My first Nexstar 6SE

[astroscope]

Hello All,

I have just purchased my first celestron nexstar 6se.

It comes with celestron power tank, and several standard eye pieces.

Is there anything else i should buy to make the best use of this scope?

They recommend i have to buy a better star diagonal and better eye pieces and filters. I don't really want to break the bank, but is there anything i can consider for this scope?

Thanks

[Kai]

I would just get used to your new scope first and see where it takes you , rather that splash out on a load of kit and find out that it doesnt get used.

I speak of personal experiance

[John]

I agree with Kai - it sounds like you have practically everything you need to get some good use from the scope. The only thing you might need to consider is some form of dew control measure for the scope as SCT's are rather prone to dewing up. A dew shield and / or a heated dew band should be on your list in due course.

John

[Capricorn]

Agree with what has already been said. Noticed that you said "several eyepieces" so I am guessing at more then 2?

So assuming that they are of a reasonable spread so should be OK.

Dew shield will be of great use and after that get familiar with the scope and the set up procedure.

Take the time to find out what you use the scope for then decide if you need anything to improve this.

[The Warthog]

Be sure to let us know how you like that scope. I've always thought the 5 or the 6 would be an ideal travel scope. I'm just about to set off on a 2 week vacation, and can't really include either of my scopes, so I'd like to know how you find it.

[astroscope]

Thank you ALL for your splendid support.

I forgot to mention that the scope already comes with an AstroZap dewshield. It is the bendy thing that seems to be made of fabric and fits on the front of the scope.

And yes, i have three eye pieces.

It's still boxed up, will probably take it out today and start assembling it.

The chap a bought it from said that you should not need to collimate it. I thought you should collimate it when it has been in transport. He said it's an SCT and should not normally need collimating.

This scope is fantastic given it's size and aperture. I think this would make the perfect travel scope.

[MeerkatinBKK]

Looks like you're all sorted then. The only things I'd add are an observing chair of some kind - it makes a real difference if you can sit down in relative comfort - and perhaps a moon filter (shouldn't cost much more than a tenner).

I use one of those pneumatic drummers-throne stools which is ideal; lightweight and easily height-adjustible.

Have fun!

Nick

[Doc]

And get yourself a copy of "Turn Left at Orion" or a star atlas so you can learn your way around the sky and know what objects to look up.

[astroscope]

Thanks for that.

I have a stool and i wil lmake good use of it in the garden.

I have a pair of Bino's so they may come in handy too.

I have astronomy software too

[DAVPPK]

Yes, turn left at orion is a great book, I have it. Not sure on price though as it was a gift from a relative.

Hope this helps

David

[sxinias]

Hi,

I think that you will like your 6SE very much. I have a C6S on a GEM which has the same optics as your 6SE. You mentioned collimation. Hopefully you will not need to collimate. My C6S survived being trucked across Europe and arrived collimated; centered, concentric circles with a 6 mm eyepiece using the north star as a target.

The only weak component is the diagonal. I do not think that you need to buy one immediately, but …. it’s probably only a matter of time before you do. The diagonal is poorly designed and, unlike the rest of the telescope, is made on the cheap. Mine was also poorly constructed and I had considerable image shift when I rotated it….. enough to mess up a star alignment if I rotated it during an alignment. Also, it is easy to start unscrewing the diagonal from the tube instead of rotating. Last week it started rattling....the mirror came loose .... was held in place by double sided tape. The repair was easy and I also found the cause of the image shift...sloppy workmanship .... one corner of the double sided tape was folded back destroying the diagonal's internal alignment.

Joe

Sxinias Greece

[Jarndyce]

I agree with Joe. Better quality diagonal is worth getting eventually. However, before splashing out on expensive EPs, see if you can try some first. Can you get to any starparties?

[astroscope]

Hi,

I'm not sure if there are any star parties in my local area. I will probably check online and see if there are any near west London.

And yes, i have to admit that the construction of the scope and tripod is very good quality. I was assembling it yesterday and had the scope in my hand. I must admit this is a fine piece of equipment.

I have heard other people saying that the star diagonal is below standard quality. I will use it together with the eye pieces and see where this scope takes me.

I just managed to program the hand controller for my coordinates using longitude/latitude, set the time etc. When i got to the time zone, i couldn't select the options. In the manual it say's you must press the arrows on hand controller to select the time zones, but the scope just kept going up and down. So in the end, I just kept it to "Universal Time Zone". I hope that should be fine.

I didn't get good skies last night so will see what happens tonight

But all in all, I'm very much happy with this purchase;)

[rikyuu]

In the manual it say's you must press the arrows on hand controller to select the time zones, but the scope just kept going up and down. So in the end, I just kept it to "Universal Time Zone". I hope that should be fine.

yes navigating the menus is a pain in the bum as the arrow keys move the scope and the numbered buttons go up and down through the menus! It gets me every time . From memory, you have to use the numbered up/down buttons to select something other than UTC or by pressing ENTER first. Anyhow, I believe UTC is close enough to GMT.

[astroscope]

Oh Thanks Rikyuu,

Now i see it. It's the numbered key's 6 and 9. But i'm sure that wasn't explained in the manual. And if it is, it's probably not very clear. Anyway, will try that today when i get back home.

[astroscope]

Ok, got the nexstar out yesterday evening to give a quick check. All seems fine. And the numbered keys 6 and 9 sure do work. One anoying thing is that scope loses it's time setting. Im not sure if there is an internal battery that keeps these settings. I had to correct the time. It's was out by about 30mins. Which is not a problem but would be nice if it kept the time.

I pointed at the moon and did a solar system alignment and chose the moon. It sure kept it in the focuser.

I just need to find a bubble level for the tripod as im not sure how to level te tripod.

I might just use a spirit level and give it another try.

[rikyuu]

ah yes, that's another pain the bum feature. It seems to remember the time that it was when you last set it up, or something unhelpful like that, as there's no internal clock battery. Apart from that, very good mounts, I expect your SE mount exceeds my SLT too.

[astroscope]

I'm not so sure on what SLT mounts are like, but my 6inch on this mount is pretty good. Very stable.

Now i just need to look at some accessories for the scope.

[seiko]

hi, thinking about getting one of these and wondered how you where getting on with yours?