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chuck56
sage
Reged: 01/21/07
Loc: Chicago, Illinois
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Celestron Nexstar 8 SE mount question
#5478914 - 10/19/12 02:14 PM
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The Celestron Nexstar 8SE is sure priced right but the single arm mount kinda scares me so my question is how
bad to they shake or vibrate? I know this is hard to
answer but I can't find any good honest reviews on
this scope and mainly the mount. I would hate to buy something that would end up not liking. Anyone help?
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Midnight Dan
Postmaster
Reged: 01/23/08
Loc: Hilton, NY, Yellow Zone (Bortl...
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Re: Celestron Nexstar 8 SE mount question
[Re: chuck56]
#5479029 - 10/19/12 03:30 PM
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Hi Chuck:
You will probably get a lot more answers if you try this question in the Celestron Nexstar forum where all the owners of these hang out.
But, a lot depends on your tolerance to vibrations or what you're comparing it to. All mounts are engineering tradeoffs. This one's goals are to be lightweight, easy to use, and inexpensive. As you might guess, the tradeoff is stability. Yes, it does have problems with vibrations at the higher magnifications.
The way I would characterize it is this. At magnifications up to 150x, it's pretty nice and I have no problem focusing with it. From there up it gets increasingly harder to focus, and when you get to 300x or more, it's very difficult due to the vibrations you get when touching the focuser.
However, I use anti-vibration pads with mine which helps substantially. With the pads, I find it very useable up to 250x or so. When you reach the scope's maximum magnification of 400x, it is a bit tricky to focus, but still doable. But the fact is, most nights the seeing only allows 250x or less anyway. It's very rare to ever actually use the 400x maximum.
Another thing some people do is to add on a motorized focuser which solves the problem altogether.
I own a nice solid iEQ45 GEM mount as well as the 8SE, and I use the 8" SCT on both. While the iEQ45 is rock steady with gotos that the 8SE can't match, fact is I use the 8SE MUCH more than the iEQ45 for visual observation. I find the ease of use and lightweight portability of the 8SE along with the 8 inches of aperture a compelling combination that's hard to match, and for me it's worth the tradeoff of a less solid mount.
-Dan
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MikeBOKC
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/10/10
Loc: Oklahoma City, OK
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Re: Celestron Nexstar 8 SE mount question
[Re: chuck56]
#5479037 - 10/19/12 03:33 PM
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Well they are not as stable and solid as a CG-5, but they are not toothpick-like either. As long as you use the stock 6 or 8 inch SCT or a smaller refractor on them they do pretty well. Some folks hang a weight (like the power pack) from the center of the tripod to add a little stability. The Nexstar line is desiged to provide the most possible aperture with easy portability and setup in a go to format, and they are spectacularly successful at that. But rock solid they ain't, nor would you expect them to be for the price. You might post down in the Nexstar forum to learn more from Nextar owners and get some tips on mount modifications and stablility.
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MikeBOKC
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/10/10
Loc: Oklahoma City, OK
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Re: Celestron Nexstar 8 SE mount question
[Re: chuck56]
#5479038 - 10/19/12 03:33 PM
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Well they are not as stable and solid as a CG-5, but they are not toothpick-like either. As long as you use the stock 6 or 8 inch SCT or a smaller refractor on them they do pretty well. Some folks hang a weight (like the power pack) from the center of the tripod to add a little stability. The Nexstar line is desiged to provide the most possible aperture with easy portability and setup in a go to format, and they are spectacularly successful at that. But rock solid they ain't, nor would you expect them to be for the price. You might post down in the Nexstar forum to learn more from Nextar owners and get some tips on mount modifications and stablility.
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WarmWeatherGuy
professor emeritus
Reged: 08/27/11
Loc: Orlando, FL 28° N, 81° W
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Re: Celestron Nexstar 8 SE mount question
[Re: Midnight Dan]
#5480281 - 10/20/12 12:08 PM
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Quote:
... it gets increasingly harder to focus, and when you get to 300x or more, it's very difficult due to the vibrations you get when touching the focuser.
Another thing some people do is to add on a motorized focuser which solves the problem altogether.
-Dan
This video How to focus a wobbly telescope discusses motorized focusing and Bahtinov masks.
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herrointment
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 03/12/11
Loc: North of Hwy. 64
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Re: Celestron Nexstar 8 SE mount question
[Re: WarmWeatherGuy]
#5480562 - 10/20/12 03:08 PM
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The motorized focuser option works great on my Nexstar 8 SE.
Build it yourself and save. LINK
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Pat at home
sage
Reged: 03/16/07
Loc: Campbellton, New Brunswick, Ca...
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Re: Celestron Nexstar 8 SE mount question
[Re: herrointment]
#5480611 - 10/20/12 03:44 PM
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I have a 6SE which uses the same mount. The weakest link is the tripod. The mount itself is easily installed on a real surveyor's tripod with a fairly simple adaptor plate that I made from maple. The operation of the mount is simplicity itself.
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