I will try to help.... The most common problem is time/date/location etc. But if your tablet is connected to the Internet then Location Sevices will fix that provided you have time = now set as well as current time and current location. I got caught out by this a few times where I had looked ahead in the star chart and then didn't restore time = now. But if you have tried both SkyPortal and SkySafari this is unlikely. Are you connecting using (scope type) 'Celestron WiFi'? Do not select any specific scope type. Are you using a wedge and a polar align/ASPA? There was a bug preventing that routine working with the Android Apps, but it might have been fixed. My last suggestion is join TeamCelestron. That will give you an inside track on all the latest bugs, foibles and, problems with Celestron products and software and you can talk directly with Derik, a Celestron software engineer. It's free to join, and you don't have to beta-test if you don't want to. Good luck!

Good luck Steve. You might find USB generally temperamental. Mind you, I have had a nightmare tonight with WiFi remote control. After months of stability, suddenly freezes galore. I think it might be something to do with lockdown and BT getting overloaded as my Android TV lost connection a few times this evening.

A problem has been identified with Celestron firmware updates using MCupdate that has caused a lot of grief. It has only manifested in the last month following an update to Nexstar + HC using CFM. I don't believe it applies to older HC models. Do NOT update your SE motor firmware with your Nexstar + HC plugged in. This process will brick your motor board and cause an error 17/18. Indeed, the SE (motor) currently does NOT need any updates. It has not had any for some years. Only use CFM to update Nexstar + hand controller, which is desirable to fix a number of bugs. If anybody has done this and is baffled by error 17/18, there is guidance how to fix the problem on Mike Swansons excellent Nexstar Resource website at www.nexstarsite.com Do note that MCupdate is only applicable to older Celestron scopes. All others use CFM. But the SE is still a retail model that DID use it and older instruction manuals still mention it. In future ALL updates to SE scopes will be offered ONLY via CFM.

I love my Atik Horizon and its Atik Infinity EAA software. So when I bought an ASI244mc for planetary/lunar, it was with some trepidation. It's early days, but I like ASIStudio and ASILive. By contrast, Sharpcap drove me nuts because of problems with Atik Drivers and histogram that seemed to have a mind of its own and zero stretch. The issue was Atik offers three simple gain presets that Sharpcap wouldn't recognise (think its been fixed now). I was delighted to see a similar "auto" setting in ASILive. Having a shorter learning curve is welcome. New owners can always embrace greater sophistication later. Key thing, get going fast, and I think ASILive is decent.

Although this is a USA supplier, here is a great comparison. See https://agenaastro.com/articles/guides/cameras/zwo-astronomy-cameras-buyers-guide.html Probably the best budget camera is the ZWO ASI224mc. It is a little more expensive that the ASI120 suggested above, but its a bigger step up in quality/capabilities from your previous webcam.

It was with Atik Horizon (original) on Hyperstar on an 8" Evolution. With Hyperstar, you remove your secondary mirror. That changes the scope from f/10 to f/2. This means images form 25x faster. Removing the secondary mirror results in the huge FOV seen here. However, you do sacrifice magnification. But with a camera such as the Horizon, high resolution and tiny pixels mean I might Zoom in from here to compensate. I am not surprised Stardaze struggled. My image is blighted by poor seeing conditions and Bortle six skies. Shortly after the cloud was overwhelming. An advantage of the Hyperstar route is you can achieve much more in less time. But it's an expensive bit of kit. The new Starizona Night Owl 0.4x reducer goes a long way towards offering a lesser budget alternative.

I don't know if this image will also help you find it. This is an extremely wide FOV of the Whirlpool Galaxy area at f/2 on Hyperstar. I would normally zoom in to view it, but this view offers a panorama of the wider area. M51 is centre (n.b. use Zoom to enlarge). Sadly, seeing wasn't great, and my skies are Bortle 6.

Back to original questions..... If using a SkyPortal external WiFi accessory you do NOT need SkySync GPS. The scope will use the location services of your Phone, Tablet or PC, whether you use the SkyPortal APP or CPWI, provided it is connected to the Internet or 4G. You will need a AUX splitter albeit the Starsense HC replaces Nexstar + HC in its port and the Starsense Camera connects to the SE's AUX port. EDIT. Sorry, forgot about SkyPortal dongle. Yes you will need an AUX splitter. See next paragraph..... Caution..... Do not connect SSA camera (or SkyPortal) to the Guider port (despite it having a camera picture!). Do not unscrew SSA camera lens. It does not come apart like a DSLR. If you do It will need factory recalibration. If necessary, change your location via Menu/Time and Location. You won't be asked this during your first alignment. Check that the HC and scope has the latest firmware. Celestron issued a bug fix this month to fix an issue with Starsense, Third generation WiFi and certain mounts. Updating firmware is easy, but I doubt if the previous owner will have done so. Follow instructions carefully. It's a great scope and Starsense is easy, but most new owners run into a bundle of trouble because they don't properly study the instruction manuals. Lastly, in your excitement, don't rush out to buy loads of accessories (like GPS). Learn how to use what you have. It's easy to buy stuff that you don't need or expensive junk.

