celestron nexstar 102 slt telescope

[audiobull]

if your a beginner then this is maybe one to concider.at time of me writting this it is £299 new and offers a great refractor scope which includes a goto mount which can have accesories added such as gps,upgrade the handset with the latest software,the 25mm eyepiece is ok but the 9mm eyepiece works alot better if viewing the moon close.i would definately suggest upgrading the eyepieces as the standard ones really dont show any quility build compared to the aftermarket ones(the eyepieces let the scope down). the tripod is a little wobbly depending on what ground your on but if your starting out its perfect and to upgrade would just cost too much for the beginner. you will see the moon nice and clearly but as you are buying a beginner scope please dont do what i did and expect to land on the moon or planets as you wont but the contrast is amazing of the moon and you will clearly see the crators of the moon.

can anyone give any reviews or comment on what i have said?

ben

[ZOG]

I have a Skywatcher 130mm OTA on this mount and it carries it ok. Vibration can be a problem but I made a set of anti vibration pads and that has almost cured it.

[FLO]

I think that was a fair and objective assessment Ben

[ZOG]

Audiobull, I got 3 cheap plastic ashtrays and filled them with silicone then let it set. Makes good anti vibration pads for the tripod. Try it, may help with the wobble problems.

[audiobull]

thats a smart idea ZOG. on mud/grass you can push the tripod into the ground but on solid ground its not happy and when you look into the scope it seems to move from its target and you have to readjust the goto.its as if the motor or whatever on the goto system isnt screwed tightenough that it has slight play in it.

[iantobach]

I bought a the 102 slt- as I had a 6 inch reflector when I was younger and wanted to get back into the hobby. Good scope for a beginner- Have managed to tour the skies quite happily unfortunately it has a poor battery life,and having been looking through a friends 8 inch sct unfortunately have now got into viewing in a big way and will soon be emptying the wallet in a big way!

[GordonCopestake]

The SLT is a great 'scope. I've owned both the GT model that preceded it and the newer SLT. The weak spot in both is the tripod unfortuantly. The tripod legs themselves are not to blame as the SLT comes with tubular steel legs that are fairly stable as long as you dont fully extend them. The weak point is the plastic lugs that attach the tripod legs to the tripod hub (which is cast aluminum and also very stable). I have a thread where I replaced the legs with wood and it made a great difference to the stability of the mount. I had my SLT overloaded with an ED80, 9x50 finder, 2" diagonal and a large 2" eyepeice and there was some wobble left. But for the included OTA's I can highly recommend exchanging the legs for a more stable view.

[Stormwatch]

I have this scope and I love it. It's been much more fun than the ETX 125 I had before it.

I don't ahve any problems with stability at all, even on hard ground. If yours is losing its tracking there must be a problem, as mine will track on its own all night!

I've taken some nice photos with the scope and seen a lot of things I'd never have seen without the very accurate GoTo and all for a very reasonable price. I have to say I'm now a BIG fan of Celestron equipment, especially since even their EPs are so cheap compared to someone like Meade's yet perform at least as well.

I bought a 2" diagonal for my 102 SLT and 2" 26mm and 15mm EPs to go with it and overall I find this to be a fantastic little scope. Sure it doesn't show great detail on planets, but it's well worth the money and an incredible beginner's scope.