Considering an Achromat Celestron 6"

[Blueboy]

So most likely this Sunday I'm bringing this telescope home with me. But I will need to buy some eyepieces. 

Which one would I need to view the moon and it's craters? MM and degrees?

And for counting the rings (hypothetically) around Saturn? MM and degrees?

I was looking at this set but I think I would be better off buying individual higher quality eyepieces.  https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/261646-REG/Celestron_94303_Accessory_Kit_5.html

Thanks, Blue

[Blueboy]

I ordered this one last night before I went to bed. I stayed up late trying to figure these things out. I think I am beginning to understand. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0048JF1JY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Gabby76]

The X-Cel LX are a good eyepiece so you should like that one. I personally do not recommend eyepiece kits unless you are on a very strict budget.

They are not always the best eyepieces in them. 

Do you need to wear glasses when viewing? 

[Blueboy]

2 hours ago, Gabby76 said:

The X-Cel LX are a good eyepiece so you should like that one. I personally do not recommend eyepiece kits unless you are on a very strict budget.

They are not always the best eyepieces in them. 

Do you need to wear glasses when viewing? 

I read someone’s review on that set, the eye relief was horrible on some of them.

I wear glasses when I drive or watch TV. When I’m doing close up work or on the computer I don’t need them. Binoculars, don’t need them. So I’m guessing when I’m stargazing I won’t need them there either.

The description says all 7  X-Cel LX  eyepieces have 16 mm Eye relief. So either way that’s plenty of eye relief. 
 

Since they don’t have 8, 16 or 24 mm like you suggested I went halfway between the 8 and 16 and got the 12mm. Should give me some good close up views of the “lesser light”.

[Gonariu]

Nice optics, and the tripod feels sturdy enough.

[dweller25]

The 6” F/8 achromat will show chromatic aberration so you may want to try a light yellow filter.

Edited July 10, 2022 by dweller25

[bosun21]

You should invest in a Baader semi apo filter. This fantastic addition will remove the majority of chromatic aberration without giving your images a yellow hue. I have a 2” semi apo filter more or less permanently placed in my 2” dielectric diagonal. I tend to forget all about it in my Skywatcher Evostar 120. Another fantastic filter for the elimination of chromatic aberration is the Baader contrast booster.

[Gabby76]

Have you received the telescope yet? 

The 12mm will work nicely with this telescope and with a 2x barlow will give some very nice views of the lunar surface.

Since everyone sees CA a bit differently you may need to experiment a bit with filtering.

As dweller25 and bosun21 have said the Wratten light yellow and Baader Semi-Apo filters are good and you can also try the Baader Fringe Killer or Baader Neodymium by themselves or stacked.

Stacking the 2 Baader filters is very similar to the Semi-Apo filter but gives a slightly more yellow tint to the view. 

I also use the Baader Contrast Booster and Baader Solar Continuum filter. If you do not mind a green view the detail it produces is quite amazing. 

[Blueboy]

😁 Bought and brought  my scope home yesterday (Sunday). I was playing around setting it up and noticed the bottom knob wasn’t moving anything. I don’t know if that’s the R. A. or Dec. I took the mount apart and discovered the ring gear has some teeth stripped out. The guy I bought it from said the previous owner re-greased everything. But the bearing was so tight that whoever tried to force it stripped the teeth off. 😠

I opened a new account with Astromart. Maybe I can find another gear. If not I will probably attempt to fix this one.

I put it back together with the bad spot 180° from the worm gear.

Amazon was late delivering my eyepiece. But it did arrive today.

I have the scope set up now in the kitchen window waiting for the moon to come around.

If I had to pick one filter (for now) which would it be? 1,2,3,4,5? Did I miss any?

I would also like to get a sun filter. Any suggestions on one of those?

