i just dont know!!!

[starstalker]

okay so i have a meade ds2080 refractor and hopefully in a couple of weeks i want to upgrade to a celestron cpc 800 but while i wait for the money to come in i keep having doubts, should i get the cpc or would i be better off getting a nexstar 8se, the nexstar dosnt have gps(not really a problem) and spend the money i would save on a couple of decent eyepieces, or will the cpc give me more than just a gps system ie, better images??

are the nexstar and cpc tubes basically the same or does the cpc have any advantage over the nexstar?? thanks in advance!

[kris h]

If i had to choose between the 2 i would get the cpc i looks better and it does have built in GPS but if my memory is right it is a couple hundred pounds more than a nexstar 8 you got a big choice to make

[starstalker]

i dont mind spending the extra couple of hundred quid if i am gonna get more than a gps(didnt have 1 with the meade so i can live without it) if i get a better viewing experience then its worth it, but the big question is , will i???

[kris h]

They are both 8 inch scopes so idont think there will be much difference where are you gonna buy your scope from

[starstalker]

ill be getting it from opticstar seems the cheapest about,unless anyone knows better?

[kris h]

I was gonna say have a look on opticstar good prices they are very a like they have got the same focal lenth same highest magnification

the only thing i can think of because the cpc is a fork mounted scope it would be better for astrophotography than the nexstar if you want to get into that

[robhal9000]

Hi,

I have a 6se which has the same mount as the 8se. The advantage of the 8se mount is that it can easily be used with other OTAs. The OTA is easy to remove from the mount. The OTA on the fork mounted CPC series (I have a 925) can not be removed easily AFAIK. The disadvantage of the 8se is that , I have heard, it is not quite as stable on the mount. Even with the 6se (about 3 pounds lighter than the 8se) there is quite a bit of vibration during focusing and I find vibration suppression pads helpful. The CPC 925 is very steady.

I also find the CPC goto to be more accurate. My se mount always seems to put the target slightly to the right of centre. The CPC puts it dead centre. Not a major issue.

Re the GPS. The se mount needs the time re-input after power down, but it saves Lat and Long data between sessions. The CPC needs some time to download the data from the satellites on it's first run.