I can't see why anybody would wish to embrace Nexremote today. ... Its replacement, CPWI version 2.3.4 Final RC1 is now available, is stable and 100% Windows 10 compatible. By contrast, NexRemote is a compatibility nightmare unless you have a Windows 7 laptop. It is also now possible to align with CPWI then allow Stellarium or Cartes Du Ceil to take over. You just need to understand ASCOM. Lastly, folk have criticised CPWI for having a limited database. The issue is that it's "find lowest magnitude" setting defaults to 8. If you dig deeper into its menu, you can move the slider to magnitude 16, revealing more objects than anybody can ever visit in lifetime.

An idea Doug, Suggest buy a medium sized plastic toolbox. Inside put the Intel NUC, Focusser controller, batteries, whatever you need, all bolted to an MDF frame. Then you have a portable solution that you don't need to leave outside. When in use, you just run a short cable from NUC to scope, camera etc. Here is one I made....

Hi Doug, Using two computers directly connected by Cat6 cable is a good option if you are happy with cable. It is far more reliable than USB. The advantage of AVI/USB/HDMI extenders is you only need one computer. But they do have limitations. The best route (IMHO) is install Windows 10 Pro on that at the scope, and run all software on that. You then use the laptop indoors as a dumb terminal and use it to control the primary computer using Windows Remote Desktop. If you have power at the scope you can then embrace AC/DC adapters, which then makes life easy. There are other RDP options like TeamViewer and VnC. But (IMHO) Windows 10 Pro Remote Desktop is the most stable and easiest to set up. It also offers control over RemoteFX compression etc. It costs £99 from Windows 10 Home to upgrade, but it saved me a lot of grief. You only need Win 10 Pro on the scope side machine. The computer specification at the scope depends on what you want to do, bearing in mind you have a 16 megapixel resolution camera. If all you want to do is capture data in the scope side computer for later post processing on a more powerful PC then a seventh generation i3 with 8Gb RAM should suffice, provided that you ccept a 1920 x 1080 (1080p) resolution. However, if you want to capture data at the camera's native resolution and transfer 4K UHD screen data to be viewed indoors on a 4K UHD monitor (as I do) you might need an 7i5 with 16 Gb RAM. But if you stack five second exposures and want real time 4K UHD viewing (as I do), then an 8i7 with 16Gb RAM is desirable. The computer indoors need not have e such a high specification. However, if you want to view (indoors) at 4K UHD then both PCs need to have that graphics capability. Setting up the primary computer to run 'headless' (no monitor) is easy. I simply switch on computer and scope having connected camera and retire indoors. I then connect using Remote Desktop and control passes to my indoor computer. I use Celestron CPWI, but you have options such as Stellarium or Cartes Du Ceil. Hope this helps.

Hi Doug, The theoretical limit for USB3 is 3 Metres. For USB2 it is 5 Metres. Active cables might extend this. But, from my experience.... I have an Atik Horizon which is similar to the ASI1600. I wish you good luck with a 15M 'active' USB3 cable given these cameras generate 16 megapixel images. I tried various makes of long 'active' USB3 and USB2 cables without success. I also tried a chain of short 5M cables with externally powered USB hubs in between rather than rely on the limited power output of the computer's USB port, but no greater success. If not for the coronavirus lockdown and distance I would willingly lend you a box full of assorted redundant (costly!) cables and hubs for you to experiment with. But I fear you might struggle. Frankly, I suggest you buy the said cable from Amazon and if it doesn't work return it for a refund. Sadly, this distance challenge isn't easy to overcome, but there are options.... One viable route is to embrace powered AVI/USB/HDMI extenders over cat6 Ethernet. But there can be power challenges at the scope end. I have outdoor AC supply, so this route would have been feasible for me, but I discovered this solution late after getting other solutions to work. However, I am a professional cricket scorer and have since employed this technique to transmit video action replays to electronic scoreboard and it works great as cat6 cable has 100 + metre range. What does work well over 15 metres is WiFi remote control. But you need a quality home network, and possibly MESH extenders (I use BT Wholehomehub). My approach is to put an Intel NUC mini computer at the scope wirelessly connected to a lesser PC computer indoors (that is employed as a dumb terminal) via Windows Remote Desktop. If all you want to do is capture images, a modest stick computer at the scope might suffice. But if you want to (say) view indoors at the camera's native resolution (as I do) you would need far more computing power. This route is fairly easy with Windows 10, but it is not a cheap option as Windows 10 is resource greedy and if ambitious (such as 4K UHD viewing) you need quite a lot of computing ooomph. You could buy a proprietory option like Eagle3 or ASIAir, but that's potentially more expensive than DIY as the vendor's profit must be added. Some folk more computer literate than me achieve DIY WiFi success using Raspberry Pi and Linux, which largely replicates ASIAir, but the learning curve is steep. This is undoubtedly the lowest budget option, but it is challenging. I could help you with the PC /Windows route (e.g. offer you more detailed guidance) but I was deterred by the complexity of learning Linux to attempt Raspberry Pi. But if you talk to people in the EEAV forum where remote control is commonly employed you should find guidance. Hopefully the 15 metre active cable will work, but at least you have here got some alternative guidance.

