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I think I got a great deal!

JohnP292

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JohnP292

JohnP292

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If you happened to have read my other thread from a couple of months ago, or were one of the several very helpful people who posted in it, you may recall I got re-started with amateur astronomy a couple of months ago with a small Celestron 114, which I quickly returned for an Astromaster 130.  While I think the AstroMaster is a decent telescope for the money, I quickly got frustrated with some of its limitations (especially the shaky mount and tripod) so I started looking for ways to upgrade.  I was close to buying a homemade 10-inch Dobsonian a couple of weeks ago, but someone beat me to it.  Then a few days ago a Celestron NexStar 8SE showed up on Craigslist.   It was described as several years old but hardly ever used and in like-new condition.   For $650.   After chatting with the seller, I was able to get him to go to $600 (he really just wanted to get rid of it).  That alone wasn't too bad of a deal, I thought, but.....he was also including a Celestron hard case, and an accessory kit with some eyepieces (which I probably don't need, I have several now) and planetary filters (which I was considering anyway).   Sold!  The case alone sells for around $300 new. 

The only catch was I needed to drive 2 hours each way to pick it up, which I did last night.   Checked it out, and it seemed to be as-advertised, so I happily packed it up and headed home.   Since I got home really late last night I left everything in the garage until this morning.   When I started putting the telescope together I opened the accessory case and not only was there the accessories previously mentioned....but there was also a Neximage camera in the case!  

The telescope is in excellent condition, the motor drive works, optics look good so far (its still daytime) and the camera works.   I can hardly wait for it to get dark tonight!

Anyone who has any tips on this telescope, please feel free to share.   I'm already planning on getting a power adapter (if I don't already have one, I have a whole box of different ones collected over the years - yes I will be sure the output and polarity are correct!).

Certainly seems like it was worth the drive!  :)

 

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JohnP292

JohnP292

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Thanks all!

Im hoping to try it out tonight, but the weather forecast has changed from clear to partly cloudy, so we will see.  I still have a few hours until dark.  Keeping my fingers crossed.   

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JohnP292

JohnP292

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Well, it cleared up.  Got some really great views of the moon and Jupiter and played around with the Neximage and the software a bit and got some images of the moon.   I had some problems with the slewing, seems like the handheld wouldn't keep time.  I'd get the alignment set up (I just used planetary align since it was early and I didn't have a good line of sight to any stars I can recognize yet).  The first object I had the telescope find was Jupiter, which it got spot on, but after viewing Jupiter for a while I tried for Saturn and Mars and it seemed like it missed both of them.  Checking the alignment again, the time was still at what I had set it at originally.   I tried this a couple of times with the same result.  I suspect I was killing the batteries and that may have been the cause, as after a couple of attempts it seemed like the handheld pretty much would "reboot" and want me to align it again.   I checked the batteries on a tester this morning and they are down to about 1.4v, which can be too low for some equipment.  Definitely going to get a power cord and probably a power tank eventually.

But the views of Jupiter were definitely a great improvement over the AstroMaster.   Missed out on Saturn last night, that's my next target.

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JohnP292

JohnP292

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1 hour ago, Putaendo Patrick said:

Congratulations on the new scope! As you say, power could easily be the problem and the first thing to check. Get a cord, power-supply etc or prepare to go bankrupt buying batteries... :happy8:

Ordered the power supply today!  

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JohnP292

JohnP292

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The power cord arrived and I used it two nights ago, that was certainly the problem as the telescope worked great.  I am absolutely thrilled with the views I got of Jupiter, Mars and Saturn.  Especially Saturn, the rings were so much more well defined than they are through the AstroMaster.   Such a great difference going from the 6-inch Newtonian to the 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain!  I'm still getting used to the alignment and tracking functions, but I'm learning more every day (for example, now I know where Vega and Spica are).  I was also pleasantly surprised with how well the Starfinder spotter works on this scope.  After the frustration I had with the old one, which lead me to buying a Telrad, I'm impressed with how accurate this one is now that I have it aligned.   I had ordered an extra Telrad base for the new OTA, but now I'm not sure I want to put the Telrad on the NexStar.  Not sure on that yet, because I really like my Telrad too.   

Next step is going to be trying computer control.   I got a USB to Rs-232 adapter today for that purpose.  I'm also thinking I may get a WiFi adapter for Fathers Day....  iPad control would be really cool........

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JohnP292

JohnP292

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On June 16, 2016 at 23:33, cloudsweeper said:

WiFi control via a tablet is very useful.  It makes alignment quite easy, then GoTo likewise.  

Sometimes I can't see what I want on the screen or in the database, so revert to using the Sky Atlas!

Doug.

I got the wifi module and tried it out with my iPad.  Turned out to be very frustrating, I tried at least 5 times to get  the Skyportal app to align and it failed every time.   I'm going to try again once this heat wave we're having breaks, it's been over 100 at night even after dark!

Anyone have any tips on using that app?  I tried both planetary alignment and star alignment and they both failed over and over.  Should I unplug the handheld controller?  I saw some online info that hinted at that but didn't come right out and say so.  

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JohnP292

JohnP292

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3 hours ago, cloudsweeper said:

Check in tablet settings that it's communicating with the module. Then tap connect and align. You then line up carefully with 3 bright objects, and you're away. Just ignore the hand controller.

Doug.

Yeah, that's what I did.  Every time, after the third alignment, it would wait a few seconds then give me a failure message (I don't recall the exact wording).  I never touched the handheld.   I'm wondering if the telescope might not be reporting its position accurately to the app somehow, but that's just a guess.  Before I got the wifi adapter,  alignment with the handheld works and it slews to objects with the handheld, so that seems fine.

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cloudsweeper

cloudsweeper

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5 hours ago, JohnP292 said:

Yeah, that's what I did.  Every time, after the third alignment, it would wait a few seconds then give me a failure message (I don't recall the exact wording).  I never touched the handheld.   I'm wondering if the telescope might not be reporting its position accurately to the app somehow, but that's just a guess.  Before I got the wifi adapter,  alignment with the handheld works and it slews to objects with the handheld, so that seems fine.

I have had just one or two "fail" messages, then got it to work after another try.  

All I can suggest is that you make sure you get the objects well centred, and that you choose three good, bright ones.  

Doug.

 

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