Celestron Nexstar Telescope

[spaceace]

Hi guys

I'm a really noob noob though my tag says differently :)

Anyway Im looking at getting the Celestron Nexstar Telescope ordered from the USA because its alot cheaper than buying it from the NG shop. My question is, is this a good telescope for a beginner and is the software easy to use?

FYI it is $599USD + $57USD postage/insurance compared to $1499 AUD thats a big difference in my book.

Your thoughts would be much appreciated, thankyou.

[iceman]

Another Central Coast local! Great to see! :welcome: to IIS!

What's your budget?
What do you primarily want to do with the scope? ie: just visual, or astrophotography as well?

How portable does it need to be? Will you osberve from home all the time, or will you go to star parties and observing meets?

Have you owned any other telescopes, or looked through any other scopes?

It might be worth coming along to a local observing meet (we meet up at Mangrove Mountain) - you'll get a chance to look through some different types of scopes and maybe change your mind about what you're looking for!

[spaceace]

Hi Iceman

Im pretty new to all of this though I have had an interest for years. My eldest son is just starting to get an interest now, so I thought it would be nice to get a semi decent telescope.

I want one that is automatic and i'd like to be able to hook it up to my laptop, I would also be interested in one day taking photos.

The Celestron is worth $1500 here in Australia but I can get it in the States for half price including postage. It seems to be a decent telescope for a beginner and I want something that is easy to use.

As to meeting up, that wouold be great though I do shift work and have a wife and 4 kids to look after so getting a life can be difficult at times.

[kljucd1]

Hi Spaceace,

What store in the US are you buying the telescope from??

Welcome to IIS also!!

Daniel...

[spaceace]

The National Geographic site in the States. Postage + insurance is $56 usd the telescope is $599 usd. Still much cheaper than here in Oz

[MikeyB]

Hi, SA. Which model NexStar are you looking at buying, anyway?

I reckon it'd be a good idea idea to first check out some proper telescope specialist shops here in Oz, ones where you'd have some hope of knowledgeable after-sales service and support. Good luck getting that at Australian Geographic or from the USA!

[Rob_K]

Sounds like a good deal to me Ace :thumbsup:. I'm assuming by price it's possibly the NexStar 5 SE Mak Cass on single-arm alt-az mount? Enough technology there with the motorised mount & GOTO to satisfy you & your son's needs, very portable, and enough aperture to let you see heaps in the night sky!

As far as after-sales goes, well there's always a risk buying OS, but only as far as manufacturing defects covered by warranty goes. For on-going repairs and maintenance, we're all in the same boat - you've gotta pay, and any dealership will do it!

Good luck with it!

Cheers -

[spaceace]

Thanks all for your replies. Yes I am worried about defects etc but i'm willing to take that chance. Here is a link to the telescope:

http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/product/180/3776/123.html

[MikeyB]

That's the NexStar 4 SE, a 102mm Mak-Cass. The best local price I can find online is $1,099 AUD from Andrews Communications, with free delivery and manufacturer's warranty. Versus $752 AUD from USA, 4-8 weeks delivery via USPS or UPS ground (no mention of insurance that I can see), and slim chance of warranty back-up. Hmm!

In answer to the questions raised: "Is it a good telescope for a beginner" the answer is a definite "maybe". Personally, I reckon it could be, but others may disagree. I wouldn't hold out much hope that you'll be using it for photography though - the scope and the mount are too lightweight for satisfying results, IMHO. As to "Easy to use", based on the number of pleas for help that we see here at IIS, probably not as easy as the manufacturers of goto scopes would have beginners believe. There's a learning curve like any hi-tech computerised device. Some find that process harder than others, spaceace, but as a Telecoms Engineer you should be fine.

[spaceace]

I actually paid for express delivery so I should get it in the next 4 days (excluding the weekend of coarse)

LOL and thanks for your vote of confidence. I'm hoping it will be plug and play :-)

[MikeyB]

More like "Plug and pray" actually, but that's yer hi-tech for you! :)

No. 1 suggestion: set yourself up with an auto start battery booster and a 12V power lead to the scope, rather than relying on the internal penlights. Those AA's run down real quick when the scope is slewing and tracking, and once they do, the goto becomes very unreliable (big-time frustration).