My 16 megapixel camera would run, but slowly, on a seventh generation i5 with 4Gb RAM. But as soon as I embraced additionally graphics intensive Celestron CPWI and Sequence Generator Pro it choked. The problem is that once the load on your graphics card/chip gets heavy Windows 10 'steals' user resources. An upgrade to 8Gb RAM got it going again but painfully slowly. I too didn't get the performance I desired until I upgraded to an eighth generation i7 with 16Gb RAM. It is painfully obvious that stacking multiple high resolution CMOS exposures at higher frame rates will demand vastly more computing ooomph than single exposure AP. But it is easy to get lured into underestimating the computing power required because we read of (single exposure) astrophotographer successes on limited computers. By contrast EEVA (EAA) is vastly more demanding on PC capabilities.

For the money the 5SE is a super little high quality GoTo scope. I have a Celestron 4SE that I use for 'grab and go' (as I can take it on aircraft as hand luggage) and an 8" Evolution for home and I am delighted with each for such specific purposes. However, if it is your only telescope, a 4" or 5" SCT aperture is limiting. It might not be too long before you wished you had bought (say) a second hand 8" for similar money. But for travel and ease of use as a newcomer it is brilliant entry level scope. The next issue is your expectation. You will get a nice view of Saturn and Jupiter, but somewhat small in a 5" f/10. You will probably struggle with DSOs because of its narrow field of view. But unless at truly dark sky sites you will only see the brightest as "faint fuzzies" in most scopes. Light pollution is also a barrier. You need as much light gathering power as possible. So the next temptation is to buy a camera. Now the 5SE makes even less sense. If has a small aperture, long focal length and is too small for (say) Hyperstar. However, it is fantastic as a travel scope. I would suggest you ideally seek an 8" SCT aperture and a GEM mount, notably in case you ever want to do some Astrophotography. If budget is an issue, there are many used bargains with larger aperture. Hope this helps...

I've just read ".....from indoors" and "use long cable" and sighed "oh no".......another down the rabbit hole..... USB3.0 has a cable limit of about 3 metres. USB2.0 about 5 metres. With a low powered, low resolution camera you might succeed longer with 'active cables" and powered hubs, but do be prepared for bucketloads of frustration. You must also consider remote control over scope and (motorised) focusser, else you will be in and out tweaking stuff every few minutes. But that begs the question, if screen/laptop is now indoors how do you focus outdoors? What I am leading up to is some advice that you need a holistic solution if you want to observe from indoors. The biggest (and costly) mistake is to tackle each device individually then discover on adding your next device a different route (such as WiFi) would be better.. You might employ an expensive device like ASIAir, or go DIY with twin-computers and remote desktop control. But do pause for careful thought. I suggest take one step at a time. Enjoy your (probably) ASI224MC with outdoor laptop for three months. See how you go with your scope. If you are like most if us, you might end up with different camera, different telescope; different computer in a very short space of time when you realise the limitations of a tight budget.

