SkyScout - basic outline of the situation now ?

[Astro-Geek]

My tinkering with my cheaply bought MySky (still not working yet !), has piqued my interest in the SkyScout.

I apologise for asking questions that are possibly already answered somewhere within this very extensive forum section, but could someone give me a short precis of how it stacks up now, in 2018, as a working entity ?

I've read about the GPS not accepting dates after 2015 and fixes for it, and no continuing support from Celestron.

I guess the plethora of free android planetarium apps have greatly improved the basic functionality and visual experience of pushto and identification, but the standalone dedicated functionality of the Skyscout is still appealing, particularly as a possible fixture to a Dobsonian for pushto, (with suitable precautions against magnetic interferance).

I've looked at individual theads here and elsewhere, but they're all several years old now.

[knobby]

maybe worth joining 'team celestron' free to join, they may have some info but I think apps like Skeye free on Android probably killed interest in it.

[kerrylewis]

I’ve still got one ?I will have to find it and give it a go! 

[Astro-Geek]

Thanks for the prompt replies.

My understanding so far is that they were somewhat "knobbled" by Celestrian to fail on GPS startup after Jan 1st 2016.

I also believe that this can be got round by interrupting the process and entering the date manually, but still having to keep it pre-2016.

Wouldn't this make planetary positions innacurate for the correct year ?

I admit I'm a sucker for gadgets (at a reasonable price), so the idea of fixing it to a Dob and having effectively an automatically set Push-to and Alt Az readout is attractive.  Though I have already fitted an electronic inclinometer and a DIY Azimuth circle to the base pivot that I set to North by Polaris.

 

[Astro-Geek]

....Well I did admit that I'm a sucker for gadgets...  ?

I managed to get one very cheaply secondhand in "unused" condition.  (It even still had the plastic screen and lens protectors on !)

It still had the vital AA battery magnetism shielding sleeves, which may possibly explain why many reviewers complain of poor sensitivity if they were missing in many used models.

So in case anyone else is ever intrigued by them, here's my opinion of the current situation with them, in 2018, 3 years past their internal date range limit (2015).

It's a shame that Celestron dead-ended the GPS support at that point, but it does work OK when you interupt the satellite aquire process and enter your lat/long and date/time manually.

I set it to the current time and date, but can only choose a year up to 2015.

It's therefore fine for stars and constellations, but no good for planets or the moon.

I haven't tried to mount it on my 10" Dob yet as an alt/az indicator or push to because I'd need some sort of spacer to keep it away from the steel OTA.

It seems quite accurate with star identification and find and being self-contained and quite small it's more convenient than a tablet running stellarium, though with no zooming capability.

I'd say they're still quite an interesting way to sometimes add to your knowledge whilst star hopping, with the audio descriptions through the earpiece being very handy in the dark.

Never worth the hundreds that they initially cost, but worth a punt now for under 40 quid or so.....

[op47]

The big use I have had for this device is that if it is cloudy and a star suddenly appears then I can identify the star and use it to align my (goto) mount. When the sky eventually clears then it saves valuable observing time.