Celestron Starsense 8” Out of The Box

[Sunshine]

Hello! yesterday I picked up the Celestron Starsense 8” dobsonian, eagerly put it together and did the whole alignment of the starsense module and now it sits pretty and waiting for first light. 
 

It really does look great, doesn’t it? I think so.

Upon opening the box I was pleased to see the care with which it was packed, double boxed and the optical tube was nicely cradled within thick foam, not the hard foam but the softer stuff that absorbs impacts well. Another pleasant observation was the color of the OTA, it is a nice metallic silver kind of deal, looks great (I think so).

Opening the box for the base I also noticed the individual parts which make up the base assembly were also impressively packed, each one laying within precisely cut cardboard so they won’t slide and bang into each other during the rigors of shipping. 
 

If you ever put a piece of IKEA furniture together will have no problem assembling the base, same idea except one can actually understand celestrons instructions, the pieces are all included, and it took me only twenty minutes and one attempt as opposed to several hours and many botched attempts. From this POV Celestron hit it out of the park, the base is super sturdy and it looks good to boot.

Both the base and OTA have a handy, sturdy, and comfy carry handles which is great. Once the OTA was on the base I was able to really take a close look at fit and finish, looking at the focuser I noticed it seems to be pretty well made (it is not a high end unit) but it is sturdy and smooth throughout the entire focus travel, no jumps, bumps or wobbles or that sort of thing, it will do what a focuser is supposed to do. It comes with an extender and 2-1.25 reducer.

Looking down the tube I see nothing to complain about except maybe it could be a bit darker, I mean flocked, I would like if they had used a darker paint/material on the inside, maybe something I could do later.

Moving the scope through its motions was a smooth operation, the friction knob is smooth and even with my phone and heavy 3.5mm PENTAX XO (not an eyepiece I will be using on a 1200mm scope often) lol the scope held the weight without issue and remained smooth when moved. 
 

Installing the starsense appendage was easy, simple slide into place and tighten the screws like one would install a finder, except this thing is massive and reminds me of a bulbous walrus nose, one of those ones that slam their bodies into each other on beaches. Either that or a cows tongue, it’s not an attractive bit of kit, makes the Telrad look like a beauty show contestant.

Setting up the module, aligning the phone and following instructions on the starsense software to get it all aligned was a joy, as easy and intuitive as one could wish for. Thanks Celestron, the software walks you through the process and as long as you are using a compatible phone, it will hand hold you and you’ll be done in minutes. This alignment process can be done during the day using a distant object in the same way one would align a finder.

Next up was a collimation check and the first upset,  checking collimation using the collimation cap showed a slight offset, no problem, I’ll just loosen the locking knobs and adjust the collimation knobs accordingly…NOT!!!! I was met with this joke!!!

A minuscule hex nut and a Phillips screw to adjust the mirror, adjusting them was easy but imaging fumbling with a tiny hex key and a screwdriver which you must line up with a screw head in the dark! Celestron you really cheaper out on this, I would have paid and extra $50, $75, $100!!!!! for proper knobs, you mean to tell me, Celestron, that the 10” has a set of knobs but the 8” didn’t justify such a convenience?? you can bet I will be looking for a way to substitute these ridiculous things double quick.
 

Anyway, that collimation abomination aside, I’m excited about first light, a peek outside at a distant tower crane with my XO eyepieces revealed surprising detail on pulleys, wires and such, detail on a rusty bar a half km away was fantastic, I could see tiny flies hovering over a flower at great distance, pleasing to see, hopefully it will perform as well at night as it did today.

Something tells me that because of those difficult collimation screws requiring two different small tools, maybe a laser would be handy as I could collimate from the back end without having to look into a cap with every adjustment. Do any of you use a laser? what are the ups and downs of lasers? it sounds handy.

Edited June 27, 2022 by Sunshine

[IB20]

That really looks great. Like an upmarket Skywatcher! I definitely recommend one of these focuser upgrades, revolutionised my dob https://www.365astronomy.com/lacerta-dual-speed-1-10-microfocus-upgrade-kit-for-skywatcher-crayford-focusers it certainly looks the same focuser on the Starsense 8. 

[Sunshine]

59 minutes ago, IB20 said:

That really looks great. Like an upmarket Skywatcher! I definitely recommend one of these focuser upgrades, revolutionised my dob https://www.365astronomy.com/lacerta-dual-speed-1-10-microfocus-upgrade-kit-for-skywatcher-crayford-focusers it certainly looks the same focuser on the Starsense 8. 

That looks great! thanks for the heads up, I’ll look into it.

[callisto]

Get a set of Bob's Knobs... they make collimation so much easier 

[Sunshine]

22 minutes ago, callisto said:

Get a set of Bob's Knobs... they make collimation so much easier 

Funny you mention, I literally just got off the phone with local shop asking about them 👍

[Seryddiaeth]

On 27/06/2022 at 21:40, Sunshine said:

Funny you mention, I literally just got off the phone with local shop asking about them 👍

Any advice on which ones happen to fit the 8" Dob?

[Sunshine]

12 minutes ago, Seryddiaeth said:

Any advice on which ones happen to fit the 8" Dob?

My local shop keeper made me a custom set which he mailed out but I did confirm that bobs knobs makes them for the 8" skywatcher dob which is the exact same OTA, they will also fit the celestron OTA perfectly.

It seems both are Synta OTA's and are just rebranded.

 

Edited July 5, 2022 by Sunshine

[faulksy]

howie glatter for laser colimation. ace gear now made by wayne at starlight instuments 😁

[Spile]

My Skywatcher rarely needs the primary mirror adjusting and the Allen key/Phillips screw really isn’t a problem. Ref https://astro.catshill.com/collimation-guide/

[Sunshine]

16 hours ago, Spile said:

My Skywatcher rarely needs the primary mirror adjusting and the Allen key/Phillips screw really isn’t a problem. Ref https://astro.catshill.com/collimation-guide/

Thanks, I have collimation as good as it can get, a perfect concentric pattern inside/outside focus using just the collimation cap before first light and now after several sessions it seems it hasn’t moved a smidgeon which is great. Tonight I was treated to some fantastic lunar views at 350x which were sharper than I expected showing a wealth of fine detail, I’m impressed with this dob, so far it has been just great.

Edited July 7, 2022 by Sunshine
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