Maideneer

I think that's one of my two problems...mounting it wrong. It's one of those stupid simple things that makes you slap your head when you finally figure it out.

Not in my case because I'm a bozo lol. I tried to show in my picture that I presumed the actual front of the mount needed to be facing north, which would cause the scope to be perpendicular (east-west) and I also got confused at the left-right facing scope thing which I think I can rectify now.

I was under the impression my mount had to be facing north, I didn't know the scope had to be facing due north. . Cheers for the info friend, I'll try and apply it tonight.

For the life of me, I cannot figure this out. Got to take out my setup last night for only the second time as it's been cloudy for weeks and I've been trying in vain to align my Skywatcher AZ-GTi mount to no avail. I'm using it in ALT-AZ mode for now, and I've probably researched every article and watched every Youtube vid I could find and still nothing is working...I feel like I'm stupidly dense or something because there is something just not clicking in the cranium. I thought I was supposed to point the dang thing north to start so that's what I did, err, I think anyway. Am I pointing the wrong end north? See picture. Also, I'm reading that the actual scope has to be mounted a certain way on the mount correct? Which way would that be? I've read all of this left/right stuff and those directionals mean nothing to me as it depends on someone's viewpoint. When I aimed north to start, I attempted to align by directing SynScan to go to the Moon first, and that took it so far off course it wasn't even close, it was basically pointing at the ground. I reset and tried again with another start (Vega I believe)...again, wasn't even in the realm of close. I made sure my location settings were correct in the app so that wasn't the issue. Here's how I got something to "work". I had it track to the moon and when it was essentially pointing at the ground and who knows how many degrees from my actual target, I picked the whole thing up, turned it around, manually aligned to the moon and then clicked OK on the app. I felt like a ridiculous clown doing that but somehow it actually managed to do the trick but something tells me that isn't right on a long term basis. I'm thinking about getting SkySafari to control the mount but I should probably master the basics first. Tips/tricks appreciated.

What I cannot seem to find for this scope is a solar filter. Celestron apparently discontinued the 70mm filter and absolutely nobody has it in stock. Ideas anyone?

Bless you for fixing that, it didn’t even occur to me to manipulate it. I have Photoshop on my phone so next time I’ll head there first. Cheers!

This is going to seem ridiculous to some but that’s ok. I got my very first telescope just last week and the weather has been absolutely horrible so I’ve only been able to use it twice so far, for about 20 minutes each time. I have a simple Celestron TS 70 on an AZ-GTi mount with some better EP’s and a good 90 degree diagonal and a neutral density filter. Keep in mind, I know next to nothing so far about AP so this is INCREDIBLY crude. Taken with an iPhone with an 8mm EP (IIRC) with horrific cloud cover and about 5 seconds to capture it before it was unseen again. Forget the quality, the point is it gave me confidence to keep going with this hobby for the long term. Thanks for reading.

Thank you! Weather is a factor right now for the next week, booooo.

A head torch, ha never thought of that! Oh, I did fail to mention I do have an EP smartphone adapter so covered there. Have not heard of a planisphere yet so will check it out!

Keep in mind I'm just a newbie who is just starting out so I'd love to hear perspective and input as far as what I still might need (or don't). Here is my set-up: Celestron TravelScope 70 Skywatcher AZ-GTi mount Celestron 1.25-Inch Twist-Lock Dielectric Star Diagonal Celestron 2.3mm X-Cel LX Eyepiece Celestron 32 mm Omni Plossl Eyepiece Celestron 8-24 mm Zoom Eyepiece Celestron 1.25" 3x X-Cel LX Barlow Lens Celestron Neutral Density Moon Filter You'll quickly notice my general affinity towards the Celestron brand, as that it what I gravitated to when I first started researching this hobby a few months ago. I'm generally a "brand" guy so if I find one that I'm comfortable with, I'll stick with that brand unless they don't make something particular or something else is just so outstanding it's worth buying from another manufacturer. I know that I need a little red flashlight so that's incoming. I also just bought a DC battery pack for my mount so I don't have to run on batteries. What I don't have is a case to keep all my eyepieces (I have the backpack Celestron sent me with the scope), and what I'm finding so far is that in the dark it is tough to either find my eyepieces as I try them all out and it's also difficult to remember what FOV each eyepiece has because it's not printed on the EP anywhere, so are those things I can easily mark down on each piece or should I make a little "cheat sheet" and always bring it with me until I remember it? Thanks for the help so far on this site, I am finding everyone genuinely helpful and kind towards others, and that is a major catalyst for not scaring off those new to this hobby.

