Nexstar SLT 127 Mak. First Light Experiences

[ozark1]

I thought I'd share my experiences with a Celestron Nexstar SLT 127 and how it behaved on its first night out.

Buying

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I bought the telescope from Rother Valley Optics for £345. I'd originally chosen the Skywatcher AZ Goto Mak but that was out of stock. The telescope arrived a day later in a robust, single package. Thanks RVO for great service.

Unpacking

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The first box opened, to reveal a box. And then another. In that one there was (1) a plastic bag with the tripod and mount, (2) another box (!) with the Mak OTA and handset and (3) another box with 1.25" diagonal, 9 and 25 mm MA eyepieces and Red Dot Finder.

Assembly

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Very easy. Took me 2 minutes. It doesn't get any easier.

First Opinions

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The little 5" mak looks quite smart in grey metallic paint. The objective cap is push fit and plastic - but easier to use than the Meade ETX and its screw thread. The assembly is easy to slide onto the single arm mount and rock solid when it gets there. There are no obvious burrs or blemishes on the Nexstar mount - looks nice kit. The tripod is neat and even when extended there is no feeling of any wobble. All in all the telescope looks a nice piece of kit. The only cheap feel is to the battery compartment which looks a bit fragile - there again I'll be using a Powertank most of the time.

First Light

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I waited 6 days until the clouds cleared. When they did I didn't have a charged Powertank - so hey I'll try the batteries. Loaded up 8 new AA alkaline batteries.

I levelled up the mount (using the little in built level) and left it outside to cool.

After dark I went out and switched on. The handset asked me for my location (London) and time/date in US format. I entered as requested. Then I tried to align the telescope. My first try - SkyAlign and used Mizar, Polaris and Altair. The handset came back and said "Alignment Failed".

I started again - but the motors stopped responding to the direction keys. Next thing - I heard a "Pop" followed by "Hissssss". I quickly found that one of the AA batteries had exploded. I cleaned up the liquid, replaced the battery and got back to work.

Tried SkyAlign again (Kocab, Altair, Alpheratz) and got "Alignment Failed". Then I tried Auto - Two Star on Kocab and Altair and yes, it worked.

First Target - Jupiter. Tried Goto and missed by over a degree. Easily corrected though and tracked accurately when I got the planet in view. Could see plenty on the planet with an Adler SWA 15 mm - North Equatorial Belt, North and South Temperate Belts all visible. The Red Spot was out of sight at the time. The Galilean moons were in familiar lines

Second Target - Uranus. Tried Goto and missed again. Never found it.

So at this point, I was thinking that the telescope Goto was not so hot, the telescope was a typical (good) mak and the tripod was nice and stable.

Third Target - The Double Cluster. I didn't expect this - the Goto was dead on. A 40 mm eyepiece framed both clusters. Lovely viewing.

Fourth Target - M31. Goto - About a 1/3 off centre with the 40 mm. A typical view of Andromeda in a small telescope. M32 also easy.

From that point on I rattled through the Messier catalogue - M2, M15, M56, M57 (nice view at 100 x in the Adler, obviously a ring), M27 (clear dumbell shape), M11 were all hit within the 40 mm field of view (so within half a degree). The telescope performed well.

Opinion

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The Celestron Nexstar 127 SLT is a very nice little GOTO mak. Set up is easy, the view is very clear, there is no vibration issue and the GOTO accuracy on DSOs is better than my experience with a 125 ETX. I still have not worked out why the GOTO missed Jupiter and Uranus but will experiment.

[NiteGawper]

Hi ozark1,

Nice review; you have really given a good account of your experience. Shame about the battery explosion not a good way to start.

I have the Skywatcher 127 MAK (similar to yours) and agree they are fantastic 'scopes.

Hope you get many more clear skies and loads of use from your new instrument.

By the way, I notice it's your first post, so welcome to the forum

Andy...