No. 2 suggestion: The NexStar Resource Site (http://www.nexstarsite.com/index.html) is an excellent place to find all manner of NexStar-specific info and support (and IceInSpace you already know about!)

[spaceace]

Many thanks for that link. I can see myself visiting it often.:thumbsup:

[spaceace]

I got it! It took 4 working days to get here. Assembly was really simple but unfortunately it has rained for the last 3 nights so I havn't had a chance to align it etc.

[MikeyB]

That's always the way - it's the new astro gear curse. :sadeyes:

[BowzerS14]

Hi there spaceace,

Glad to see you got your scope from the US without to many hassels. I have a quick question. Does the US power supply of 110V (60Hz) cause any problems with this scope for plugging it in or will they run happily on the 240V AU juice.
The reason I ask is I am living in the states for work and am looking at purchasing a GO TO scope and bringing it home when ii return.

Thanks in

[citivolus]

While many products purchased in countries outside of the USA will have auto-ranging power supplies, it is much less common to find them in the USA. The reason is that companies are cutting costs every chance they get in order to stay competitive on the US market, so they go for the cheapest power supply they can get.

As a result, it is very likely that the power supply will need to be replaced when you come back here, but that usually isn't such a big deal anyway, as power supplies are fairly easily replaced these days. You may get lucky, but I think the chances are low. Ask the vendor in advance if in doubt.

Eric

[spaceace]

Actually the telescope didnt come with a power lead either for a wall socket or cigarette lighter one for the car, so it must be an additional accessory. So Im loading it with 8 AA batteries :scared:

[BowzerS14]

Thanks for that Eric, ill be sure to check before I purchase the new scope.

[spaceace]

It's been 2 1/2 weeks and I still havn't been able to use my telescope :sadeyes:

Damn rain:cloudy:

[Clancee]

Spaceace

I am interested to hear further deatails of your experience in ordering the Nexstar from National Geographic. Would you do it again? How is the instrument?

thanks, I'm very new to this great experience

[Inmykombi]

Hi Spaceace..........Good to see another Central Coast Local.:thumbsup:

If you bring the scope to Mangrove mountain next weekend ( weather permitting ) I am sure there will be some help on hand to help set your new scope up so you can start enjoying it ASAP.

By the way, the scope you have chosen, I think makes a great portable scope for easy set-up and easy tranportation. A great choice indeed.
It makes good sense to get a first scope that will get you out under the stars as often as possible.

I should be able to check the power requirement for you as well, to see if you can run it from a power tank type battery supply..

Cheers

Geoffro.

[Muddy Diver]

Hi Space ace

Welcome to IIS (although I've had a sabatical and have only just looked at the site for some time). It is a great resource full of people willing to help at any moment.

I have your scope and have found it user friendly and great fun. The 4" diameter opyics allow only so much detail to be viewed of brighter objects, I find (with my eye sight and in light polluted SW Sydney) that anything below mag 10 -11 is too dim for the little mak but planetary viewing Jup, Saturn and Mars is fine. Again not much detail but you will be impressed with Saturn.

I drive mine using the celestron power pack although any 12V pack from an auto store will do. I find this will run for longer than i wish to observe whereas the AA batteries willl be sucked dry in 1-2 hours max.

Although the optics are pretty steady in Maksutov Cassegrain designs, I found mine to be slightly out and minor collimation was required which gave much better results when imaging planets.

Its a great little starter scope, I take it camping and anywhere else when dark skies are guarunteed. Very quick to set up (10 mins if dismantled from the tripod) You wont be dissapointed. I would like to purchase something larger but would never consider divesting of the nexstar due to its portability factor.

Good luck with it. If you need any advice just shout and I'll offer whatever I can.

Here are a couple of links which you may find useful. I have an image album at http://tech.ph.groups.yahoo.com/group/NexStar4

and at

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/nexstar/

This site is also extremely useful

http://www.nexstarsite.com/

Contact me if you run into trouble, happy to help;)

[spaceace]

Heya guys

Its been almost a year now that ive purchased the telescope and unfortunately due to numerous real life issues (work, new baby, rain etc) I havn't had a lot of use. I would be really keen to hook up with a group on the Central Coast (Australia) if someone could please provide some details of the group up there that would be greatly appreciated.