Thanks for that. I don't yet have a Nexstar/CGEM/VX whatever that assists in those things. Once I learn and get good on my starter kit I will take the plunge into something better I decided, so for now SynScan is my friend and I will have to get good at that. It doesn't help that it's been cloudy and raining these last 2 weeks 😞

So Mr. Badhex, I’ve now got a very similar setup to this one in the photo and I took it out last night for the first time to try and understand what I am doing. I am having trouble with some things…if I have some random star centered in my scope, can the SynScan app tell me what that star is or is that not a thing? I suppose I could use one of those Night Sky apps for that but maybe I’m wrong. Also, the app gives me some pre-selected stars during the alignment process but what if I find some random star in the sky I want to align to? Can I point to that and have the mount begin alignment on that?

Just came across this as I just bought one myself, so thank you to all who gave suggestions, I've gone with the TalentCell.

No, not the whole order. I am getting some accessories (eyepieces, filters etc) and I am going to fit those on my Travelscope 70 for now on an AZ-GTi mount I got today. I want to say this is a blessing as it will allow me to learn about the accessories first which I can use on the EdgeHD later on when things calm down in the market.

You sir are amazing. And no worries about the other thread, I just felt like I was bothering you and I didn't want to seem annoying. Your information is here is great, I read through it all and will apply accordingly!

I just picked up a 32mm ep, a 8-24 zoom and a 2.3 mm ep in addition to a smartphone adapter and a neutral density filter. All good to learn on and will be helpful when I finally pick up an EdgeHD sometime in the future when things are back in stock again. Thanks again!

Oh my, what a wealth of knowledge you just handed over. I can't thank you enough!

Great thread thanks! So, what it comes with is a 20mm ep, a 10mm ep (how do I tell if something is a Plossl or something else?) and a diagonal (not sure of specs). It is a 400mm scope like yours.

I need the following advice for my TS70 for which I only have the standard, supplied accessories for...I understand they are not very good and are just 'the basics". 1) Good low-power eyepiece with wide field of view 2) Is the supplied diagonal acceptable or should I source another? 3) Will this connect straightaway to a AZ-GTi mount or do I need another dovetail bar or mechanism? 4) A smartphone adapter (just want to take a few basic pics to test some things out for myself) I'm confidently guessing the diagonal and EP are 1.25" here. Lastly, the finderscope is really annoying and I'm thinking about removing it totally...the placement of it is such that the diagonal and eyepiece get in the way when trying to view through the finderscope and it's really more of an obstruction so not sure if anyone has any tips there. Thanks a ton...from a newbie.

I have a Travelscope 70. May I ask how mounting it to the AZ-GTi works? aka did you need to purchase extras to make it attach?

Oh thanks I did not know that was possible in the profile, thank you!

Thanks for this, I will keep an eye on the stock. I am in the US so I will hopefully wish shipping is not too much extra but it might be worth it in the end. You sir, have my thanks.

I have experienced my first official heartbreak today. The place I ordered my AVX from called and told me they do not have it in stock even though the website said available so now I am back to work searching for an alternative. I do see a 9.25 AVX (not HD) in stock so I’m wondering if I should go with that.🤷‍♂️ I am a bit sad to be honest.

Amazing! I just pulled the trigger and made my purchases! Had to go to three different sites to find everything in stock and then price compare, but here is what I ended up with. Advanced VX 8" EdgeHD Telescope DEW SHIELD DX STARSENSE AUTOALIGN SkyPortal WiFi Module NEUTRAL DENSITY MOON FILTER EclipSmart White-Light Solar Filter 8-24MM ZOOM EYEPIECE X-Cel LX 5 mm Eyepiece Smartphone Adapter DX Kit I think that will basically set me up for visuals for a good long time lol. AP can come later, but I basically just spent 3 grand as a treat to myself for surviving these past few years - getting through a long bout of depression and anxiety, finding a new job and coming out the other end much happier. Thank you everyone for awesome advice, I think I'm going to be busy very, very soon.

I think I'm gonna wait on a reducer because I'll think about getting a Hyperstar which I am reading does a fantastic job and I also have to think about a proper camera. Right now I'm going to solely focus (ha) on visuals for a while so I can get familiar and acclimated to everything.