Getting back in, looking for a scope

[danny linguini]

Hi all, 

I’m seriously considering getting back into the game after about a 20-year hiatus. I had a Meade 80mm refractor way back in the ‘90s, and in fact faintly witnessed the meteors crashing into Jupiter with it. Since then, though, life got in the way, the scope got moved, bumped, knocked over, generally subjected to things no precision instrument should be subjected to, and eventually and regrettably got tossed. I still have the case with a handful of eyepieces and filters and odds and ends. I’ve recently been on the hunt for a replacement, preferably better and easier to haul around and set up for casual viewing of planets and whatever bright DSOs I can find. 

I’ve narrowed it down to a scope that unfortunately is out of stock everywhere: a Celestron StarSense DX 5”. I don’t really want/need a fully computerized mount system, though I haven’t totally ruled one out, either. I really like what StarSense offers and think it would satisfy my simple viewing needs, and I don’t have to worry about a power supply. But there are none to be found at the moment - everything is computerized. So, a couple of questions … 

Is there anything else out there in a 5” SCT or Mak with a manual mount and smart phone-enabled compatibility similar to StarSense? 

Other than availability, are there any good arguments for computerized systems over manual? 

Any other suggestions or recommendations for an old coot returning to the fold are most gratefully welcome. 

[Moon-Monkey]

I know two people that have a celestron star sense setup and both of them do not enjoy the function of the system you may have better luck but do remember if your looking at DSO’s a mobile phone will destroy your night vision the second your look at it for planetary I guess it’s ok though 🙂🙂

[Knighty2112]

Two in stock at FLO at the moment.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/celestron-starsense-explorer-series/celestron-starsense-explorer-dx-5.html

 

 

[danny linguini]

1 hour ago, Knighty2112 said:

Two in stock at FLO at the moment.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/celestron-starsense-explorer-series/celestron-starsense-explorer-dx-5.html

 

 

Thanks, but wrong side of the pond! 

[cajen2]

@FLO regularly sell and ship to the US.

Have you also checked stock levels on the DX6?

[danny linguini]

3 hours ago, Moon-Monkey said:

I know two people that have a celestron star sense setup and both of them do not enjoy the function of the system you may have better luck but do remember if your looking at DSO’s a mobile phone will destroy your night vision the second your look at it for planetary I guess it’s ok though 🙂🙂

Great point - I hadn’t thought of the light from the phone. 

[danny linguini]

11 minutes ago, cajen2 said:

@FLO regularly sell and ship to the US.

Have you also checked stock levels on the DX6?

I have not - I didn’t know that model existed - it’s not listed on any US sites. I will give it a look. Thanks! 

[Moon-Monkey]

3 minutes ago, danny linguini said:

Great point - I hadn’t thought of the light from the phone. 

It’s ok for planetary or Luna I guess but having said that if you can’t find the moon in the sky perhaps a new pair of glasses may be a better investment 🤣🤓 I don’t know bud I’m old school like that I prefer books and atlas to mobile phone apps having said that for indoor cloudy nights planning sessions etc it’s great !! 

[cajen2]

Alternatively, there's this:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/sky-watcher-az-go2-telescopes/sky-watcher-star-discovery-150i.html

I don't know that particular scope but it has the same excellent parabolic mirror as my Heritage 150p.

Or you could go tabletop:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/heritage/sky-watcher-heritage-150p-flextube-virtuoso-gti.html

The second one will need collimating occasionally but the first has a fixed mirror.

 

Edited October 9, 2022 by cajen2

[Guest]

How about a dob with a setting circle and a angle gauge?  No power required other then a battery for the angle gauge .  I use this system on with my 10 inch dob and as long as i do my part it is a pretty easy way to get you on target. 

Edited October 9, 2022 by Mike Q

[Moon-Monkey]

3 hours ago, Mike Q said:

How about a dob with a setting circle and a angle gauge?  No power required other then a battery for the angle gauge .  I use this system on with my 10 inch dob and as long as i do my part it is a pretty easy way to get you on target. 

Totally agree that’s how I do it too when I’m going for a particularly faint target otherwise star hop 🙂

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, Moon-Monkey said:

Totally agree that’s how I do it too when I’m going for a particularly faint target otherwise star hop 🙂

The key is initial alignment.  Get it aligned to true north as close as you can, i zero on the north star.  I use a 5 or 9mm eyepiece to center it all up that way when i use my 14 or 20mm the object is usually in or around the eyepiece.  Works like a champ. 

[danny linguini]

On 09/10/2022 at 02:44, Moon-Monkey said:

I know two people that have a celestron star sense setup and both of them do not enjoy the function of the system you may have better luck but do remember if your looking at DSO’s a mobile phone will destroy your night vision the second your look at it for planetary I guess it’s ok though 🙂🙂

Just curious - do you know what those folks don’t like about StarSense? 

[Moon-Monkey]

29 minutes ago, danny linguini said:

Just curious - do you know what those folks don’t like about StarSense? 

