14 replies to this topic

[sojourneyer]

Yes, Celestron now has this scope out in the market. Albeit it is now only being sold in the UK

 

Problem with this SCT is the weight on the old Omni AltAz mount.

It weighs 10 lbs and the mount under 4 lbs

 

It is being sold for 699 pounds in the UK at First Light Optics and you

can read about the scope at https://www.celestro...grain-telescope

 

A member has posted on the Topic STARSENSE EXPLORER PRODUCT LINE

https://www.cloudyni...product-lineup/

and informed me of this new Explorer.

 

[Rogerc53]

Just bought the Explorer DX 130 if this scope would have been available I would have bought it.

Anyone have any idea when this may hit the US stores?

[sojourneyer]

Roger, I am sure many would love this scope.  To me the only issue is the mount/tripod which I believe does not really support the scope.

[Rogerc53]

Called Celestron yesterday and the person I spoke to had an "educated guess" that it would be near the end of the year before this model became available in the US.

We all know that "Educated Guesses" and $5 bucks will get you a cup of coffee.

This scope does look interesting and I hope that Celestron plans to put this technology on a lot of other scopes. If it came on an 8 inch dob I would seriously consider pulling the trigger.

RC

[sojourneyer]

RC

I totally agree with you ... that tracking system is so good in my mind

[jfc85csc]

Any one has any further updates? By looking into their US website, we can see the DOB 8in and 10in, plus the Explorer DX5In by popular science.... but no mention of the DX6in. Additionally, the DX 5in, seems not to be available in the US. So, a couple of questions:

 

1. Aside from the diameter, and all normal benefits of the 6 inch vs 5 inch diameter, do we know if there are any differences between the normal "explorer DX 6in SCT" and the "Popular Science... DX 5 in SCT"? there might be some features missing in the pop sci version

2. I read on the other forum where members where questioning the viability of the 6in one on the mount, and being too heavy... could this be the reason as to why is not available? and they came out w/ the 5 in one? if so

3. why not offer either one of them in the US. is it a marketing strategy to prevent cannibalization of the NEXTSTAR line? which, if true this sucks!

 

ultimately i want this romantic idea of the DX 6in, because in my head it would be the perfect set up for airplane travel/ car camping / maneuverable rig  take anywhere... or am I just day dreaming on an impossible task

[sojourneyer]

The DX5 has not been available in the USA for  over 4 months but you can  purchase it through Amazon UK for

$708 with no US warranty

 

The Pop Science versions generally speaking have a more inferior product to keep the cost down. However both the 5 and 6 have the Starbright XLT coatings which are excellent.  You can compare specs here

 

 

https://www.celestro...#specifications

 

https://www.celestro...#specifications

 

The 5 only weighs 5 lbs which can be easily accommodated on the mount

The 6, however, weighs 8 lbs which is stretching the matter but because it is such a short tube it is not a worry. 

 

I have my Celestron 127 SLT Mak which weighs about 8 lbs on the DX mount. For some reason or other, they do not give the weight of the OTA for the 127 Mak

 

It is funny because the 130DX reflector weighs 8.8 lbs on a 25 inch tube. Now that is more unstable.

[jfc85csc]

So, the 5.inch is lighter and would perform better in the mount. The weight difference is only accounted for the diameter difference. But would the viewing experience be that much different between both of them???

[sojourneyer]

Many people are happy with the Celestron C5 scope but bigger is better for viewing ... however there are price and availability constraints.

 

 

Celestron does not even put in a recommended retail price for the 6 inch unit.

 

You would have to chat to people who have viewed through a 5 inch and 6 inch SCT for their opinions.

[Clarence_HU]

I know this thread is old, but I wanted to buy the DX 6 SCT, as it was on a sale and was hardly able to find any review or opinion on that. 

 

I previously owned a DX 102AZ or formerly known Omni 102 with its mount and DX 6 SCT comes with the exact same mount. It is quite mediocre, but most of you were worried about its weight. I don't know how the 5" SCT performs, but the 6" SCT performs well. Of course the 102 refractor was a little bit lighter and overall was easier to use on the mount, but I think the DX 6 is still okay.

Would buy a new mount in the future, but this old one does its job. The only problem is that it is sensitive to any movement (you use the slow motion handles, there is a slight wind etc.), so not the most accurate, but unless you use it for photography, you can see everything well on it. 

