Gary Riley
sage
Reged: 12/01/11
Loc: White Bluff, TN
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Re: New to me Celestron C102-HD
[Re: KWB]
#5340872 - 07/28/12 11:24 PM
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I have some of the Baader Hyperions (5, 8, 13 & 21mm) that I use in my Celestron Omni XLT f/10 refractor and they do a nice job for me. They will work in an 1.25 inch or 2 inch diagonal and have 20mm eye relief. A good quality eyepiece for the price, IMO. Also the Orion 2x Barlow would be a good addition too. The scope you have is worth upgrading to a 2 inch diagonal, 2 inch dual speed focuser and a larger finder scope (9x50) should you ever want to do that. I would look at upgrading the tripod legs to wooden or larger stainless steel legs for greater stability. I have the CG-4 with the 1.75 dia. stainless steel legs and it is very sturdy with my 4 inch refractor. I also use Celestron VSP as well and they help even more.
Congratulations on your purchase. You got a good deal, IMO.
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Jon Isaacs
Postmaster
Reged: 06/16/04
Loc: San Diego and Boulevard, CA
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Re: New to me Celestron C102-HD
[Re: SeattleScott]
#5341344 - 07/29/12 09:20 AM
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Given you wear glasses you should consider long ER eyepieces.
Eye glasses are only necessary if one has significant astigmatism, near sightedness and far sightedness are taken care of by focusing the scope itself.
And even if one has significant astigmatism, at higher powers with a smaller exit pupil, glasses may not be required. Many observers find that as magnification is increased and the exit pupil becomes smaller, there's a point the astigmatism is no longer a problem and glasses are not necessary.
Jon
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BoriSpider
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/10/04
Loc: S.W.FLA
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Re: New to me Celestron C102-HD
[Re: Gary Riley]
#5341349 - 07/29/12 09:24 AM
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Here are some links. I love my C4-R(the model after yours).
Improvements , wood tripod , great tripod insperation thread ,
and the observing chair you'll want to use .
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BigC
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/29/10
Loc: SE Indiana
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Re: New to me Celestron C102-HD
[Re: audioaficionado]
#5341560 - 07/29/12 12:27 PM
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That f10 scope is pretty forgiving of eyepieces so the inexpensive Kellners will do well,plossl better.Since you plan on another scope of shorter focal length,I say look for a good deal on one of those "plossl and barlow " kits(containg a 25/26mm and a 2x barlow).
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audioaficionado
sage
Reged: 05/24/12
Loc: Medford, Orygun, USA
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Re: New to me Celestron C102-HD
[Re: BigC]
#5341832 - 07/29/12 03:26 PM
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The 10" dob will be 1250mm f/5 and this one is 1000mm f/10.
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Negative,only the 20mm eyepiece is close,with an effective ER of about 18mm. The 25mm and 32mm have it.
Kenny, Those long eye relief A-T EP's are supposed to have 20mm ER. Where did you find the info they don't? I was also looking at Zhumell Z Series Planetary Telescope Eyepieces because of their long ER.
Thanx for the links BoriSpider.
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KWB
Postmaster
Reged: 09/30/06
Loc: Westminster,Co Elev.5400 feet
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Re: New to me Celestron C102-HD
[Re: audioaficionado]
#5341951 - 07/29/12 04:32 PM
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The 10" dob will be 1250mm f/5 and this one is 1000mm f/10.
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Negative,only the 20mm eyepiece is close,with an effective ER of about 18mm. The 25mm and 32mm have it.
Kenny, Those long eye relief A-T EP's are supposed to have 20mm ER. Where did you find the info they don't? I was also looking at Zhumell Z Series Planetary Telescope Eyepieces because of their long ER.
That's my mistake,Steve. I mistakenly though you were looking a the AT Value line of plossls,which IMO are very good,bargain priced eyepieces.
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audioaficionado
sage
Reged: 05/24/12
Loc: Medford, Orygun, USA
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Re: New to me Celestron C102-HD
[Re: KWB]
#5342445 - 07/29/12 09:55 PM
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I've got it all cleaned up except the front objective element. I'm not touching it until I get the proper cleaning equipment. I'll deal with the focuser when I get the supplies for that also. It should see its first light in a decade Monday night. The previous owner stored in it a garage for a decade uncovered, uncapped and the eye piece out of the diagonal. Lots of dust inside the last baffled section. I can't do much about the OTA interior past that last baffle. It looks OK though.
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John Kocijanski
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/22/03
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Re: New to me Celestron C102-HD
[Re: audioaficionado]
#5342592 - 07/29/12 11:29 PM
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Great scope. I just had mine out the other night for the first time in quite a while. It gave wonderful views. Here is my hit list from that evening.
