Part 2 Celestron CPC 1100 - Unboxing, Assembly and First Light

[AlistairHowie]

CONTINUED FROM BEFORE ...

And now to mounting the OTA. Again, pretty straightforward. Move the scope around on the tripod until the centre post on the tripod clicks into position on the base of the scope. Not sure I want to be doing that in the dark on my own though. Note to self, get the Starizona landing pad in the New Year for safety’s sake http://starizona.com/acb/Landing-Pad---Celestron-CPC-Series-P3071C109.aspx $50 well spent ... or probably around £60 once shipping, VAT and tax are taken into account! Gotta love rip-off Britain!

Anyway, once the scope is mounted on the locating pin, it’s simply a case of tightening up the three captive bolts. They were quite stiff and I was sure I’d done them all up, but once I stepped back I realised that the fork/scope unit was wobbling a little. That couldn’t be right, so I checked the bolts again. The first two were tight, so I was beginning to get anxious, but sure enough, the last one wasn’t, and once sorted it was as solid as Gibraltar! Man, I really love this scope. Beautiful – so glad I decided not to put a Telrad on it J

Next up, I tried inserting the star diagonal into what I thought was the visual back. But it wasn’t the visual back, it was just the back of the telescope. Doh ...

A further search in the packing revealed this piece of kit, the visual back ...

... into which I’m pleased to say that the diagonal went!

Only two problems brought a premature end to my evening. The first was that try as hard as I could, I just couldn’t get the lens cap off the star diagonal. It just wouldn’t budge. A bit embarrassing, but a post to SGL came up with the answer – just use some brute strength! (thanks Merlin.) Turned out that the cap isn’t a screw one and it just needed to be pulled off, and with the help of a couple of elastic bands for grip, it did eventually came off ... although not before I’d inadvertently unscrewed part of the diagonal and got some dust inside in the process – nice! I gave it a blow and a wipe with a spectacle cloth and I think it’s ok – fingers crossed.

The second problem – well not so much a problem, just my lack of understanding – was knowing how to mount the RDF. No instructions from Baader – thanks for that guys – and a bit of confusion regarding knowing which screws retain the primary mirror, and which do not, and thus could be removed. I was pretty sure it was the rear most screws which are presented in three groups of two which are used for mounting accessories, but it’s not the sort of mistake I wanted to make on a new £2.5k bit of kit!

Again, SGL to the rescue! It’s the rear most screws, right??? (thought I’d best just double and triple check that!).

OK, that’s enough for just now.

Next up I’ll be installing the RDF (think I’ll leave the Celestron finder scope off at the moment) and getting the battery velcroed in some way to the fork. Then onto figuring out the handset and if the clouds ever disappear and I get some me time.... first light!

Watch this space if you're still awake ....

[Duns]

Alistair

This is fascinating - like watching a good serialised thriller on the TV - can't wait for the next episode

[kirkster501]

This is great stuff Alistair, keep it going - people will be thanking you for this for years!! me included

[Tinker1947]

I have a Meade same tripod and mount type, making the mounting of the scope on the tripod easier i marked a leg of the tripod with tape made this the north facing leg, once the scope had been mounted i always set the scope aligned north when taken down, so it just needed placing on the tripod facing north and the captive bolts dropped into place, also a slight wiggle while tightening them helped align them and get them tight.

[glowjet]

Alistair next time you or anyone else has trouble gripping things to undo, filters dust caps etc, treat yourself to a pair of vinyl or rubber coated cotton backed gloves, they are as "cheap as chips" from any general/hardware store and excellent to use

[AlistairHowie]

This is great stuff Alistair, keep it going - people will be thanking you for this for years!! me included

Happy it's of use - you can do likewise when you buy your scope!Part 3 just going up in 5 minutes - enjoy!

I have a Meade same tripod and mount type, making the mounting of the scope on the tripod easier i marked a leg of the tripod with tape made this the north facing leg, once the scope had been mounted i always set the scope aligned north when taken down, so it just needed placing on the tripod facing north and the captive bolts dropped into place, also a slight wiggle while tightening them helped align them and get them tight.

Good idea - thanks for that.

Alistair next time you or anyone else has trouble gripping things to undo, filters dust caps etc, treat yourself to a pair of vinyl or rubber coated cotton backed gloves, they are as "cheap as chips" from any general/hardware store and excellent to use

Thanks - I guess that works on the same principle as me wrapping discarded Royal Mail red elastic bands around the equipment and twisting! But yours is a more elogant solution!