Celestron 8se ( 1st Gen ) service and repairs

[oscar_camilleri]

Hi 

I have a Celestron 8se ( 1st Gen model - The HC is permanently connected to the mount and doesn't come off).

Anyone know of someone in or around London who is able to service these ( clearing , re-grease, check goto accuracy, etc). 

Already tried Tring Astro, and they dont service these. 

[Cosmic Geoff]

If you don't have any joy, tell us why you think it needs a service.

I never heard of any C8 SE with a permanently connected handset. On mine, if you reach up under the shrouding where the cable goes in, with a small screwdriver etc you can press the catch and release the cable.

The GoTo should be accurate enough to place an object somewhere in the field of a 25mm Plossl eyepiece.

These mounts can be quite noisy.

nexstarsite.com may have helpful information.

[John]

Sounds like you may have the original Celestron Nexstar 8 which looks like this:

I used to have the 5 inch version and the opitcal tubes were fixed to the mount arm - no dovetail bar, annoyingly. I think the handset was hard wired in as well.

They became the "i" version (more GOTO items in the memory and a steel tube tripod) and then the SE version and the colour scheme changed and they used a dovetail connection with the tripod.

There is a chap who services SCT telescopes but I forget his name now. He used to work with BF&F and Astro Engineering.

 

Edited March 17, 2021 by John

[John]

PS: You might find this website useful:

https://www.nexstarsite.com/

There are lots of tips and guides on there on the range of Nexstar scopes and versions.

[oscar_camilleri]

The reason it needs a service is that the mount is jamming at the lower speeds an as a result its throwing the whole goto out of alignment. It starts out fine and  quite precise, but after trying to use the low speeds , it will jam and go out of alignment. I inherited it from a relative , i estimate that its 10+ years old and doubt that it ever has been opened and had a good clean and re-grease.

For example half way through a session, i try to point to the orion nebula and it will go way off and point in the general direction of M45 or some other part of the sky. 

[Cosmic Geoff]

It is clearly a C8 SE with the orange tube and the Nexstar (not Nexstar+) handset.

A common problem is that the power plug makes poor contact, causing all sorts of malfunctions as the mount moves around. A fix for this is to use a sharp knife or scalpel to slightly widen the split centre pin, and then stick a cable tie on the mount near the socket and thread the power cable through it when in use, to prevent excessive movement.

[oscar_camilleri]

1 hour ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

If you don't have any joy, tell us why you think it needs a service.

I never heard of any C8 SE with a permanently connected handset. On mine, if you reach up under the shrouding where the cable goes in, with a small screwdriver etc you can press the catch and release the cable.

The GoTo should be accurate enough to place an object somewhere in the field of a 25mm Plossl eyepiece.

These mounts can be quite noisy.

nexstarsite.com may have helpful information.

You were right, the HC does come off,  im feeling pretty stupid now

[RT65CB-SWL]

2 hours ago, oscar_camilleri said:

Hi 

I have a Celestron 8se ( 1st Gen model - The HC is permanently connected to the mount and doesn't come off).

Anyone know of someone in or around London who is able to service these ( clearing , re-grease, check goto accuracy, etc). 

Already tried Tring Astro, and they dont service these. 

Steve Collingwood http://sctelescopes.com/ - not sure of his operating schedule is due to lockdown/COVID-19 restrictions. His contact details are in the link.

Edited March 17, 2021 by Philip R

[oscar_camilleri]

20 minutes ago, Philip R said:

Steve Collingwood http://sctelescopes.com/ - not sure of his operating schedule is due to lockdown/COVID-19 restrictions. His contact details are in the link.

Tried him already, unfortunately he is no longer taking orders

[oscar_camilleri]

Quick update for everyone,  Spoke to Tring Astro again who advised the issue is to do with celestron. They are in process of centralising their repair network , so they are limiting parts and licences to a limited number of authorised dealers in order to keep a tight control on quality.  Tring advised that they should be able to start servicing these in a couple of months.