Ready to go!

[Andy ES]

Auntie FLO came round today with some essential shopping! Should be an interesting evening 😀

[wibblefish]

Wow, thats a lot of boxes can't wait to see a final setup picture!

[Mognet]

Guess that explains the dismal weather we've got 🤣

Looking forward to the unboxing

[Andy ES]

So out of the box came this Celestron CPC925, a thing of beauty!

The boxes got delivered really quickly by FLO and all looked in great condition. Looking visually it all looks undamaged.

First  impressions of this scope are that it has excellent build quality, I hope the optics match. The tripod is fantastic, I think you could balance a circus elephant on it! I think the tripod is standard for the whole range so I guess it is a bit large for this mid range scope.

My Mrs face was a picture as she came into the room. “Gee willikers, 😳what is the killer robot from Robocop doing in the dinning room!!??”

I suppose I didn’t quite explain  how big it would be ! 😄

something I wanted to get sorted out quickly was the weight and manual handling issue that had been slightly bothering me. Fortunately it was easy to lift out of the box and onto the tripod on my own so I don’t think it will a problem for a few more years. I think fitting it to the locating pin will be a technique to master. However an SGL member has already pointed me to a locating guide that can be fitted to help with this.

I have done a lot of research on this scope to check it will meet my requirements, visual planetary and small DSOs but not photography. I have also asked lots of questions and SGL members have been great in helping to give advice.

to this end I have also purchased a few upgrades:

Baader 2” visual back, diagonal, Astro zap heated dew shield and battery. The click lock system seems very good.

Eyepieces are Baader Morpheus 76 and Explore scientific 82. I understand these might be a bit more than this F10 SCT needs but I’ve got them for the future and other possible scopes.

Looking forward to powering it up today and hopefully at least lining up the finder. (If it stops raining!)

I’ve read a few members would like to hear more news of how newcomers are getting on after they have asked initial questions, so I will do this as I go along hopefully it might help someone else.

Thanks again to all who have posted past and present to help me make decisions. I’ve been out of astronomy for about 30 years so it is good to be back.

Cheers

 

 

[Jiggy 67]

All shiny and new......expect to see a few marks on it from lots of use soon!! 😀

Edited January 15, 2021 by Jiggy 67

[wibblefish]

Serious bit if kit there look forward to hearing about it ... heres to clear skys so you can try that beast out 😎

[Andy ES]

Stopped raining today so managed to get out and set up the finder and have a play with the slew speeds. View looked clear and focused ok

surprised how quick I could set up and take down (in day light anyway!)

started sunny but now clouded over I think Thursday is the best bet based on clear outside app.

 

 

[Sunshine]

3 minutes ago, Andy ES said:

Stopped raining today so managed to get out and set up the finder and have a play with the slew speeds. View looked clear and focused ok

surprised how quick I could set up and take down (in day light anyway!)

started sunny but now clouded over I think Thursday is the best bet based on clear outside app.

 

 

Enjoy it! i once had the CPC1100 but had to let it go as i quickly realized i was overwhelmed by its size and weight, otherwise it was a joy to use. It certainly is a serious looking scope and it doesn't disappoint through the eyepiece 

from what i saw. Using the software and aligning was a breeze, it just did what it should do on every outing.

Edited January 17, 2021 by Sunshine

[Andy ES]

Yes I did consider the 1100 but thought it would be a bit too much.

moving this 925 is not going to be a problem for a few more years anyway. 😄

[Andy ES]

True to its word the clear outside app provided a fantastic clear sky with pinpoint accuracy at 23:00 last night. This was first light for the above CPC925 and I wasn’t disappointed.

it was the first opportunity to move everything outside and lift into position. I found this comfortable to do but I am really happy that I didn’t opt for the 1100 version in the end!

had all the eyepieces arranged in boxes to help and was able to set up in about 10 minutes and only had to use the red light tourch once.

