Celestron starsense explorer, and the new star adventurer gti

[Stu1smartcookie]

Good evening everyone . 

I want to know if anyone has any in depth advice regarding the celestron starsense explorer range of scopes ? In particular I am looking at the DX range ie 5" or 6" sct's.  It seems an interesting concept to have a push to type of system which can accommodate various tubes . TBH it's the scope that I want rather than the mount. If I didn't activate the code I suppose it could be sold on . Has anyone used one of these ? 

My second question is about the star adventurer GTi mount which is due out soon , it has a payload which is the same as the current SA and the GTI mount . I presume that's for portability sake - question is , will people abandon their  original SA and GTI mounts to buy the upgraded mount ? If so there are going to be an lot of keenly priced mounts on the market - from what I've seen the new SA-GTi is being received very well . 

Stu 

[Shimrod]

20 minutes ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

Good evening everyone . 

My second question is about the star adventurer GTi mount which is due out soon , it has a payload which is the same as the current SA and the GTI mount . I presume that's for portability sake - question is , will people abandon their  original SA and GTI mounts to buy the upgraded mount ? If so there are going to be an lot of keenly priced mounts on the market - from what I've seen the new SA-GTi is being received very well . 

Stu 

I'm not abandoning my AZ-GTI - I like the flexibility of being able to use it as a straightforward Alt-Az mount as well as EQ with the wedge. It's mostly for travel (in the UK), and as well as astro activities, I also use it with my ZS61 as a spotting scope (indoors or in the garden).

On a more pragmatic note, I've just got everything nicely fitting into a single hardcase for travel and storage - I don't want to mess that up!

[Second Time Around]

I think for many Starsense Explorer is a game changer.

I bought the 70mm refractor for two of my grandkids and was so impressed I bought one myself just for the Starsense Explorer itself.  I've now adapted it so that it fits into the finder shoe on all my scopes.

However, the DX models have a different phone mounting, and so the adaption will probably be different.

There's a long thread on adapting Starsense Explorer to other scopes at https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/362327-starsense-explorer-stand-alone-conversion/

[Starslayer]

I have the 6” dx explorer and love it.  It does have accuracy issues despite numerous fine tuning attempts but it does get you NEAR the spot all the time. I have learnt how to tweak to get the target. So easy though as you can move the set up at will and it plate solves with ease. Ridiculous price increases though since I got mine last year. 

Edited April 17, 2022 by Starslayer

[Stu1smartcookie]

Thanks for the replies guys . I like the Dx5 as the scope will also go on my nexstar mount . I think any gadget that helps people is a boon in our hobby . 

[Astro_Dad]

It is superb technology and works brilliantly - plus unlike GOTO (on Celestron NexStar SCT’s at least) has the option of manual use as well, so potentially combining tech with traditional star hopping approaches. 

Edited May 26, 2022 by Astro_Dad

[Ratlet]

My original plan for getting into ap was to get a sa-gti or za-gti with wedge.

I figured it's low cost, can handle a short focal length (which would make learning easier), light weight so more likely to setup.  But most importantly, if I want led to upgrade to a heavier duty mount the sa or az-gti would still be useful since it is so portable.  Couple of small boxes in the back of the car and I could head to a dark sky site or to the coast to get a better view to the horizon.

[AstroNebulee]

I won't be abandoning my AZ-GTI in EQ mode mount. It's taken a lot of building, putting together and time to get it all as I like it and been a labour of love. Plus I've not got the disposable income now to buy the SA GTI which is looking quite pricey. It has the same payload capacity as you say, so no need to change to it. 

Cheers 

Lee 

[Stu1smartcookie]

I think you make a fair point , Lee .. the price has not been discussed regarding the new goto star adventurer gti ... i think it will be an expensive mount with a payload that only mirrors the current SA or AZ-Gti . 

Normally a price would be in circulation , especially if , as touted , the release date is Summer 22 , but as yet , nothing ! i wonder why ?

 

[AstroNebulee]

2 hours ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

I think you make a fair point , Lee .. the price has not been discussed regarding the new goto star adventurer gti ... i think it will be an expensive mount with a payload that only mirrors the current SA or AZ-Gti . 

Normally a price would be in circulation , especially if , as touted , the release date is Summer 22 , but as yet , nothing ! i wonder why ?

 

There's been some rough pricing on other threads though it can only be loosely based on the skywatcher USA prices. I expect the exact UK price hasn't been released sooner could be to do with skywatchers recent price increase, though I'm probably being cynical there haha. 

I can see new owners for it that don't want to build the az gti eq version and that's fair enough. It does look a really nice mount and all the reviews are excellent. I don't see a lot of az gti eq owners giving up their mounts atall. I can see quite a few SA owners possibly moving to this mount though. 

Cheers 

Lee 

Edited May 27, 2022 by AstroNebulee

[Stu1smartcookie]

lol except this SA owner wont be moving though ,especially as i have just received mine as an aniversary present.

 

[AstroNebulee]

2 minutes ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

lol except this SA owner wont be moving though ,especially as i have just received mine as an aniversary present.

 

Wise decision 😉