Absolute beginner needs help and some comfort !

[Noel Greene]

This is my first posting to this site and I hope I am in the right place. My wife has always wanted a telescope and for her retirement she was given a Celestron CPC 925 on advice of a friend. The telescope arrived in 2 large crates and I spent a day putting it together. Not knowing anything whatsoever about how telescopes work we have had a real frustrating time so far. I read the meanual as far as I could understand it and after 2 weeks I believe I have now "aligned" the finder with the telescope. The Telescope came with a 40mm eyepiece and our first "manual`' look at the moon was disappointing. After a few calls back to the shop where we bought the scope we realised that we needed a series of eyepieces which we subsequently bought. As we have retired to Cyprus the moon this week rises early morning so I cannot align the Scope with the Moon. Last night I inserted a 17mm eyepiece and tried to align the scope with the 3 star alignment mode. I could see the star brightly in the finderscope but for the life of me I couldnt see it in the Telescope. I tried using the focus knob turning both right and left but to no avail. All I saw was a grey view with not a sign of a star or any light. I then pointed the Scope at a cluster of stars but could see nothing at all through the scope. I am trying to stop myself phoning the supplier, he must think I am a real no hoper at this stage. If this is the right place to set this post I would be very very grateful for a mentor who would guide me through some initial phases so we can at least see some views from this telescope

[freeflyjay]

I`m fairly new to this myself, silly question but first i trust you`ve taken the cap off the frount of the scope (dust sheild) when trying the focus turn the knob faily slowly, it`s quite easy to zip straight past the sweet spot.

nice scope by the way, wouldn`t mind that myself but too expensive for me, i have a 10" dobsonian.

[Carbon Brush]

Ah Cyprus.

Am I first in the queue to offer to spend 2 weeks helping set up your scope and show you how to go on, in exchange for room and bed?

Are you near the beach? Decent local dive sites? Good local food?

Sorry I can't do that as I have used all my leave from work this year.

May I suggest trying the scope in daylight? Just look at a distant horizon. You can make sure the finder and scope are correctly aligned. You stand a much better chance of sorting out focus problems in the day. Start with your lowest magnification (biggest number) eyepiece as focus changes will be more gradual.

Hope this helps. David.

[Cornelius Varley]

Moved to the beginners section.

Peter

[Ganymede12]

Do cassergrains need collimating?

If so then are you sure it's properly collimated?

[Cornelius Varley]

The C9.25 has a long focal length (2349.5mm) so with a 17mm eyepiece the magnification would be 138x. The 40mm eyepiece may give you a more useful lower magnification for general viewing (58x).

Take a look at this site http://www.12dstring.me.uk/fov.htm which has a useful field of view calculator. Enter your telescope details and eyepiece (switch the calculator to visual view) and select an object from the lists. The calculator will then display a photograph of the selected objected at the calculated magnification. Note, these are photographs and do not represent what you will actually see through an eyepiece.

Peter

[valleyman]

As already stated get the scope out during the dayand have a play. Line up the finder with the Telescope by viewing a distant object about a mile away. use your lowest magnification EP to find a target get it dead center in the EP then adjust the Finder using the adjusting screws.

Practise focusing on a distant object using larger magnification EP's.

Finally the cpc 925 is a big beast and will need a good hour outside to cool down, maybe longer.

Its a big learning curve so take your time and it will all fall into place.

[Tinker1947]

When you look through the telescope your field of view is some like looking at your little finger nail at 10' when you aim it at anything you will have more luck winning the lottery than getting a chosen star in the FOV, so you need to align the finder scope so point the telescope at a distant object get this centered in the FOV and then change to a higher powered EP(low MM) and centre it again, once this is done adjust the finder scope to the same object, this should give you a good starting point for star gazing, there will be more adjustments to be made when you choose a star. So that's the how to aim it sorted now to view stuff, you need to move the focusor in and out really slowly, a out of focus star will look like a Polo Mint, gets bigger if you go the wrong way, if after all this you cannot still focus on a Distant Object or a Star you more than likely require a extender to move the EP out farther from the focusing tube, you can do a rough test by loosing the EP and slide it out with the focusor at maximum travel, if this start to bring things into focus a 2" or 3" extender will be required, my own scope requires a 2" extender with e Baader Hyperions, but nothing with the Pentax EP's so its not a fault with your scope should you require one, its down to the type of EP's you have. Good luck and welcome to SGL and please post how you get on...