I used the sky align 3 star method and used 3 bright stars  in a  SE  SW NW triangle. This was a bit tricky at first as I was trying to pick precise stars, but then realised if I could see others in the finder while looking then that star would probably do instead.

After the fine alignment (with the slew automatically slowed down) I pressed the button and waited with fingers crossed.

I was as pleasantly surprised when the alignment was confirmed first time, especially on this moon lit night!

So obvious first target was the moon. I selected solar system and moon and the scope slewed straight to it and centred it perfectly in the finder (it couldn’t miss really!) this is still impressive though if you’ve never seen it before.

I used all the different eyepieces and was amazed at the crisp clear image using the 6.5mm EP. Got some fantastic views of Mare Imbrium, Montes Apenninus, Plato and Eratosthenes. Couldn’t make out Apollo 15 landing site though ! 😂

Then had a look at Mars next door and I could make out a white polar area.

the sky tour function also listed Uranus so selected that and an object did come into view which one of my family said it looked blue or green without being prompted so maybe the pointing accuracy was spot on.

Also managed to see the Orion nebular but most of the sky was really washed out by the moon, which was the star or the night. This was really good though as the rest of the family were really impressed by the new scope on its first outing.

I don’t really know any better but I would say the optics on this scope were very good. When I looked at bright stars out of focus I was getting the correct pattern which I think confirmed the collimation was OK. 

some early learning points from last night are need to label the EPs better to pick them out in the dark, do every in a logical way and know where all the kit is and left and right are now swapped over! 😁

So overall had a successful test flight of the kit and managed to see stuff for about 2 hours and nothing dewed up.

Looks like Saturday night might be ok for another session, very happy with the kit.

Cheers

[Cosmic Geoff]

I am pleased for you that you had a First Light without any problems.  If you know your stars, you will find that a two star auto align is even quicker, with the GPS setting the time and location for you.  I found it useful to have a red dot or similar 'finder for the finder' to get the optical finder and OTA pointing accurately enough for alignment stars to be found in the optical finder.

[Andy ES]

Geoff

Thanks I noticed that I had to manually enter the location and time with the sky alignment mode. I thought the GPS would do this or does this only happen with 2 star alignment?

I read in the book that at first use it might take a while for the GPS to download relevant info?

i had the scope switched on outside for about 3 hours.

Thanks

 

 

[Cosmic Geoff]

30 minutes ago, Andy ES said:

read in the book that at first use it might take a while for the GPS to download relevant info?

It will not download GPS info if you just turn it on. You have to go into the setup as far as selecting an alignment mode, and then wait, IIRC.

[Paz]

On 15/01/2021 at 10:10, Andy ES said:

 

My Mrs face was a picture as she came into the room. “Gee willikers, 😳what is the killer robot from Robocop doing in the dinning room!!??”

A golden rule for buying big scopes is to always ensure that the first time your other half sees it the scope is outdoors. Scopes look a lot smaller outdoors and will thus you can minimise the political difficulties you experience!

[Andy ES]

Luckily the first observing night had a bit of wow factor so I think everyone is on board!

[Andy ES]

I was thinking how to label my EPs so I can select them in the dark.

Then I  had a revaluation when looking at the Baader site as I now know what the little clip in the new EP box is for!

problem sorted.

[Andy ES]

A bit of helpful info below mainly for those fairly new to astronomy like me.

I was having a bit of grief setting up the 3 star alignment with this CPC925 scope as it was a bit difficult to get the right stars in the finder without lots of contortions and neck ache, this was also taking a while and resulting in a few failed alignments after my initial success.

I decided to get a Telrad after some SGL advice. I also got a 2” riser. This was next day delivery from FLO.

So this afternoon I set it up (stuck it on with the included pads) on the sky end of the CPC925 and set up a remote house TV aerial in the finder and eyepiece.

Then I adjusted the red circles in the Telrad up on the same spot, which was really simple, the riser also made it a very comfortable position to use. I must say the CPC tripod is rock solid even at full extension, which was required to look over the fence.

