martin77

This post is a thank you to online retailer Picstop.co.uk - last January I bought from them a Celestron Nexstar 4SE and after a few weeks the Red-dot kind of became slightly temperamental to say the least. Anyway, inevitably just after the warranty lapsed it gave up the ghost completely, I tried a new battery - nope! I tried an Air duster - nope!. So as a last resort I emailed Picstop explaining the problem but was fully and painfully aware the warranty had just lapsed and I was probably wasting my time - wrong!! - the next working day I receive an email from them to say a replacement is being delivered the following day by courier direct from Celestron!!. Good to their word it arrived today. Excellent service from both parties and much appreciated here.

Stress - just what you want on the way to the Airport!!!....😬

Thanks Stu - yes the set up works fine for Lunar observations etc. I did, as a precaution check that the scope was focusing on land based objects and they were clear as a bell so I can only think the issue lies elsewhere. Perhaps it doesn't like the Objective filter. I held it up to the sun to check for pinholes etc and there was a perfect image of the sun visible and just the sort of image I would expect to see through the eyepiece only bigger.

** HELP** Today I tried my first solar observation and the results - if I could call them that - were hugely disappointing. All I got was a fuzzy circle of white light with absolutely zero detail and no obvious focus point. The rig was a Nexstar 4SE with an astrozap Baader 5 Solar objective filter and eps of 40/25mm and also a 15mm all tried with and without a Svbony 1.25” UV/IR Eyepiece filter. The viewing was around 12 - 2pm so the sun was close to daily zenith and the sky was clear. I spent 2 hrs on it and at no stage even came close to any discernible image. Any ideas why I just wasted 2 hrs and possibly a pot of money!!.....

Thanks Neil. We were in period of Solar minimum I believe so its high time there were a few!!

Thank Paz - doesn't sound OCD to me buddy. 👍👍👍

Cheers Roy. Those mounts are a bit off my price range at the minute. Cheers though.

Thanks Red Dwarf - looking at your number of posts I reckon you probably know more than me so that's good enough for me. 👍

Hi. I am an optimist and I'm working - perhaps naively - on the assumption that one day the skies over Britain will clear and the sun will shine. I intend to try my first solar observations and would love any tips. I'm aware of not lining up the scope prior to putting the filter on and covering up the guidescope. My real question is I intend to use an Astrozap Baader Solar 5 objective filter and also a Svbony UV/IR 1.25" eyepiece filter on a Celestron Nexstar 4SE Mak. Does this sound a safe setup? Cheers.

Thanks Nicola - I'm not that bad really - I'm pretty up front about it, I just think she's given up arguing. You want to see my fishing gear!! - more expensive than any telescope apart from possibly the Hubble!!.

😪 How awful - can't be too careful with your eyesight.

Thanks Mark- I was thinking along the same lines but thought it may degrade the image too much and render it a bit pointless but I've not tried it yet so wouldn't know.

Hi does anyone know if the Gosky solar filters on Amazon are any good? - I have seen some stuff on the net from 3-4 years back saying there were some rip-offs going around. Given the nature of the product - and its cost - I'd like to be sure its safe to use.

That's brilliant of you and I thank you for your kind and very appreciated offer. Its marginal and I'll probably live with it - it's just the tiny amount of (and it is tiny) of debris that I worry that it may drop onto the mirror. Thanks once again 🙌

Agree 100% - it is a last resort to be honest. The burr is tiny but is enough to just cause particularly extraction to be a bit iffy - I may just live with it but I'm a bit pedantic about such things. 👍

Thanks Ricochet - I tend as a rule to steer clear of second hand unless I can actually see it but thanks anyway. I may attempt to de-burr it with a dremel as on very close inspection there is just the merest hint of an irregularity on the leading edge of the cloak. The Lens itself is worth perseverance I think.

Anyone else had an issue with Svbony red range eyepiece barrels being machined marginally too large? I bought from Amazon a 15mm 1.25" wide angle and it is sticking in the barrel of my Nexstar 4SE. I think it's going back because I am worried about debris dropping into the mirror assembly - the eyepiece tube on a 4SE is plastic and it is shaving away tiny fragments that could end up God knows where.

My local for years - apparently its a Chinese restaurant now😪

Oh It won't be - if ever the 5000ft cloudbase decides to go elsewhere!....

Know it very well. - I was born and raised in Stockland Green. Its predominantly Polish there now.

I`ve got the Aculon 12 x 50s that i use for air shows etc but i am not that in love with them to be honest.

I use a pair of Celestron Skymaster 20 x 80s with a tripod - huge things that the captain of an Aircraft carrier would probably use but easily manageable with a decent tripod though i definitely recommend using a chair with the set-up.

Well the Postman - heavily disguised as an Amazon Driver - is supposed to be delivering a 15mm Celestron Omni eyepiece later on today.....

Thanks - i appreciate it.

Thanks for the welcome.