 

The 6" is not that big, so still good for travel and going outside of town, so relatiely easy to handle and if I'm not wrong I can use 2" eyepieces with it, but that I have to double-check. It came with a 10mm Plössl and 40mm wide angle eyepiece, both are good quality, not the ones you would change (like the 10mm and 25mm EPs which came with the Omni 102).

 

Unfortuntely, the German weather is not too generous in summer either, so I rarely find the time to use it, but I can fully recommend it to people, who has to travel to see the night sky. I live in a Bortel 6 area, so still okay to use the telescope, but better to go outside of town (obviously:) ). It does a decent job with nebulas and also good for planets. It is not extraordinary in anything, but overall performs well. A good compromise. 

[Etien]

Got it, installed a 2" diagonal and used it with an Eyepiece 32mm 2 Masuyama. It is a nice scope and the goto celestron phone tool is great but the mount was struggling. Added a Counterweight +Dovetail Clamp. Helped but still so so. tried a binoviewer x 24mm, mount collapsed... ( more exactly the plastic clamps exploded one after the other ). Had to rigidify them plastic ties and tie-saddles. It sort of works now. But not perfect.

Basically as stated before the mount is too weak if you put anything heavy a the end.

[JeffreyC]

 

Would buy a new mount in the future, but this old one does its job. The only problem is that it is sensitive to any movement (you use the slow motion handles, there is a slight wind etc.), so not the most accurate, but unless you use it for photography, you can see everything well on it. 

 

 

I find a set of vibration suppression pads helps very much with that mount

[Dave Hederich]

Consensus seems to be that the StarSense mount/tripod is OK (though not great) with a C5 but starts getting marginal with the heavier C6. Of course more accessory weight added would compound any issues. I don't recall reading any analysis of whether the StarSense mount or tripod are the weak point or if both are marginal. I also don't recall if anyone has experimented with transferring the StarSense mount to a sturdier tripod.

[Clarence_HU]

Got it, installed a 2" diagonal and used it with an Eyepiece 32mm 2 Masuyama. It is a nice scope and the goto celestron phone tool is great but the mount was struggling. Added a Counterweight +Dovetail Clamp. Helped but still so so. tried a binoviewer x 24mm, mount collapsed... ( more exactly the plastic clamps exploded one after the other ). Had to rigidify them plastic ties and tie-saddles. It sort of works now. But not perfect.

Basically as stated before the mount is too weak if you put anything heavy a the end.

Cool,  thanks for the feedback. I will then start to change my 1,25" EPs to 2" ones, good to know. I was also worried about the weight, as also mentioned in this thread, the mount is the bottleneckt of the setup. It is overall okay, but not perfect. 

 

I find a set of vibration suppression pads helps very much with that mount

Thank you, will try them out. I already looked them up some time ago, but was not hundred percent sure they are worth investing in, but thanks for confirming.

 

Consensus seems to be that the StarSense mount/tripod is OK (though not great) with a C5 but starts getting marginal with the heavier C6. Of course more accessory weight added would compound any issues. I don't recall reading any analysis of whether the StarSense mount or tripod are the weak point or if both are marginal. I also don't recall if anyone has experimented with transferring the StarSense mount to a sturdier tripod.

Yes, that is true. In the future, I will definitely change the mount and post my experiment here, but for now, this would do. It has to.

Do you have a recommendation? I don't want to go for a motorized one. I honestly enjoy the manual work, even tough following the moon or the planets requires some effort. 

[Dave Hederich]

Cool,  thanks for the feedback. I will then start to change my 1,25" EPs to 2" ones, good to know. I was also worried about the weight, as also mentioned in this thread, the mount is the bottleneckt of the setup. It is overall okay, but not perfect. 

 

Thank you, will try them out. I already looked them up some time ago, but was not hundred percent sure they are worth investing in, but thanks for confirming.

 

Yes, that is true. In the future, I will definitely change the mount and post my experiment here, but for now, this would do. It has to.

Do you have a recommendation? I don't want to go for a motorized one. I honestly enjoy the manual work, even tough following the moon or the planets requires some effort. 

I don't really have a suggestion about a specific tripod to move the StarSense mount over to. The best place to get advice on that would be the Mounts forum of Cloudy Nights. But the first thing to understand is whether or not it's the tripod, the StarSense mount or a combination of the two that gets marginal with the weight of the C6 plus heavy accessories. That can only be determined by your experience and the experience of others. Since I have no direct experience with StarSense I can't really give specific advice. I only know what I've read. From what I've read, like you, I find StarSense with manual movement more attractive than a motorized go-to.