5 replies to this topic

[BillStiver]

Ok, quick question.  Does the Celestron CPC1100 Starbright XLT have an internal battery and if so, where is it located?  I am preparing to sell my scope, but want to insure that everything is up to snuff with it.   Thanks in advance.  

[SoCalPaul]

The NexStar hand controllers have an internal coin-type battery inside to retain time, date & location. If I recall correctly.

 

The mount itself does not have an internal battery. It requires an external power supply.

 

Clear skies,

Paul

[mrowlands]

According to posts 4 and 6 in the following topic, CPC mounts older than about 2014 to 2016 had a button cell battery in the GPS.  The newer ones apparently have a super capacitor instead.

 

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/719079-does-the-cpc-deluxe-800-contain-any-battery/

[mlord]

The NexStar hand controllers have an internal coin-type battery inside to retain time, date & location. If I recall correctly.

None of the ones I have opened up had any type of internal battery.

The most recent time and location information is typically saved in hand-controller EEPROM or Flash memory between sessions. No battery is needed for that. But the time information needs re-entry each time out, as does the location info when the scope is moved to a different place.

Many mounts do have an internal clock with battery though, or a super-capacitor, and the hand-controllers can be configured to take advantage of that.

Other mounts may have a built-in GPS receiver, which can provide very accurate time and location to the hand-controller without need of a battery, though some have an associated battery to speed up satellite reacquisition. Ditto for an external GPS accessory connected to an AUX port on the mount.

In all cases, one must ensure that the hand-controller is configured to use whatever source is available. Sometimes the firmware clears that setting, causing confusion until the user figures out the issue and reconfigures the correct settings again.

Edited by mlord, 17 May 2025 - 03:49 AM.

[SoCalPaul]

Thanks for the correction, I could be remembering the HC from a different mount.

 

Paul

[mclewis1]

Ok, quick question.  Does the Celestron CPC1100 Starbright XLT have an internal battery and if so, where is it located?  I am preparing to sell my scope, but want to insure that everything is up to snuff with it.   Thanks in advance.  

One simple thing to do before selling your scope is to do a Factory Settings reset (it's under the Utilities menu). This will clear out all the memory locations so the new owner will be able to start fresh (just like a factory new scope).

 

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None of the Celestron NexStar hand controllers for any mount ever had a battery (some other brands of scope/mount did/do).

 

The larger Celestron Alt Az mounts (NexStar GPS and CPC) have a built in GPS unit with the aforementioned capacitor or battery. The smaller Alt Az mounts (Evolution and smaller) don't have the built in GPS,

 

The Celestron GEM style mounts (AVX, and the CGEM, CGE and CGX families) have a built in real time clock (but no GPS). The RTC is in the mount (not the hand controller) and has a coin/button style battery to retain only the time/date information. The Advanced GT (ASGT) GEM does not have an RTC.

Edited by mclewis1, 18 May 2025 - 04:26 PM.