Then I picked lots of other targets to simulate star locations that I would use for the alignment.

WOW this was a revelation, an epiphany! So easy to do and so quick to get fast accurate alignments in the finder then the eyepiece.

This bit of kit is fantastic and I have high hopes now for future sky alignments.

I would throughly recommend getting one of these. I hope all you old hands out there are nodding sagely, but for a newbie this is brilliant 😁 love it and so does my neck!

[Andy ES]

On 22/01/2021 at 18:49, Cosmic Geoff said:

It will not download GPS info if you just turn it on. You have to go into the setup as far as selecting an alignment mode, and then wait, IIRC.

Not been able to do any observing due to weather, Like the rest of us, but today I took the rig outside in the day time and after switching the GPS off and on it burst into life and now links in about fifteen seconds with the site recorded as per google earth so guess it’s working ok.

[Andy ES]

Managed to get outside last night for a couple of hours. This was only the 3rd session possible in 37 nights of owning this Scope!! Clear outside app seems very accurate though.

Anyway I was keen to practice alignments with the GPS fully working and also using the Telrad, which I had set up previously in the daytime. Using the Telrad was a dream and made the process so quick. Did a couple of 3 star alignments which worked both correctly. The Telrad has been a great investment.

Got great views of the Moon and used the new filter for the first time. This was a great improvement and gave a really nice contrast.

Also managed to see Mars and Uranus, which the scope slewed very accurately to and tracked well. I think I had Mars in the eye piece as the new rover landed! Andromeda was also visible, but again a bit too much Moon. I tested the alignment on several named stars which all appeared centrally in the eyepiece. No dew problems again not sure when that will arise.

All in all another good “test flight” of the alignment and tracking, very impressed with the scopes performance and operation. Looking forward to a real work out at the dark sky site.

was able to set up and take down both in about 15mins which doesn’t seem to much of a problem. I also got a small circular dolly for £10 a Aldi to wheel the OTA around to the set up area.

Only frustration is handling the eye pieces and dust covers etc must get a more methodical system sorted out for where to place everything. Any advice greatly appreciated.

Did I mention I love the Telrad ! 😁

 

 

[Andy ES]

One thing I forgot to mention is that I was having difficulty reading the scrolling display on the controller.

Answer  - Slow the display scroll speed down in the menu.  👍

[Andy ES]

4th time out tonight, tested solar system tracking which worked well on the moon.

Took this picture through the 40mm EP with smart phone. (First time I’ve tried this)

 

[Andy ES]

Clear night last night, lots of moon again. Took this photo with phone. Got to stop doing this or I’ll be into Astro photography next which I said I wouldn’t do ! 😂.

having said that is there a good webcam that is generally used for basic planetary imaging. I’ve seen some discussions on the Celestron Neximage 10. Thanks for any recommendations.

 

[Mognet]

3 minutes ago, Andy ES said:

Got to stop doing this or I’ll be into Astro photography next which I said I wouldn’t do ! 😂.

I said I wouldn't do that too. Then I started with my camera on my tripod, just experimentally. Started thinking about mounts a couple of months ago, so it looks like I'm going over to the dark side! 🤣

[Andy ES]

 

5 minutes ago, Mognet said:

I said I wouldn't do that too. Then I started with my camera on my tripod, just experimentally. Started thinking about mounts a couple of months ago, so it looks like I'm going over to the dark side! 🤣

The force is strong ! 😂

[Andy ES]

Got out tonight for a while with some nice Mars views, Uranus also in the eyepiece.

Had good practice with 3 star alignments, which just take about 5 minutes, now I’ve got a Telrad, which is a brilliant bit of kit! (It’s kind of made the finder redundant).

Very happy with the Baader Morpheus eyepieces which I got a case from FLO from to store them in.

Learning points from tonight are:

Using the eyepiece case makes life a lot easier when selecting EPs and storing the dust caps.

Sitting down when observing is better.

Turn the Telrad off after the alignment is confirmed! 😁

Cheers