C8 questions

[John]

Finding those side brackets for the Celestar mount might prove challenging, unless the mount you have been offered comes with them Kev.

I'll be honest and say that I did not find the Celestar fork mount that stable with my C8. It was light but I'd probably think about using an equatorial or a Giro-style alt-azimuth if I had a C8 again.

[KevUU]

Oh, I may start crying soon

Given I occasionally observe with friends I'm figuring tracking would be nice, and avoiding a big powerpack and trailing wires would be nice. I know, I should wait for the star parties. But I spotted a Celestar and wondered if I should just get on with it (and besides work just gave me a small bonus, which scratches the itch somewhat )

I've noticed GPs pop up occasionally too so there are options, just need to get hands on some of them.

The problem with deciding to wait, is I just fill the time looking at it all over again

Anyway, thanks for the replies guys

[scarp15]

The side brackets ought to be included as part of the mount, if you do go for this option. Of course might be worth checking just to be sure. I do not use mine for photography but I do find that it is stable enough for visual at high mag.

[KevUU]

Thanks scarp. It really does seem a nice option...

Although I did just realise the mount is in N. Wales not S. Wales which changes the equation a bit

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I would wait for a GP mount (or a CG5, for that matter) to come along (they do regularly). It does at the meridian flip to the equation, but I tend to decide which side of the sky I want to observe first, and put my observing chair at the right side of the mount. I only switch sides once or twice an evening, and it is no big deal. The big advantage of the GEM solution is that the whole set-up breaks into three manageable parts: tripod, mount, and OTA. This means the most vulnerable part of the system (the OTA) remains a lightweight, compact part you attach when everything else is set up snugly. With a fork, you leave the mount attached to the OTA, so you need to attach a far heavier object containing fragile optics on the tripod. Just my tuppence.

[KevUU]

Thanks Michael. Bristol astrosoc have a star party on the 8th-ish of Jan - and RikM invited me up to the Cotswold AS one 10 days later - so hopefully I'll get to at least one of those and get an idea of what there is and what I like.

In theory there's no rush - I still haven't seen much of the bright stuff with my first scope yet. But now I'm pondering it it's become a constant nag in the back of my mind

And I do have a tendency to head for a nice bright target with the ST80, which I usually enjoy, then trundle to all the little things nearby in PSA, which I'm disappointed by - especially when OITH tells me how rich and bright and exclamation-mark-worthy they would have been if only I had more aperture...

I think if FLO had an exactly-what-I-want setup ready and waiting, my impatience may have got the better of my common sense by now... I have to be sensible and responsible at work damnit, this is my escape from all that

[Dunkster]

...and avoiding a big powerpack and trailing wires would be nice...

You can sort of avoid big power packs and long cables using something like this http://www.sherwoods-photo.com/meade_scopes/lx90_astro_eng.htm not cheap, but would do a decent job, especially if you're not driving a full goto for 12-hour sessions...

[KevUU]

Cheers Dunkster, but that link seems to be bust... If it's easier you could just pm me it?

[Dunkster]

Oops, sorry fat fingers http://www.sherwoods...0_astro_eng.htm

Notably the second one down, substantially lighter than the first.

[KevUU]

Cheers

I do like the weight - tho not so much the price tag! I may have to have myself a Jessie J moment when it comes to making some decisions

[Dunkster]

Keep us posted Kev - hope you get hands-on with one soon

[Gasman]

Had my Celestar C8 for years and still enjoy using it. I`ve now progressed equipment wise to a Dome,Neq6 mount,CCD`s and guiders but still use the C8. I`ll change the scope one day but I do all sorts with my C8 and recently doing spectroscopy with the Star Analyser grating, C8`s ? I luv em!

Steve

[KevUU]

Had my Celestar C8 for years and still enjoy using it. I`ve now progressed equipment wise to a Dome,Neq6 mount,CCD`s and guiders but still use the C8. I`ll change the scope one day but I do all sorts with my C8 and recently doing spectroscopy with the Star Analyser grating, C8`s ? I luv em!

Steve

Cheers for the feedback Gasman

When you say Celestar, you mean 'wedgepod' and fork mount, RA tracking only? That's what I've looked at a manual for online, I just want to be sure I'm looking at the same thing that you're all talking about!

I do feel like I'm going to have a dew problem too, even with a shield - my ST80 came with a dewshield and I still have problems with that. If I need dewstrips it somewhat negates the purpose of looking at a 9v tracking setup...

Hohum, hohum, hohum.

[scarp15]

Dew can be a bit of a problem at times with a C8 but that is just the 'nature of the beast' with this type of scope. Besides fitting a dew shield each time the scope is used, do have available a 12V hair dryer and I find that pointing the scope down between observing periods can help relieve the condensation build-up a bit. Mostly though, in use I get to complete a full session and it is usually fatigue rather than dew that determines that it is time to conclude. Most condensation issues tend to affect the eyepieces, which can be managed fairly easily.

[Gasman]

When you say Celestar, you mean 'wedgepod' and fork mount, RA tracking only?