[JamesF]

I'm not sure I'd bother saying this if you were in the UK, but... If you are attempting to do the alignment during the day, which is the best way to do it, at least to get it close to right, make sure you don't point it at the sun, even by accident.

Also be aware that if you're sufficiently far out of focus for the eyepiece you're using (and they'll probably all be in focus at slightly different points), a grey haze may well be all you see even if you are pointing right at a star. As you get towards focus you'll see a bright disc with a "hole" in the middle which becomes smaller and better-defined as you get closer to focus. Again, it's worth trying to find focus with at least one eyepiece during the day. Ideally pick something fairly distant as a target.

James

[lancerde]

I can't help with the technical advice but that has been well covered already. I can help with the comfort hopefully. It does not matter that you have a good scope or that you have good eyepieces this hobby/obsession takes time to get to grips with. Expectation management is also important. You are not going to get Hubble type images with any scope other than the Hubble. They work out a bit expensive. You have a very nice scope and with patience and following the advice of the very experienced and lovely folk on this forum you will soon be seeing stuff that will take your breath away.

[Noel Greene]

Thanks to everyone who has responded to my plea for help. I will certainly try out the suggested solutions. one thing I am intrigued about is a comment by Vallyman where he says that the scope needs an hour or more outside to cool down. It is 30c here in cyprus at 23.00 .. will this heat affect the operation of the scope. Just one small clarification point ... we got this scope on recommendation that it was easy to set up and had a GPS system to automatically find planets etc etc .. but as I suspected it was never going to be as simple as that. Thank you all again for your helpful comments and your courtesy to a real greenhorn

[JamesF]

Cooling down time may not be such an issue for you I guess. The intention is that the telescope should have reached ambient temperature so that your views aren't affected by distortion due to the mirrors and lenses expanding and contracting. I imagine that in Cyprus it may well be close to ambient temperature to start with, whereas here it's not uncommon for people to take a scope from a 20C house to 0C outdoors.

James

[Nibor]

Congratulations on taking up an interest that can keep you both happily interested for many, many, years to come!

I took up the hobby about 2 years ago when I retired and there is much to learn and wonder at.

I found this forum especially helpful in learning about telescopes - how to choose and use them and what to look out for in the heavens. I have continued to spend much time browsing the forums and searching for answers to the inevitable crop of questions that arise.

For my own twopennyworth I would suggest "Stellarium" a FOC planetarium and the following books:-

http://www.stellarium.org/

Pocket Sky Atlas

Turn Left at Orion

Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders

As a general reader on Astronomy I found Dorling Kindersley's Eyewitness Companions "Astronomy" by Ian Ridpath a helpful starting point.

For a selection of well priced preloved astro books try Abebooks for some real bargains.

http://www.abebooks.co.uk/

A good pair of binoculars (check out SGL sites) is also a helpful addition.

Once again do check out the beginners section in the forum and stick with the hobby - you have a great scope system, which many aspire to - so good luck with your journey to the stars.

[valleyman]

As already stated. cooling might not be a problem in Cyprus.

When you bought the scope, did it come with any EP,s

If so use those to play at focusing during the day.

Let us know how you get on with the daytime stuff, then we can help you a bit more if you are not getting focus during the day.

If the scope focuses during the day, then it will focus during the night.

Try the moon first. Its a nice big target and easy to find. But it is a bit close to the sun at the moment. If you wait about 10 days you will see the moon in the evening in the west just after the sun goes down.

Also spend some time learning the constellation. A good starting point at the moment is the Summer Triangle. With the bright star Vega directly overhead. Download stellerium then go outside and uncork some Wine and sit out and learn the sky. You will be amazed.

[astrofox]

The focusser on the mount takes a considerable number of turns to go from one end to the other. Over 30 I think. Very easy to wind through the focus point so as already suggested try it out in daylight first.

[Noel Greene]

Thanks once again to everyone who commented. Your advices are much appreciated.