M13
Mu Draconis
Nu Draconis
16/17 Draconis
M39
M29
16 Cygni
NGC 6826
NGC 6992
NGC 6960
Albireo
M27
Gamma Delphinis
M56
M57
Epsilon Lyrae
M11
M16
M17
M20
M21
M8
NGC 6530
M23
M24
M25
M22
M28
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audioaficionado
sage
Reged: 05/24/12
Loc: Medford, Orygun, USA
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Re: New to me Celestron C102-HD
[Re: John Kocijanski]
#5342625 - 07/30/12 12:02 AM
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Nice one night hit list. I'll be lucky to find six known objects. I don't think I can view Saturn from my back yard as it is too low in the horizon and my yard is a tree well. Albireo should be doable and I'll look at the milky way for any random things I can find and enjoy there. Then there's the moon. It should be a good night and hopefully the smoke from the Siberian forest fires isn't too bad.
I see you have a Ha PST. I'd love to get one of those someday. Then I'd never sleep again LOL. I've got plenty of Seymour solar film to make a white light filter for my C102-HD and the viewfinder. That should be more fun during the daylight hours.
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astronz59
sage
Reged: 09/15/10
Loc: Auckland, New Zealand
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Re: New to me Celestron C102-HD
[Re: audioaficionado]
#5342878 - 07/30/12 06:37 AM Attachment (27 downloads)
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Yesiree, that's the same as mine....
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newtoskies
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 07/15/12
Loc: SE Ma.
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Re: New to me Celestron C102-HD
[Re: audioaficionado]
#5344492 - 07/31/12 12:20 AM
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Steve
Very nice find there with the scope. I might go back and get the 4" reflector I mentioned. It came with two EP's but not sure what they were.
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I just had to have something right now. Last Tuesday's trip up into the mountains to see some stars was sort of a bust as my wife was less than wowed with my binoculars. Now when she sees Saturn for the first time, I hope she gets bit by the astronomy bug and infected enough to let me spend more $$$$ on the hobby.
I'm hoping to do the same with my wife when I get the 6" Dob 
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audioaficionado
sage
Reged: 05/24/12
Loc: Medford, Orygun, USA
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Re: New to me Celestron C102-HD
[Re: newtoskies]
#5344633 - 07/31/12 03:07 AM
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OK here's my first light report:
Between the orange-red light dome and the almost full moon the sky was pretty much washed out.
Saw Saturn for almost 30 minutes before it got into the trees. Very tiny at 80x but cool none the less. This was the high-light of the session.
It was extremely difficult to find Albireo as most of the connector stars were invisible. So I just released the GEM locks and freewheeled it scanning back and forth about where I expected to find it. I was in agony kneeling on the ground craning my neck trying to see anything through the finder scope at 80 degrees. Finally I got lucky and found that yellow-orange + blue star combo. Saw it for about 5 seconds and as I was re-locking the GEM, I futzed it trying to find both the cams and lost it again. Too painful to go through the process again.
Looked at the moon too. lots of crater detail.
So there are a lot of issues with the tripod and mount. The tripod is made of Jello LOL. There is some backlash in the GEM and I haven't figured out how to set it up yet. That RA and DEC are confusing compared to just a simple horizon/zenith setting.
That EP is a hunk of junk and that is being gracious. I've gotta get a better one asap.
The focuser is too stiff and needs reworking asap. Looks like it will work fine once I've cleaned and regreased it.
That finder scope is also a piece of junk. Should I go with a Telrad?
So it was a little disappointing how little I was able to see, but at least the clouds weren't covering the sky like lots of other people have had happen. I simply just don't know the sky at all. I need to get some good books and become familiar with the stars.
In two weeks we'll have a new moon and I'll get up into the mountains' dark skies and have better luck. Until then, I've got my work cut out for me.
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Jon Isaacs
Postmaster
Reged: 06/16/04
Loc: San Diego and Boulevard, CA
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Re: New to me Celestron C102-HD
[Re: audioaficionado]
#5345140 - 07/31/12 11:54 AM
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Steve:
Telrads are great but only really useful when the skies are pretty dark, other there are not enough guide stars to accurate point the scope.
For a refractor, I like a Right Angle Correct Image finder, I don't have kneel down to use it... An 9x50 is a nice way to go.
Jon
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audioaficionado
sage
Reged: 05/24/12
Loc: Medford, Orygun, USA
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Re: New to me Celestron C102-HD
[Re: Jon Isaacs]
#5345559 - 07/31/12 03:48 PM
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A RA finder will come with my future dob. I'll get a telrad for that scope and maybe move the finder over to the refractor.
I was thinking once the tripod is fully extended and wobbly, I could get a stout split key ring and chain the legs together at the extension knees and hang a heavy weight from the center.
I'm looking at getting all three EPs for ~$100 shipped:
Astronomy Technologies Astro-Tech Long Eye Relief 3mm 1.25"
Astronomy Technologies Astro-Tech Long Eye Relief 9mm 1.25"
Astronomy Technologies Astro-Tech 32mm 1.25" Value Line Plössl
The 3mm is a reach, but on a real good night Saturn sure would look pretty.