Hi Kev

I suppose when I refer to it as a Celestar deluxe I think that means the whole tube/fork mount/ra and dec drive (the deluxe bit means it can be moved in Dec by the hand control). Its basically a black C8 tube on a fork mount but with hand control to drive in RA and Dec. I took the C8 tube off and mounted it on my Neq6 pro mount

Best

Steve

[KevUU]

Well, both the Bristol AS and Cotswold AS star parties have been clouded out in the last weeks so it looks like I will have to wait for SGL8 to get anywhere with this

Although, with second-hand options for a Celestar mount and C8, combined total of £600, I'm still sorely tempted to just go for it.

The total lack of any observing lately is serving as a big ACME 1-ton weight on the other side of the scales though

[Dunkster]

:(

The clouds are indeed getting a lot of the attention lately...

[KevUU]

Sorry, more daft questions.

I have a picture here of the celestar mount fixing, and one here of a new OTA.

My understanding is that, on the mount picture, the right hand two screws hold the tube onto the fork. But I don't see 'spare' holes on the newer OTA. Am I missing something, or is this not going to be straightforward?

[scarp15]

Hi Kev, I think that the fixings on the ota picture are there, but the image profile is not best to show this and will need to be enlarged. Might be best to email the retailer and include the image of the mount brackets plus ask for the spacer measurement between the fixing screws to check that they are compatible for aligning with celestar mount.

[KevUU]

Thanks scarp

[KevUU]

I've given up the pretence of patience. The celestar mount is served and being shipped (sorry Dunkster, you can't have it ) and in the absence of anything popping up on ABS I'm toying with spending the extra to get a C8 OTA new from FLO. If I can answer the mounting question, of course, but that's in hand I think.

I have some more questions / musings, if anyone has an opinion?

1. It seems likely I'm going to want a 2" ep - my Vixen NPL 30mm would give 68x with 0.7* tfov which seems a trifle restrictive. Should I wait, or just get it all sorted at once I wonder? What I think I would need is a 2" SCT adaptor (is this a visual back?) and 2" diagonal, and then a 2" ep of course. Is this right? The budget option appears to be SW Panaview 38mm 70* or WO SWAN 40mm 72*, or of course ABS...

2. I suspect a RA finder would be on my list pretty quickly... I've managed so far with a straight-through on my ST80 but of course I have 3.75* tfov on that! I've wondered aloud before about just using my ST80 for a finder, now I'm not sure if I should be serious or not. Any thoughts?

I don't want to make the whole thing cumbersome, but then it's going to be a whole lot harder to find stuff compared to my ST80 which is, if we're honest, basically a 13x80 monocular

Thanks

Kev

[Dunkster]

:D

The C8 is capable of much greater FOV with a longer FL 2" EP like those you mentioned or a SW Aero 40mm or 42mm Vixen LVW or 41mm Panoptic are other options I don't use any of those because the sky glow is too bad where I am, so I use a 30mm Explore Scientific 82 degree EP...not as much true FOV though but 68x is about my limit. You'd also need a 2" diagonal, preferably either specifically an SCT version or one with an SCT adapter that screws directly onto the visual back - this shorter snout keeps the focal length under control. I use the Revelation SCT diagonal with the C8 (on alt/az), but there are others (WO do a nice one too). Another option is to get the Baader Clicklock visual back and use a regular diagonal... this is convenient for rotating the view port, as I find my EQ throws the EP into some interesting positions

For finder... the ST80 is pretty light, no? If so, it should be fine Otherwise, the SW 9x50 RACI is pretty popular. I use a Telrad with my scopes, primarily for alignment with my sky glow, but it works really nicely for that the rest of the time is handed over to the goto

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

The Aero 40 is a clone of the TMB Paragon 40 I used to have. Once I got the 31T5 it did not get the use it deserved (a single outing in 16 months). It gives a 1.34 deg FOV in the C8. I use a 2" visual back and a push fit diagonal (which I can also use on my 80mm frac).

[KevUU]

"the Celestar mount is served"?? I meant "reserved", sorry.

Thanks both. There seems to be a concern whether 2"visual back and diagonal will fit on the fork mount, not sure about that one, I'm hoping scarp15 will be along shortly

I maybe confusing two issues:

- The ST80 would make a good finder for star hopping but I'd still need a 'normal' finder on that to get initial alignment.

- On the other hand the ST80 would be a good widefield view - but in that case there's no panic to get a 2” setup...

As tempting as it is to throw myself at it and get everything now, that's a lot of money all at once especially if I go new for the OTA. What do I actually need now?

To get me pointed the right way, I need at least the normal finder (supplied with OTA) but realistically upgraded to Telrad or RA finder. Is this essential straight away? Maybe not.

To get a decent view, I can't imagine 0.7* tfov will keep me happy for long... (Having said that, the double cluster should fit inside that fov, for example...) Is the ST80 really the best way to solve this problem? Would a 2" setup be a better route? Maybe.

So it seems like:

ST80 piggy-backing is a fun diversion but not a sensible place to start from.

A finder upgrade seems likely but not essential to start with?

A 2” setup seems inevitable eventually but probably isn't essential to start with either?

So maybe I just get the OTA and mount and get on with it. Please tell me if I'm barking in the wrong forest

oh, my brain hurts

[astrofox]

I made the decision a long while ago C8 is portable anything bigger is luggable. Its a cracking scope