timothy4

1 hour ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

I had the same thing happen with the tripod of my C8 SE (bought used.) This is possibly the same tripod.  I deduced that since the parts are plastic the root cause was over-tightening. Rather than buy a new leg (!!) I found a metal tube the right size that would slide over the broken part as reinforcement and stuck the whole thing back together with Araldite.

Yes the Messier objects do look like faint fuzzy blobs, especially in light-polluted skies. We keep telling newbies this...

Yes the basic red dot finders are not reliable. I have been replacing them with other devices.  Latest purchase was a Bresser model that seems better made. 

Have you tried looking at double stars? If you find them interesting, there are enough of them viewable with a 6" SCT to keep you occupied for ages.

If you do sell your outfit, you should get a good price and ready sale with the current supply shortage.

Thank you Cosmic Geoff for the useful information.  I am pretty confident I did not overtighten as I am very wary of this given how flimsy the locking nuts and mechanism on the legs have always felt to me and despite this I found that you do not need to tighten much to lock the legs firmly.  Understand about the message to newbies but it still seems like a remarkable lack of fulfilling observing as far as I am concerned.  I had a much better fun with a £70 refractor scope form Argos about 20 years ago in the SE London Suburbs as opposed to the edge of a Cotswold market town and £1300 scope.  I know it is hard to make direct comparisons like this but I can't help it.  I will try some double stars as I do not think I have tried that yet.  I did wonder about a finderscope upgrade but obviously not completely sure whether I am going to sell up or not at this stage.  Good to know I should get a good price if I do decide to sell. 

Hii All.  I used my Celestron Nexstar Evolution 6 scope I bought about 6 months ago lastvnight and one of the thumb screws on a leg made a clicking sound as I loosened it to take the scope down and it no longer clamps the leg so need a new leg.  A similar thing happened to another of the legs shortly after purchase which the retailer replaced.  

The leg clamps have always felt poor quality and weird to me but seem to firmly clamp the legs, at least temporarily!  All the legs produce a metallic sound like there is something loose inside and I can see a little metal plate through each thumb screw hole that slides around slightly; I don’t understand the mechanism inside.  The thumbscrew of the broken leg now just spins around in the hole and does not seem to tighten down on the leg.  As I say this is the 2nd leg now this has happened to within 6 months of purchase.

Can anybody shed any light on this strange phenomenon or experienced the same issue?

I persuaded the retailer to send me a replacement leg last time without having to bother returning the tripod but I think I may need to send the whole tripod back as all the legs could potentially be dodgy.  Weird thing is the locking mechanism of the replacement leg they sent to me when the first leg broke feels weird like the others and no different.

I aborted my observing session last night as was about to do my alignment and the red dot finder did not seem to turn on and assumed it was a dead battery.  I took the scope indoors and subsequently found out you have to remove the finderscope to replace the battery which I did.  Then guess what; I turned the finderscope on and it came on!!!  

I am beginning to hate this telescope and astronomy as I cannot see much with the scope anyway.  Yes, I have realistic expectations, use the Messier list and Stellarium to choose targets appropriately but alas all you see is a faint tiny fuzzy patch but mostly you see nothing at all.  Jupiter and Saturn which this scope would be good for are not observable at the moment from my location.  All I find myself looking at is the moon; I did not spend £1300 on a scope to look at the moon fascinating though it is.  This whole experience has been crap, very frustrating and disappointing.  The ironic thing is that I finally sorted out issues using SkyPortal on my phone and tablet with the scope a few days ago.  It worked like a dream and was the coolest thing ever but I still couldn’t see s**t  

Will I be able to sell the scope easily with a new tripod leg of course?

This rant had been very cathartic, thank you for reading in the unlikely event you got this far.  

Thank you for pointing out iapa.  I managed to update the handset and mount using CFM this morning.  Got an error message first time saying scope memory was corrupted or something tried again and it installed 11 updates!

11 hours ago, iapa said:

I re-read this and having checked my self, by turning on airplane mode, what version of iOS and iPadOS are you using.

In neither case were WiFi nor Bluetooth turned off, as was the case with earlier versions - I remember it being a pain having to turn BT back on for my headphones

IPadOS 14.5

IOS 14.4.2

 

Interesting.  I am using Android 10 and iOS 12.5.1.  Apologies; my iPad does not turn off WiFi in Airplane Mode but my phone does.  My iPad does not have cellular turned on.  Maybe it is cellular messing things up. 

Very kind, thank you Brown Dwarf

6 hours ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

With the Nexstar+ and Synscan handsets that incorporate a USB port, it is not what it seems.  With the Synscan V5 handset there is a serial-to USB in the handset and this requires a driver - you need to install a Prolific chipset driver which is a rigmarole as you have to first install the ASCOM platform. 

Evidently the same remarks apply to the newer Nexstar+ handsets but I do not have the details for installing the driver.  If you do not install a driver you clearly cannot use the "USB port".