#1. https://www.amazon.com/Baader-Planetarium-Semi-Filter-FSAPO-1/dp/B0052GM55U

#2. https://www.amazon.com/Baader-Planetarium-Contrast-Booster-Telescope/dp/B004QD4H2E

#3. https://www.amazon.com/Baader-Premium-Eyepiece-Filter-Longpass/dp/B0018IQWBY/ref=sr_1_6?crid=33A782SI0FSIL&keywords=baader+light+yellow+filter&qid=1657582079&sprefix=baader+light+yellow+filter%2Caps%2C151&sr=8-6

#4. https://www.ebay.com/itm/125095398496?var=0&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5338590836&toolid=10044&customid=50fb051ad25b1d4ae2d067d661d7353a

#5. https://www.highpointscientific.com/baader-planetarium-1-25-solar-continuum-filter-fsol-1?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cse&utm_term=BAD-FSOL-1&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=432151742&utm_content=1232552799287015&utm_term=&msclkid=b58d27a21cc811790f29456ea0e1980a

 

 

As far as the Dual Axis Motor Drive (93523), how exactly does it work?

There is no computer hook up, no GPS...

So what keeps your object on center while viewing?

Thanks guys for your suggestions and help!!

 

 

[Blueboy]

 

Picture taken with my iPhone X 

I can see the entire moon. I thought a 12mm would be more magnification.

[Gabby76]

Unfortunate that the gear has missing teeth, that would have been money off the deal or no dealing on the mount for me.  

Make a sun filter using Baader Solar film: https://www.baader-planetarium.com/en/solar-observation/astrosolar-viewers-and-film/astrosolar-eco-size-safety-film-5.0-140x155-mm.html

I would say the best all round filter would be the contrast booster, the others you can purchase as needed. 

I have instructions for mounting the motors, I will dig them out and send later. The motors have clutches you tighten to track or use the control box to slew the telescope in RA or Dec. No computer or GPS. 

You can loosen the clutches and use the slow motion knobs on the mount as well, then re-tighten and the mount will track. 

That image looks about right for a 12 mm (gives a TFOV of 0.6° so just larger than the full Moon) do you have a barlow? 

[Blueboy]

7 hours ago, Gabby76 said:

Unfortunate that the gear has missing teeth, that would have been money off the deal or no dealing on the mount for me.  

Make a sun filter using Baader Solar film: https://www.baader-planetarium.com/en/solar-observation/astrosolar-viewers-and-film/astrosolar-eco-size-safety-film-5.0-140x155-mm.html

I would say the best all round filter would be the contrast booster, the others you can purchase as needed. 

I have instructions for mounting the motors, I will dig them out and send later. The motors have clutches you tighten to track or use the control box to slew the telescope in RA or Dec. No computer or GPS. 

You can loosen the clutches and use the slow motion knobs on the mount as well, then re-tighten and the mount will track. 

That image looks about right for a 12 mm (gives a TFOV of 0.6° so just larger than the full Moon) do you have a barlow? 

Well that’s the problem when you have zero experience with these things. If I knew two days ago what I know now I would have passed on this altogether. Yeah that thing was so tight you couldn’t even turn it by hand. Plus the scope itself was painted white. But he did say he got the scope and mount from two different people. Live and learn. Well I am definitely learning!

As far as the motors go I understand how they work mechanically. I am wondering how they keep track of what you’re viewing. I’m thinking it’s just a preset calculated speed to mach the speed of the earth’s rotation. 

I do not have a Barlow lens as of yet. What does increasing the focal length do? Does it make the magnification more or less?

I will get a contrast booster filter and some sunscreen film.

Thanks Gabrielle !

[cajen2]

A Barlow multiplies the mag of your eyepiece, so a 2x Barlow would make your 12mm into a 6 mil.

[Gonariu]

Whoever sold you the telescope strictly would have had to give you a discount on the price, once the defect was reported. You can see if there is any company or artisan who can change the piece for you, in Italy where I live someone is there, I think there is someone in America too.
However nice telescope, good observations and enjoy it with health.

Edited July 12, 2022 by Gonariu

[Gabby76]

Here are the instructions for mounting the motors. 

EQ5 Dual Motor Drive.pdf

[bosun21]

3 hours ago, Blueboy said:

I am wondering how they keep track of what you’re viewing.

Before you start observing you must polar align your mount with Polaris the North Star. I recommend that you look up polar alignment on YouTube and watch a few videos. Once done everything in the sky will be rotating around the axis of your mount. The motors are set to run at the speed required to match the rotation of the sky.

