Celestron c8

[LondonNeil]

I've been reading reviews and forum comments about the evolution mount and it seems very good.  There is a problem though,  the internal battery doesn't seem to be easily available and is north of £100 if you can find it.   Does anyone  have a cheaper supply that is reliable? 

[Cosmic Geoff]

11 hours ago, LondonNeil said:

I've been reading reviews and forum comments about the evolution mount and it seems very good.  There is a problem though,  the internal battery doesn't seem to be easily available and is north of £100 if you can find it.   Does anyone  have a cheaper supply that is reliable? 

There was a fuller account of the Evolution battery issue in the Forum about a year ago.  IIRC, the older mounts have a different battery and motherboard and the suggested fix from Celestron is to swap battery and MB for the new versions.  The OP might have identified a substitute battery that worked with the old MB.

Or one could just leave the external +12v charger connected.

[LondonNeil]

I'd read there are two types of battery,  neither seem easy to find and replacing motherboard and battery sounds a poor solution.  I get that the mount can be run from an external battery,  just seems poor if celestron aren't supplying spares for the internal one. I've messaged their tech support to check. 

[LondonNeil]

There also seems to be a slight issue where the mount can try to draw more current than an external battery (and dead internal) can manage.  If it does this the controller resets and needs alignment again.   This is manageable by adjusting settings to prevent it, but it is a shame if  the internal battery can't be replaced at a sensible price. 

[Cosmic Geoff]

I found this link: 

It seems one owner was able to source a plug-in replacement for the battery.  

The original battery is supposed to last for 10 years.  FLO apparently have had few if any requests for battery service. Overall I have the impression that this is not a big issue.