Thank you that is very useful to know.  The Celestron support webpage is a useful resource but does not seem to be comprehensive and much important information seems to remain somewhat esoteric!

Thank you.  My phone and iPad were used separately of course, not at the same time.  I thought the same as you about Airplane Mode, it turns off cellular, WiFi and Bluetooth but you can still connect with Wifi to a selected network even in Airplane Mode at least on my devices.  So when in Airplane Mode I connected to the Evolution Mount WiFi.  Interestingly, I was able to do a 3 star alignment in SkyPortal when in Airplane Mode.  I have not managed to do a successful alignment in SkyPortal when I have managed to connect in the past before I knew about the Airplane Mode thing; the scope was always pointing in the opposite direction (180 degrees) form where it should have been...  

Thank you White Dwarf, much appreciated

Thanks, yes I did that Shimrod but still no luck unfortunately.  There is a YouTube video here where he talks about a driver that also need to be installed which I think will be the next thing I do and then try using CFM again.  This is part of the problem I have with Celestron; that you have to piece together information like this yourself from across the internet instead of them providing the required information.  The workflows themselves I find very inefficient as well although I know it seems to work well for some people

13 hours ago, Starwatcher2001 said:

I went around the houses with the same issue, updating software, closing down other apps on my tablet, switching off battery saving, forgetting other networks... I couldn't figure out a pattern, some nights it would work fine, but others would cause problems all night. Sometimes I could restart SkySafari and it would "cure" the problem for a while, other times I had to switch off the tablet and scope, then start from scratch including re-aligning.

The thing that finally solved my connection problems was buying an external Wifi module (2nd hand) and turning off the internal one!  Its worked fine since then.

Thank you for the response Mark, the lack of an obvious pattern to the problems is very frustrating isn't it; glad you found a workaround and I will take note of that.  I am surprised by the lack of information and technical support form Celestron; aftersales seems a bit rubbish.  As mentioned above, Interestingly, I turned Airplane Mode on my phone last night (and iPad) and it connected, I got the alignment spot on (can do this now in about 5 mins flat) and the scope operated like a dream; it was awesome even though I did not see much apart form the Moon pretty much.  Not much around to see at the moment it seems at least for me with my equipment and skill levels. 

14 hours ago, Shimrod said:

java isn't obsolete, but you need to keep the version up to date! CFM does run as a java app but is quite straightforward to use. Best advice is only to flash one device at a time - CFM should report the current version as well as the version it has downloaded for update.

Thank you for the advice.  Tried updating using CFM yesterday which I found a whole world of pain and information on what cables to use is sparse or seems conflicting.  A USB form PC to the mini USB at the bottom of the handset was not recognised. Seems like a mini usb to serial cable may do the trick so may try that next.  Interestingly, I turned Airplane Mode on my phone last night (and iPad) and it connected, I got the alignment spot on (can do this in about 5 mins flat) and the scope operated like a dream; it was awesome even though I did not see much apart form the Moon pretty much.  Not much around to see at the moment it seems at least for me with my equipment and skill levels. 

Thanks, I thought somebody might say that   Only thing probably have not tried so will give it a go.  The CFM software only seems to run with Java; is that correct please?  Celestron support seems a bit rubbish as I understand Java is obsolete because of security issues!

Hi, can anybody direct me to UK technical support for Celestron products now David Hinds has closed please? 

I am having problems connecting SkyPortal to a Celestron Nexstar Evolution 6 having tried various possible solutions I have found in the user manual and online; forgetting other WiFi networks, ensuring I am using Direct Connect, powering mount down and back up again, starting SkyPortal and then trying to reconnect etc.  A message comes up on my phone and iPad (used separately of course) saying a connection has been made but the telescope is not responding, make sure the correct scope is selected and other times it simply cannot make a connection!  I do not live in an area with particularly hi levels of WiFi traffic/networks. 

Many Thanks

Tim

12 hours ago, ollypenrice said:

You can only damage the mirrors and corrector plate by scratching them or breaking them so, if you haven't done either (and clearly you haven't), then they will be fine. They cannot be 'slightly cracked.'   Optimism!

Olly

Thanks, that is reassuring to know 👍

12 hours ago, Sunshine said:

I hope everything is ok after a star test, one night out will reveal any issues.

Thank you

14 hours ago, Highburymark said:

Was it just the OTA or the mount too? They are both pretty robust, so there’s a good chance you’ll be fine. 

Thanks for reply; it was the OTA and mount too

14 hours ago, Highburymark said:

Was it just the OTA or the mount too? They are both pretty robust, so there’s a good chance you’ll be fine. 

Just an update after following advice above; the mirror and corrector do not appear to be cracked after a fairly thorough inspection and also the focuser still works so hopefully I may have got away with it barring a possible need for collimation.  Probably a good idea for me to start checking collimation anyway...