[Blueboy]

2 hours ago, Gonariu said:

Whoever sold you the telescope strictly would have had to give you a discount on the price, once the defect was reported. You can see if there is any company or artisan who can change the piece for you, in Italy where I live someone is there, I think there is someone in America too.
However nice telescope, good observations and enjoy it with health.

I can’t ask for a partial refund. Maybe I could but I won’t. He “said” he never used it, never even mounted the scope. The way I look at it, it’s my fault for not fully checking everything works properly.

I can replace the gear myself if I found a good one. Or just buy another mount, which might be cheaper.

Thanks Gonariu!

Blue

Edit:

PS. I won't make a point to tell him, but if he asks, I will definitely let him know! Put the ball in his court.

Edited July 12, 2022 by Blueboy

[Blueboy]

Trying out the new contrast booster filter. Only problem is it doesn't erase clouds.

[Gabby76]

That is one of the issues with clouds, when they see you setting up they gather to get a closer look at what you are doing

Hopefully you get some clear skies soon. 

[Blueboy]

I’m doing some improvements on the CG–5 mount and tripod. But still looking for a new/used gear.

That’s the problem of being a machinist and fabricator, I always see improvements that could be made. 😉

So as if I didn’t have enough projects going on at the same time, and since I have a little down time, I was thinking of repainting this scope back to the original black or maybe a nice shade of blue. Whoever painted it white did a decent job, but since it’s not original I figured, why not.

So at this point I would like to ask anyone if they have taken apart a Celestron CR150-HD?

I might be able to live with the white paint, BUT, the objective lens has some dirt/smudges on the inside. If you go back to the “ before me pics” you might be able to see what I’m talking about.

I assume whoever painted this thing, took it apart and didn’t clean it very well when they put it back together. I don't think the factory would send it out like that.

 

I just don’t want to put this thing out of alignment, if that’s possible. So I would appreciate some advice.

Thanks!

Blue

[SthBohemia]

7 hours ago, Blueboy said:

taken apart a Celestron CR150-HD?

^^ not the above but many other scopes. No big issue pulling the instrument to bits for cleaning. You will simply need to totally re-collimate the scope. I might suggest you fabricate a jig whereby you can rotate the scope to centre the focus arrangement in relation to the tube/lens with a laser device. NOTE- You will probably need to collimate the laser device as these devices do not, as a rule, have the laser beam centred! Quite contrary to their claims....

You can find an abundance of articles online regarding collimation of refractors..

PS... If you proceed with the cleaning may as well 'flock' the inside of the tube. Forgotten what the flock material is named. FLO have recently stocked it BUT flocking material has been available within the US of A for at least the last 20 years. Not exactly cheap BUT some amateurs swear by the improvements it makes.. 🙂 

Edited July 23, 2022 by SthBohemia
Extras...

[SthBohemia]

On 23/07/2022 at 05:54, Blueboy said:

That’s the problem of being a machinist and fabricator, I always see improvements that could be made.

Need another scope to play around with? I found this while flicking through Ebay!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/234634595217?hash=item36a14fcb91:g:iNUAAOSwsalis13T

An ORANGE tube Celestron from the years when they actually cared about what they sold, added attraction- Made in USA! Ultima mount with the 7.5" Byers worm/wheel!!

and this. even better!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/185515946644?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D202008

Damn it you are lucky within USA! I would jump at the chance for one of the old Celestrons 🙂

Edited August 3, 2022 by SthBohemia

[Blueboy]

10 hours ago, SthBohemia said:

Damn it you are lucky within USA! I would jump at the chance for one of the old Celestrons 🙂

That is a nice Telescope! If I had $1,000 laying around I just might invest in it.

[Zeta Reticulan]

I always wanted an orange tube Celestron SCT. I suppose I could paint my Evolution orange lol.

[SthBohemia]

Maybe some day or other you can grab one @Blueboy, no scarcity of them within USA, in actuality I think there are more of the old Celestron Californian Oranges (Dynamax should have painted theirs LEMON yellow) within Oustwalia than Europe! Possibly a fair bit cheaper through other USA sale sites than Ebay.

@Zeta Reticulan, check within the spacecraft there must be at least one of the oranges within a discarded box, just move that pile (all 7000Kg of it) of other astro gear you have and look carefully!