I'll get a Barlow later once I find one I like in stock and priced right.
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GOLGO13
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 11/05/05
Loc: St. Louis area
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Re: New to me Celestron C102-HD
[Re: audioaficionado]
#5345631 - 07/31/12 04:32 PM
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Suggest tightening everything on the mount. If things are shaky, vibration pads can help. There are multiple home-made ways to make them if you don't want to buy them.
Suggest the Sky and Telescope Pocket star atlas http://www.amazon.com/Sky-Telescopes-Pocket-Atlas/dp/1931559317
Would help to use Stellarium software from stellarium.org to see what's going to be up tonight.
I red light so you can read the charts.
Equitorial mounts with long tube refractors can be a pain. But you should be able to get her going. It's kind of the opposite of a dobsonian reflector. With the eyepiece at the end of the scope, your way low when looking at zenith.
Also, make sure you have the eq middle pointed toward polaris..or at the least, at the angle it should be for where you live. You can look through the middle of it by removing those caps. Make sure you balanced the scope in both directions. That will help the movements on the mount.
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audioaficionado
sage
Reged: 05/24/12
Loc: Medford, Orygun, USA
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Re: New to me Celestron C102-HD
[Re: GOLGO13]
#5345698 - 07/31/12 05:07 PM
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I set the angle at 42 degrees and did a rough polar alignment as I moved it around my yard trying to escape blocking trees for various targets. The tripod just sits on grass and dirt so it's not super level. I don't have a nice concrete pad/slab poured yet. I'll need one for the dob eventually. Once set up, the objects were easy to keep in the FOV by adjusting the slow motion knobs.
I'm taking it out early tomorrow morning to catch Venus and Jupiter.
I've got to keep the monitory investments as low as possible so I can also get a dob soon before the summer is over. Once late fall and winter arrives, the Pacific Northwest's marine climate and cloudy rainy foggy weather will reign supreme.
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mogur
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/29/11
Loc: WI
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Re: New to me Celestron C102-HD
[Re: audioaficionado]
#5345993 - 07/31/12 08:56 PM
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I'd forget about the 3mm EP. 300+x is too much for this scope. Saturn won't look pretty just blurry.
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audioaficionado
sage
Reged: 05/24/12
Loc: Medford, Orygun, USA
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Re: New to me Celestron C102-HD
[Re: mogur]
#5346024 - 07/31/12 09:21 PM
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I could still use the 3mm with the 10" dob?
Another issue:
I used eyeglass cleaner on the front lens to great effect, however I noticed a film on the inside surface(s) of that lens. I don't want to take this scope apart as I don't have the expertise to put Humpty Dumpty back together again with the proper collimation.
I don't know how that streaked film got inside the OTA. Bad storage conditions, idiot owners taking it apart, factory QC screw up, etc. How do I get this fixed? I didn't see a very good star test when I first tried. I need a better EP to be sure it's the primary optics and not that cheap 12.5mm that came with this scope when I got it. The original 20mm EP that shipped with the scope was disassembled and missing parts. The barrel and 2 lens elements are in a small box and there is no way to retain them in the barrel. I sure hope they didn't screw with the scope in a like manner. 
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Mike4242
professor emeritus
Reged: 11/02/11
Loc: Memphis, TN
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Re: New to me Celestron C102-HD
[Re: audioaficionado]
#5346084 - 07/31/12 10:09 PM
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On my refractor I use a combination of a Rigel Quickfinder and the 9x50 finder that came with my dob. I have a Telrad that I use on my dob, but I think the Rigel's smaller profile works better on a refractor. I use the Rigel to quickly get on a naked eye guide star and then use the 9x50 finder to hop from there. I used the straight through finder that came with the scope one time and like you discovered very quickly what a pain in the neck it is.
Here's a pic looking down the tube with the Rigel Quickfinder visible on the right side. If the angle looks awkward, it's because the diagonal is rotated.
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stratocaster
sage
Reged: 10/27/11
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Re: New to me Celestron C102-HD
[Re: audioaficionado]
#5346348 - 08/01/12 02:39 AM
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Should I go with a Telrad?
I used to own a C102HD. As was recommended previously I used a Rigel Quickfinder. It's much less bulky than a Telrad and I think is more suited to a refractor (for my dob I use a Telrad, though a quickfinder would also be fine).
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I was in agony kneeling on the ground craning my neck trying to see anything through the finder scope at 80 degrees...
I'd strongly recommend you invest in a bonofide adjustable observing chair. I purchased one 9 months ago and wonder why I waited so long - especially with the slow refractors.
I remember years ago I was using the C102HD to look at M13 at the zenith. It was very unpleasant. Even looking thru the diagonal we were bending over on our knees.
With the quickfinder you can place it anywhere it is convenient on the tube so you don't have to get down so low. Also, for me personally I never use anything except a Telrad or quickfinder. Indeed, if there aren't a lot of stars out you can't really star hop, but I just never got comfortable using a finderscope.
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