Thanks.  I cannot see a crack in the mirror or corrector but guess it could be a hidden thing and will not know until I try to use.  I’m scared to look but will of course; worse case scenario that would be £1,300 down the drain

2 minutes ago, PeterCPC said:

Check that the mirror is moving still using the focuser. Then collimate using a star - taking it in and through focus to get a uniform "doughnut" both sides of focus. Plenty of guides online.

Will do, thanks

Hi All.  Using my skill and judgement I placed my newish Celestron Nexstar Evolution 6 scope on my office chair last night after observing and turned my back and then about 30 seconds later heard an almighty crash as my scope crashed onto the wooden laminate floor.  There is no obvious outward signs of damage to the scope but there is now a dent in my nice laminate floor! Will the scope be alright or have I likely irreparably damaged it?  What should I do next; check the collimation?  I am a technically minded beginner and this is my first scope so I have never collimated before.  If collimation is what I need to do what is the easiest way to do this?  Is any specialist kit of use; I can see the advantage of an artificial star as you can collimate any time of day and not be weather dependent?

I feel really gutted about what happened as I am naturally a very careful person.  What happened is slightly mysterious too although I remember now that I may have the seat of my  chair set on a very slight slope; its meant to help protect the lower back.  Am hoping the damaged floor will be covered by my insurance so have to investigate that as well now.  Thank you in advance to all you kind stargazers for any advice on where to go from here.  

1 hour ago, Armand Popa said:

In the best base, under great sky conditions and a good scope, you can expect to see some of the nebulas an galaxies only as a faint and small cloud , something like this

 

or this one

Some of them can be visible only with adverted vision (you do not look directly to the object, but somewhere near it), and do not expect to see colors or too many details.

With your scope, the planets must look nice, but in case of planetary observations, you depend on the good seeing conditions. When the conditions are not so good, you will not be able to make focus at higher magnifications.

Do not give up! Astronomy is like any sport or learning a musical instrument  . You have to practice a lot, and train your eye at the eyepiece.

Clear sky and good luck

Armand

 

Thank you Armand for the useful information and encouraging words.  I am going to keep practicing and not give up.

On 10/11/2020 at 23:24, Louis D said:

The Caldwell catalog is another good resource for showpiece objects missed by Messier.

Thank you for pointing out this useful resource 

On 10/11/2020 at 22:24, MercianDabbler said:

I don't think anybody said M57 yet, so...

M57

Lyra is often pretty high from our neck of the woods and M57 is a lot less of a fuzzy thing than many other objects.

I'd suggest getting a bit more involved in planning your own target list, for example look at the Messier list on Wikipedia and sort the table by constellation. Figure out which constellations are favourable and pick some easier Messier objects to start with. The Messier Marathon Planner http://calgary.rasc.ca/darksky/messierplanner.htm is handy because it tells you which ones are easy to spot and which are difficult. You don't need to do a marathon to get some good info from this site.

For me, star hopping to a target is part of the fun (assuming a successful outcome anyway), albeit now using Stellarium on a tablet rather than a paper sky atlas.

Stick with it

Thank you for the useful, practical and encouraging advice

On 09/11/2020 at 20:13, KP82 said:

I could fully understand your disappointment.

The first time I looked through a telescope was when I was in Year 10. The scope, an 80mm refractor belonged to my Physics teacher. Since then I always wanted one for myself. Two years later my aunt bought me a Tasco 60/900. I enjoyed the views of Jupiter and Saturn through it. However that was about all I could see with it. Then I read up some magazines about different aspects of a scope like aperture, focal length, refractor vs reflector, etc. and started to suspect the reason I couldn't see much else with my 60mm was because of its limited aperture. So when my cousin got a 114mm newt, I immediately went to his house and asked to try it. Unfortunately there weren't much to see either. All those beautiful looking galaxies/nebulae printed on the box were either a blob of fuzzy or a grey hazy patch. I still believe these marketing materials have a lot to do with unrealistic expections among beginners like once I was.

I finally started imaging a couple of years ago when I acquired my own APO refractor. The results so far have been quite satisfactory. I haven't given up on visual, but my main targets are now open clusters, doubles and planets.

Thank you, I can now understand the attraction of imaging vs observation, at least theoretically as I do not know from a practical point of view, at least not yet

On 09/11/2020 at 15:55, Tiny Clanger said:

Just a thought about those steep hills you mention , it is possible with a bit of faff and photoshop, to add your own ground image to the downloaded version of Stellarium ( it was easy on the old version I've had for years, but a bit of a struggle for a non- computery fool like me on a new version on a windows10 machine. ) My suburban garden faces south, and there's one whacking great evergreen tree obstructing the exact middle of my view, so the personalized foreground (once adjusted to be as accurately lined up as possible) lets me check on the computer what will be visible (clouds willing) at any time I choose. 

 

Thank you for the advice