Celestron starsense for Skywatcher

[m11]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone has had experience with the Celestron starsense for skywatcher:

http://www.celestron.com/browse-shop/astronomy/accessories/navigation/starsense-autoalign-for-sky-watcher-mounts

Wondering in particular if anyone has been successful using it with the orion synscan system as i have a xx16g dob i would like to use it with?

Looking to make life easier when setting up.:rofl:

Thanks all,

M11

[sil]

I've no experience with it as an add on but I do have the 6" celestron skyprodigy (skysense) scope. I use from a suburban environment and have limited sky views. At best in one direction i have down to 15 deg above horizon but mostly its 30-60deg.

I have limited usage of this scope, mostly when i can manage to get outside its just with a dslr. However the skysense scope really prefers use after full astronomical dark, before that it constantly fails to solve its location. Also annoyingly adding my celestron gps doesn't help but maybe by now there is a firmware update to fix that (I notice the skywatcher addon has a hub which the celestron scope doesn't and it specifies gps support where mine didnt so it looks like the addon is now a better product than celestron's own setup.

tracking is good but locating not so precise. with a 20mm eyepiece your target is in field of view but I use mine for imaging with a zwo and I still have to hunt to get my target in frame. capture there is still a little drift for me but not a concern for me doing video planetary captures but might be if you are planning long exposure (>2min subs).


I was surprised it even solved its location at all from my home, it was a risky purchase for me at the time I bought it. but for me it was very much about making life easier and on that it succeeded. I guess for you the accuracy will be the big issue. I honestly rarely put my eye to an eyepiece so cant comment on how inaccurate the setup is to center a target just that its yet to put mars/jupiter/saturn within the field of view of my zwo cam. hope this help you and others decide if this is a suitable product for your needs. certainly beats tedious star identification for alignment :)

[Pharian]

How accurate do you reckon your polar alignment would need to be if you're using this system? Point south and go would be awesome, heh.

[m11]

Hi Sil,

Appreciate that you shared you experiences with the Starsense. Always good to get another person's view. Your post is most helpful :)

I get limited time out to view due to family commitments so any method to speed up setting up and increasing viewing time as always good.

I haven't decided whether to get it as yet as I would like to get a few other things like a new ccd camera so might need to put it on hold.

Thanks again,

M11

[m11]

Yep thats the theory. I have found the Celestron Nexstar Goto pretty good. I have an Orion Synscan and it is a bit off with the goto. Just looking to streamline the process as even when I get time and wife lets me out, I still have chores to do in the middle of my viewing session :sadeyes:

m11

[johnanderson008]

I loved it with the next star mount but know I have an eq6 I cant use it unless I buy the other system with the skywater mount box