help with celestron nexstar

[lizzardmanuk]

Hello Does anyone  have any ideas  or help please I have just obtained a Celestron Nexstar 4SE  all is fine  but when I switch it on  the info is in German I have looked  on how to  change to English but am unable to find any can this be done on the instructions  or is it a firmware procedure  if so any ideas where I might look ? I am not very computer literate so any info would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance 

[Hootsitabernacle]

press the menu button, im sure you can change the language in that

[ronin]

I have a feeling that you will have to download and install the English language version.

Meaning that you will need the Celestron downloader, the firmware and a cable/connector of some sort.

The really bad news is that there is a vague idea that you amy only be ble to update what you have with another German version of firmware. Sure I read of this problem but it was a long time back so may well have changed.

The 4SE menu tree has no aparent language option according to the manual, P26, and a search of the pdf says that the word "language" is not present.

More info:

Read this: http://www.nexstarsite.com/Firmware/SE45Firmware.htm

Select the link for Non-English Hand Control Owners

Have a read as it says:

UPDATE - September 2013 - I have several reports that the latest non-English version 4 hand control was no longer limited in loading the latest English version of firmware.  So, the information below may not apply to all non-English hand controls.  The way to determine on your hand control is to simply load the latest English version of firmware 4.x.

A user-upgradeable version 4 non-English hand control will not load English versions of firmware higher than 4.13.  If you load an English version higher than 4.13 on a non-English hand control, the hand control will display "Invalid Language" when you start up the scope after the upgrade.  To use your scope again you will need to load English version 4.13 firmware on the hand control or firmware in the original language.  However, as of this writing (1 May 2011), Celestron has not released any method to load firmware on version 4 hand controls in languages other than English.  Contact Celestron - www.celestron.com - to inquire when (if) that might occur.

As of this writing (1 May 2011), it looks like the version 4 foreign language hand controls are all version 4.14.  These are essentially the same as English version 4.13.

If you decide you want the features of the newer English version firmware you should purchase the new NexStar+ hand control as it allows you to select your preferred language for all versions of firmware.

NexRemote is another method of using the newer English version 4 firmware with your scope.

The first bit reads that Celestron may have removed the limitation of a non-English handset being limited to English versions of 4.13, so is updateable to the latest.

The second bit reads that English Version 4.13 is(was) the newest that you can put on the handset.

The latest seems to be 4.21 so a number of steps back.

There may be a work round, but I have no idea.

Often the PCB will have small inline switches on and these are read, easy to change if that is what is used and if you know what to change the switches to.

If no luck with better information email Celestron.

[Cornelius Varley]

I don't think there is anything in the menus to change the language setting. The handset asks you what language to use when first initialized so you might have to do a factory reset and then change the language.. This site is a useful source of information for the Nexstar http://www.nexstarsite.com/

[tekkydave]

Found this on Celestron Website http://www.celestron.com/c3/support3/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=2344&nav=0,255

The new NexStar+ hand control allows you to choose languages when it is programmed through the Celestron Firmware Manager to hand control firmware version 5.21 and greater. With this hand control and firmware, change the language by simply pressing and holding the Celestron logo as you power on your hand control.  Keep pressing the button as a message "Verifying packages" displays.  Release the button after it's finished displaying this message.  Then the hand control will switch to a message giving you a choice of languages, scrolling through the languages one by one. To choose a language, press enter and then press enter again to confirm your choice.

For the older NexStar hand control, our latest hand control firmware versions are only available in English versions. If you attempt to upgrade a foreign language hand control to one of these versions you will get an error message from the hand control and the scope won’t be usable. If this happens, contact your distributor to have service or replacement of your hand control. You can downgrade your hand control to version 4.13 in English. However, once you do this, you can’t upgrade the hand control to any foreign language version.

You will need to get a serial cable and USB-serial adapter to connect it to a PC. Windows and Linux work, not sure about Mac but should be ok as the CFM utility is Java-based.

Download CFM from Celestron website and follow instructions.

[Cornelius Varley]

This link provides some useful info http://www.nexstarsite.com/Firmware/NonEnglishFirmware.htm

[tekkydave]

Does the hand-controller say "Nexstar" or "Nexstar+" on the front?

[LukeSkywatcher]

The first time i switched on my Celestron 8SE it spoke American English to me.

I didnt have a clue what it was saying.

LOL.

I joke of course. My scope was in English from the first day. I'm sure there is an option on the handset menu. If you cant find it, no harm in doing a factory reset (not sure where that option is though).