Hi Steve, I am going to start rather unconventionally with your computer, and not with camera.... You have an i3 with 8Gb RAM. Unfortunately, you don't say which generation of i3. But as it has a HD rather than SSD that probably suggests it is of an older vintage. I guess that given the two cameras mentioned, budget might also be a consideration. My experience is that if you want a near live observing experience using short stacked exposures the ratio between available computer power and a camera's data processing demands is critical. I have a 16 megapixel resolution camera and below an eighth generation i7 with 16Gb RAM it will huff and puff. So, don't expect to run a double digit megapixel CMOS camera on an i3 with 8Gb RAM. It might work if using longer exposures, but so slow! That makes your selection of the ASI224MC or ASI290 MC that have modest resolutions a very good one. Unless viewing on a 4K UHD monitor (as I do) and/or using Hyperstar or RASA (where more zoom is desirable), you don't need extremely high resolutions. Indeed, even with a high resolution camera, most of us apply binning (combining pixels) to improve sensitivity and lower read noise. The cameras suggested are hence a good fit (in my opinion) with your computing power. Even so, at their highest frame rates your modest laptop might chug along. I have just purchased an ASI224MC for planetary/lunar use. It was recommended as "the best" for that purpose by Ian King, and his advice is good enough for me! But notice how I have one camera for DSO's (original Atik Horizon) and another for planetary (ASi224MC). There probably isn't any ideal "one size fits all" until you get into the far more expensive realms of Atik Horizon II or ZWO ASI294. However, I have seen enough samples from both ASI224MC and ASI290 to suggest they are good compromises, and exceptional for planetary/lunar. Sorry, I don't have experience of your mount. The length of exposure possible depends entirely on its ability to be polar aligned and accurately track. However, your chosen cameras offer a fast frame rate desirable for planetary/lunar but also can handle slightly longer exposures for dimmer DSOs. Which camera is best for you is hard to ascertain. The ASI224MC is £219 and the ASI290MC £248. On most comparison charts, the ASI224MC gets a five-star rating for planetary and four stars for DSOs. The ASI290MC gets a similar five stars for planetary, but merely three stars for DSOs, which is rather odd given it is £20 more! I would email Ian King at FLO and get his advice which is best. You mention cable management. With what you propose that is not a concern because cable management from camera to laptop is minimal. But this assumes you are sat outside like a visual observer. The challenges of cable management only soar when you wish to (say) observe from indoors, hence perhaps then requiring motorised focuser, remote control of scope, WiFi etc. If using extreme short exposures (under 20 seconds), you don't need an autoguider (hence no cables for that). In summary, my view is go for the ASI224MC and enjoy what you have for three months. But expect to invest many £££££'s more if you get the urge to sit indoors (which I love about the potential of EEVA). Hope this helps!

This should assist with updating a 2015 Evolution and Nexstar + HC. 1. Install the latest version of JAVA into your Windows 10 laptop. Use link below to Nexstar Resource site if you need help. 2. Install the driver for your Serial to USB adapter cable. This is normally a PL2303 driver, but depends on the cable purchased. A 2015 model Nexstar + HC requires a cable with external serial to USB adapter. Later models use a simple USB cable (but still need the driver) Connect your HC to scope and then HC to the laptop, the latter using the serial to USB cable. You should be able to use Google to identify any specific driver for your cable, but a Prolific Technilogies PL2303 is normal. Again, the link below should assist. 3. Download CFM (Celestron Firmware Manager) from the Celestron website. Note here that any other updaters for earlier models do not apply. 4. This is a zip folder. Extract CFM, and LATER run its executable file from within its extracted directory. For some weird reason (I think the problem is with JAVA), desktop shortcuts can be pernikity. 5. Switch on scope. Then run CFM. 6. CFM will identify scope, identify updates necessary. 7. Press <update>. Follow on screen guidance. You might need a little more help with 1, 2, 4. Why Celestron doesn't auto-include JAVA and drivers within CFM escapes me. If you need more help with any step, send me a 'PM' and I can send you workarounds, but this thread would be a mile long if I here tried to cover all the varients like updating using an Apple-Mac or over WiFi. But this route (above) will work with any current Celestron model. Older scopes use a different process. This link will offer further guidance for you to resolve this yourself. But the basic steps above are correct. https://www.nexstarsite.com/OddsNEnds/HCFirmwareUpgradeHowToNexStarPlus.htm

I assume you are using a Nexstar + HC? 1. It is wise to update Firmware. There have been many bug fixes in recent years including to the pointing model. 2. Try a Sky-Align or Auto Two Star Align. It's quite easy to incorrectly identify cal-stars - so let the scope do the work. The 8SE instruction manual is one of Celestron's better efforts! I think It is pages 12 & 13 you need. 3. Have you checked your Location via Menu? This catches out many, especially errors due to not correctly selecting N, S, W, E (e.g. from Equator, Greenwich). 4. Make sure your mount arm is on the correct side. 5. Make sure you are using the USA date format of mm/dd/yyyy 6. To ensure your calc-star is centre, defocus so you can see a doughnut. Centre that with reference to your eyepiece. It's easier than finding the centre with a tiny point of light. It is almost odds on that your problem is user data error. The fact you scope heads off in the opposite direction suggests to me your error is highly likely to be either (3) or (5).

This is an image of Jupiter and three of its moons I captured a couple of years ago using a Celestron Nexstar Burst camera on a 8" Evolution. Was captured in I-Cap and stacked in Registax. I now use an Atik Horizon camera and chase DSO's but cheap cameras can produce quite decent planetary images via an 8" SCT.