Hey buddy yes they both really struggle with the setup and accuracy of it bud it seems to crash on them honestly I don’t know whether it could be their phones or software 🤷‍♂️ Hey he other thing they said was that when they recieved a message or call it reverted back to white screen killing their session 

[Elp]

I think either way, manual or computerised, if your initial manual alignment (ie levelling, north pointing, polar etc) is off, some element of finding targets will be off unless if you're star hopping in alt az. Nothing wrong with computerised systems, but there is a learning curve. Once you get the hang of it, it's second nature and something like plate solving is an excellent tool if you're not familiar with manual finding of targets (your local environment may also make manual finding of DSOs very difficult). Some people prefer manual, do what works for you but don't be afraid to try new things.

I was going to suggest something like the Nexstar scopes with mounts, but generally any goto mount and scope combo will work depending on what you want to specialise in looking at. Using a goto mount with a handset isn't difficult.

[Astro_Dad]

The StarSense tech is quite a game changer and in my own experience (as well as others I know who use these ‘scopes too) is at least as if not more reliable at finding targets than computerised GOTO. I see more error messages and issues with my Skywatcher Syn Scan set up for example than with my StarSense Explorer equipped Dob. (As good as the former is, it is generally not as convenient as StarSense to use). 
Both offer pros and cons though and can be used in conjunction with pure manual star hopping too - assuming the mount supports manual use. 

[paulastro]

On 09/10/2022 at 07:44, Moon-Monkey said:

I know two people that have a celestron star sense setup and both of them do not enjoy the function of the system you may have better luck but do remember if your looking at DSO’s a mobile phone will destroy your night vision the second your look at it for planetary I guess it’s ok though 🙂🙂

The Celestron Starsense App has a night time mode which turns the screen red, and you can reduce its brightness using the phones brightness control.   It then won't spoil your dark adaption.As Astro_Dad says, it's a game changer.  It's the fastest, easiest, most enjoyable to use and most trouble free object finding system I've found in over fifty years of practical astronomy - and I've tried most things.

Edited October 11, 2022 by paulastro

[danny linguini]

2 hours ago, paulastro said:

The Celestron Starsense App has a night time mode which turns the screen red, and you can reduce its brightness using the phones brightness control.   It then won't spoil your dark adaption.As Astro_Dad says, it's a game changer.  It's the fastest, easiest, most enjoyable to use and most trouble free object finding system I've found in over fifty years of practical astronomy - and I've tried most things.

That’s exactly what I was thinking, on all points, and why I’m leaning heavily toward a Starsense setup. I don’t like the idea of having to rely solely on computermotronics. I’m not planning on doing any imaging, so I don’t need automatic tracking, just some assistance with finding stuff to look at. 

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi @danny linguini and welcome to SGL. 

I have three ‘scopes in total... four if you include a WW1 sighting telescope.

All three are mounted on a variety of manual alt-az mounts [the mount shown below is a Tele-Optic Giro]…

 

...and the WW1 sighting telescope…

Edited October 12, 2022 by Philip R

[Moon-Monkey]

12 hours ago, paulastro said:

The Celestron Starsense App has a night time mode which turns the screen red, and you can reduce its brightness using the phones brightness control.   It then won't spoil your dark adaption.As Astro_Dad says, it's a game changer.  It's the fastest, easiest, most enjoyable to use and most trouble free object finding system I've found in over fifty years of practical astronomy - and I've tried most things.

That I couldn’t honestly say buddy as I’m a purely star charts person what I meant about the phone ruining your night vision isn’t about the app itself it’s when someone rings or you get a notification (which is shown in normal light ) 🙂 maybe these two people were using it wrong ?? As I say it’s not my personal experience it’s second hand but good to hear all sides as always 

[RT65CB-SWL]

On 09/10/2022 at 05:23, danny linguini said:

Hi again @danny linguini.

Below is a list of what is use on a smartphone and/or tablet...

• SkySafari* .….…… iOS and Android OS
• SkEye ……………… Android OS             
• Star Atlas ………… iOS
• Star Charts ……… iOS

 

and .PDF format...

• Discovering Doubles All-Sky edition**
• Discovering Double Stars ll**
• Discovering Deep Sky Objects**

 

 

 

* the iOS version includes ‘augmented reality‘ [AR]        ** written by SGL’er @Ags and available via... https://discovering-astronomy.eu

Edited October 12, 2022 by Philip R

[paulastro]

2 hours ago, Moon-Monkey said:

That I couldn’t honestly say buddy as I’m a purely star charts person what I meant about the phone ruining your night vision isn’t about the app itself it’s when someone rings or you get a notification (which is shown in normal light ) 🙂 maybe these two people were using it wrong ?? As I say it’s not my personal experience it’s second hand but good to hear all sides as always 

You don't have to have any internet connection when using the app on your phone.  So there's no reason to be interupted by anyone trying to ring or message you when using it. Just switch the Internet connection off and turn the volume down. 

All of these points are covered by the more informed reviews, particularly those by Ade Ashford in the October issue of Astronomy Now and one by Alan Dyer which you can find on line.

 

Edited October 12, 2022 by paulastro

[danny linguini]

9 hours ago, Moon-Monkey said:

That I couldn’t honestly say buddy as I’m a purely star charts person what I meant about the phone ruining your night vision isn’t about the app itself it’s when someone rings or you get a notification (which is shown in normal light ) 🙂 maybe these two people were using it wrong ?? As I say it’s not my personal experience it’s second hand but good to hear all sides as always 

If nothing else, just knowing this could be an issue should remind me to put it in airplane mode on the way out the door. 🙂