Celestron Nexstar Evolution 9.25 cannot align with hand controller

[CKERR]

Hello,

 

I am new to using a telescope but am an avid manual reader and usually a fairly quick study.     I have bought a pre-loved Celestron Nexstar Evolution 9.25 {originally purchased in Sydney Australia in 2014} and am struggling to do the 2 star alignment.   I have reset the scope to Factory Settings and have added my location, correct time, STD or DLS time; time zone etc.     I take the scope out and level it, align the marks on the base of the motor and on the arm that holds the scope.   I point the scope whilst still levelled and marks aligned North.     I try to align to Sirius and the scope points to my feet.    I have tried following the steps but nothing is working.   

 

I have tried using the SkyPortal App and that is more of a success but still not quite.   I try to align Sirius and it will point up and very close to the star but not aligning with it.   I ask it to GoTo the stars in Orion’s Belt and it will be close but not quite so not aligned....at least it isn’t pointing to my feet.

 

Any suggestions would be welcomed.   Thank you.

[PeterCPC]

Quite often these sorts of issues are due to the power supply. Are you using a mains adapter - if not, try that.

[michael8554]

The fact that it was last used in Australia, and that the SkyPortal app improved matters, suggests to me that you had the location data incorrect, and SkyPortal corrected that.

Make a note of the format of the location settings in the handset for future reference.

The first Alignment Star will usually not be central in the eyepiece, maybe not even in the eyepiece field of view.

So centre it with the handset controls and ENTER to confirm it is Aligned.

The skymap in the mount will now have been dragged into synch with reality, that's the purpose of the Alignment.

To improve that synch, another Alignment Star is usually offered in a sky location far from the first star.

When that has been centred and accepted then GoTos should be thereabouts.

The 9.25 has a small field of view, so targets may still be slightly out, but gross errors are something else.

Michael

[Cosmic Geoff]

9 hours ago, CKERR said:

I point the scope whilst still levelled and marks aligned North.

As a Nexstar user, I would say that you just need to get the mount roughy level (it needs to be more exact for a one-star or solar syetem align), power up the mount enter time/date and start the alignment procedure.  You do not need to have the scope pointing anywhere in particular beforehand (pointing it North sounds like part of another manufacturer's prodedure).  Provided you have entered the various data properly (a very common cause of problems) you should get it to align without issues.

46 minutes ago, michael8554 said:

The first Alignment Star will usually not be central in the eyepiece, maybe not even in the eyepiece field of view.

I think this applies to another manufacturer's setup procedure. The Nexstar does not work this way. You have to align it on the first star yourself by using the direction buttons.

If you do not have the printed instruction manual fro mount and handset, download it and follow the instructions. I suspect that you are assuming the alignment procedure is other than it actually is.  A Celestron Nexstar alt-az GoTO is one of the easiest mount designs to align. Good luck and clear skies!

Edited April 17, 2021 by Cosmic Geoff

[michael8554]

4 minutes ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

I think this applies to another manufacturer's setup procedure. The Nexstar does not work this way. You have to align it on the first star yourself by using the direction buttons.

Wow, that's tricky, I'd expect a GoTo close to a big bright star for a beginner to centre.

My mistake.

Michael