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[LouisB]

Hello everbody - new member - first post

Just purchased a CPC 800 and will probably start setting it up tomorrow. My previous dabbling with other lesser equipment was always in manual and not the all singing and dancing computerised system I now have.

There is one question that I am not sure of and the book of words does not cover it. I live in a balcony flat on the UK south coast. The balcony faces west with a horizon of about eighty degrees either side of due west. Vertically the sky coverage is somewhat more with a clear view above the balcony.

Now, the question. After the GPS system for the telescope has picked up its satellites will the telescope auto search with only the limited field of view. Obviously it cannot complete a full 360 degree search of the heavens as it will not be able to see them, so what will it do, if anything.

Any guidance greatly appreciated.

LouisB

[Nexus 6]

I am sure you may need a fairly flat horizon in all directions for it to connect with the satellites, I did think I had read it in the manual though.

[Flyingpig]

As the owner of the same but larger scope I will try to answer your question. It's possible to just align and go you can tell the scope what you want to view choosing objects that are in view from your location. The sky tour might be tricky as many objects would be unviewable. There is a more advanced option -You can program slew limits into the Nexstar remote to tell the scope when to stop. This process is tedious and little complicated but the instructions are in the manual and easyish to follow. Getting an acurate initial alignment might be a bit trickier as the scope seems to like to align best with three objects at opposing sides of the sky but it will remember the alignment for future observations (unless you move the scope) I can't remember if there is a memory option to remember a particular location; I can't remember seeing this but this may be an option - if so I would mark the position of the tripod legs noting which way the scope sits on top of the mount so that it's in the correct position otherwise you will need to align it and set the slew limits each time. It's a great scope though so enjoy it, I find that the Celestron eyepieces work very well with the scope the ultima is fantastic but the X-Cell LX range are very good too. Axioms are renamed Luminos they are expensive but superb they give tele vue's a run for their money! Hope that helps.

[Nexus 6]

Just checked, on page 14 of the manual it says it will take longer for it to link to the satellites so you should be ok.

Once alinged it will slew to any targets you choose regardless of the obstructions to its view, I usually do a three star to get as precise an alignment as possible but it does pretty well on an auto two star too.

[Flyingpig]

It's quite good at picking up the satalites so alignment is possible it's just a bit trickier to get it accurate but if you choose three objects as far apart as possible you should manage, but be patient you might need a few attempts a clear 360 horizon does make it much easier but it's a good scope and it's perfectly possible. Good luck.

[LouisB]

Well, I'm surprised and thankful for the very quick and extremely helpful replies. Living where I do was always going to be somewhat of a compromise. The 'scope should do everything I require - more philosphical/wonderment than leading edge technical requirements these days

No doubt I will be boring other posters by some fairly mundane questions in the coming weeks - please bear with me. Just a quick one for the time being. I know that primes are the lens of choice but for general, non specific purposes does anybody have a view about the latest Baader click stop zoom. Thankyou.

Regards to all,

LouisB

[Flyingpig]

Your better off buying two good Prime EP's and a 2 x Barlow (or powermate) in my opinion although I have heard that the Baader Hyperion zoom is one of the best zooms on the market. If you are using the Barlow/Powermate option you'd be wise to purchase very good quality EP's such as tele vue plossol's which are not too heavy or bulky than hyperion's and the Celestron eyepieces I mentioned in my post above the tele vue plossol doesn't look too fancy they look identical to cheap no frills plossols like the celestron omni series or similar but the optical quality is superior. If cost is an issue a the Omni series eyepieces are not too bad or else you can get the Celestron eyepiece case for around £100. Search the forum there are plenty of eyepiece debates and recommendations.

[LouisB]

Your better off buying two good Prime EP's and a 2 x Barlow (or powermate) in my opinion although I have heard that the Baader Hyperion zoom is one of the best zooms on the market. If you are using the Barlow/Powermate option you'd be wise to purchase very good quality EP's such as tele vue plossol's which are not too heavy or bulky than hyperion's and the Celestron eyepieces I mentioned in my post above the tele vue plossol doesn't look too fancy they look identical to cheap no frills plossols like the celestron omni series or similar but the optical quality is superior. If cost is an issue a the Omni series eyepieces are not too bad or else you can get the Celestron eyepiece case for around £100. Search the forum there are plenty of eyepiece debates and recommendations.

Thanks for the advice FP. I have now assembled everything and apart from the GOTO facilities the scope is up and running. You are correct in your suggestion regarding zooms. I have compared some 'borrowed' zooms with the couple of primes that I have and found the primes, even when coupled to a Barlow are brighter and with more contrast. I think that the path that you put forward will be the one I will follow. Thanks again for your guidance.

Regards,

LouisB