Starsense advice .

[northwalesparry]

I'm considering buying celestron's starsense  . Is it any good? 

Any advice would be grateful.

Thanks Phil 

 

[GrampyG]

Hi

 

I have 2. Both work spot on once calibrated.

 

[noah4x4]

Brilliant, especially if you have poor eyesight or sciatica. I also have a GPS module, so I switch on and my Evolution now aligns itself perfectly every time. 

Critics will say "unnecessary" which is true. But the same is true of automatic transmission or sat-nav in a car. Why buy cotton if you can afford silk? 

Edited January 22, 2020 by noah4x4

[Mark-V]

Very pleased with mine , use it on a CPC1100, and updating the firmware (when needed ) is fairly straightforward

[AusS2000]

Picked one up from the Curious Planet clearances. Now if only the sky would clear...

[The Admiral]

Just a bump as I have one for sale on this site ;<)

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/347135-celestron-starsense-autoalign/

Ian

[AusS2000]

Got a chance to align and calibrate last night. Was very straightforward and simple.

It wasn't the best night. Quite a few clouds and I noticed StarSense seemed to like to point straight towards a group of palm trees which I thought would obscure the view but no, 50 stars found, 100 stars found. I certainly couldn't see them but StarSense could. 

Great piece of kit.

[noah4x4]

A Starsense autoalign doesn't care which horizon your OTA is initially pointing at provided your OTA is set at its Index Marks. It always follows the same pattern of motion. So if it does encounter obstructions, next time try a different start point. I now aim mine at my house (the biggest obstruction) so that it moves into unobstructed skies. 

The exception is a Starsense All Star Polar Alignment (ASPA) on wedge where in the Northern Hemisphere your OTA must point South. 

Works even better with GPS. 

Edited January 30, 2020 by noah4x4
Spelling

[AusS2000]

Ahh, thank you. I will try another orientation. Although it didn't appear to struggle to find stars anyway.

And I have a GPS, in my iPad running Sky Safari. I've thought of buying the Celestron GPS but it's a lot of money (for a GPS) and redundant if I use the iPad.