[brantuk]

Hi Noel - the advice above is correct - with the eyepiece in place you need to turn the focuser knob slowly through it's entire range whilst watching for the focus point constantly - this is best done during the daytime. Once you have it in focus - only then can you align the finder scope. Choose an object 1-2 miles away (tip of church spire or pylon) and get it dead central in both eyepiece and finder.

At night time - it needs to stand outside switched on for 10-20mins to allow the GPS to register 3 satellite passes so it can determine it's exact position on Earth. Then you point to any three bright stars one at a time centering them in both finder and eyepiece as you go using the handset to move the scope. Choose a triangle of stars widely spread over half the sky. You don't need to know what they're called.

So long as the scope gets a god alignment on each one it will then be ready for using the goto. Ensure you have the correct time/site info entered before hand - and do make sure it is set in alt/azimuth mode. After a few tries you'll be able to align on any object - I typically use the center of the moon, a planet, and a star, or any combination depending on whats up - so long as it's a good sized triangle. HTH

[faulksy]

as brantuk says you need to align your scope first with 3 stars then the scope will confirm this, then press tour and scrolldown using the curser buttons to choose an object press enter and it will find it. the more and more you use it the easier it will be and the more accurite it will be, trust me you will love your new scope. let us all know how you get on

[umadog]

You'll be ok! You're not a no-hoper. Once you've sorted out the basics it'll be a lot smoother. Mess around with it in the day time until you feel happy.

The cooling down stuff is important for getting crisp views but you will be able to see stuff (albeit a little blurry) even when it's not cooled down. It probably doesn't need collimating but don't worry about that right now. The instrument will function and deliver views without being collimated. Once you've got focusing and finding stuff sorted and you're feeling more confident then go back and worry about collimation. Remember to start with the lower eyepieces then move up once you have the target in view.

[stevetynant]

Hi Noel....the best advice I can give is be patient,persevere and bookmark this forum..loads of experienced people always willing to help..don't give up and you'll be rewarded with a fascinating hobby you can share with your wife and last a lifetime.

[glowjet]

HI Noel, you have a wealth of advice already given without me chipping in, but as these are your first postings a very warm welcome to SGL, climbing the Astronomy curve is not easy, but once you get to grips with the basics, things will start to fall into place, as has been said with a little patience you will get there in the end

John.

[umadog]

Indeed, John! Noel, definitely don't overlook the purchase of books that people have recommended. Particularly "Turn Left at Orion", the S&T Pocket Atlas, and "Nightwatch." There's lots to learn in our hobby and some hours with a book will pay big dividends at the scope.

[Noel Greene]

Hello Members

Today I tried the finder alignment with the Scope itself. As many of you suggested I used 2 eyepieces .. the 40mm and the 17mm. Everything you said was correct. Using the 40mm first I found a speed sign on the road and placed this in the centre of the Scope view as best I could. Then I adjusted the Finder screws to make sure the road sign was bang in the centre of the cross hairs. one question .. by placing the round speed sign in the centre of the Scope view I am really only guessing as accurately as I can where the centre of the view in the Scope actually is. There does not appear to be any crosshairs in the eyepieces. Also I discovered today that the focusing wheel is extremely sensitive. I think I made some progress today thanks to your help. on the downside, my wife who is a llittle smaller than myself said that in her view the crosshairs were not absolutely centred on the Roads Speed sign. But I noticed that it depends on the angle at which you look through the finder will determine some level of accuracy. I would welcome any comments on this post. many thanks again.

[brucen]

Hi Noel - welcome! Now that you have the alignment 'thereabouts' I would suggest you fine tune on a bright star when it gets dark. Unless you buy an eyepiece with cross hairs it will always be difficult to get it exact but by using your smallest eyepiece you will find it is quite acceptable I think.

[valleyman]

Glad to see you are making some progress Noel. Keep up thegood work. You will not need crosshairs on the eps if your finder scope is correctly aligned. line your scope up using your largest EP and then center it. then use a smaller EP and center it, and repeat again with a smaller EP down to your smallest. then adjust the finder using those screws until the crosshairs are in the center.

Then move to a new target using the finder and Bingo you should be done.

One small tip. Make sure you check the alignment each night you use the scope, just to check it is still aligned.