Celestron NexStar 130 SLT Computerized Telescope
Celestron
- 31145
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5.1in
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Reviews
(13)
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i have been watching the sky for a few months, and purchased this one through amazon, im in the middle of a large nieghborhood, with trees and fences all around my back yard, that said, i have not had much luck w the go to function, so i was kinda disappointed, then i ordered the 2inch eyepiece by celestron also from amazon, it is a huge difference, i was using a galileo, the two scopes are not that much different, outside the motorized mount, but the 2 inch view makes a world of difference, so for watching the sky, this is a great scope, i must admit, i had thought maybe it would identify the stars im looking at, but now i realize that would be a tall order even for nasa, i have seen the ring around jupiter, not very defined at all, but you can view it, at 400$ with the 2inch eyepiece option and motorized mount, and the fact that go to probaly would work in a open area, i say this is a good deal and a good scope, not many scopes have the 2inch option, and celestron seems to get
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A couple of negatives to start with. As others have indicated, once the electronics are turned off the current time is not kept. If you forget this important point aligning will not work. Next point. Double check that the tightening screw that secures the optical tube to the mount is tight every time you use the scope. I neglected to do this and the thing slid out of the mount and hit my patio. Unbelievably, nothing broke and the scope's collimation was not knocked askew. The good news is you can be using this scope in a manner of minutes after just a little practice. The optics are good and the tracking is too when you consider how inexpensive this machine is. Adding weight to the accessory tray helps with stability.
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This may be a wonderful telescope. It is difficult for me to know since I have never been able to use mine. It was purchased, along with the Celestron eyepiece set and NexImage Camera for around $700.00 in September of this year.
The first scope had to be returned to Celestron because the tracking motor would not function on the day that I unpacked it.
After 4 weeks, I received the new scope.
The motor works but it will not track. I am unable to get the scope to align.
That covers the telescope. But the real problem is in the customer service. My first mistake was to send the scope in for repair. Because of the time involved, a refund becomes virtually impossible.
So now I am stuck with a $700.00 white elephant that Celestron wants me to send back to them again for further repairs and a further 4 weeks of waiting.
If you have to have this telescope, then buy it from Amazon so that you have the protection that I DO NOT have. I screwed myself on this deal because I trusted Celestron to be
The first scope had to be returned to Celestron because the tracking motor would not function on the day that I unpacked it.
After 4 weeks, I received the new scope.
The motor works but it will not track. I am unable to get the scope to align.
That covers the telescope. But the real problem is in the customer service. My first mistake was to send the scope in for repair. Because of the time involved, a refund becomes virtually impossible.
So now I am stuck with a $700.00 white elephant that Celestron wants me to send back to them again for further repairs and a further 4 weeks of waiting.
If you have to have this telescope, then buy it from Amazon so that you have the protection that I DO NOT have. I screwed myself on this deal because I trusted Celestron to be
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It works well enough as soon as you get used to it. The family has been enjoying it. But there are moderate and avoidable issues that Celestron should address: o The clock necessary for tracking does not keep the time after powering off forcing one to set it each time. This is an annoyance. These days, that would be a simple function to provide but for some reason Celestron does not. o The battery compartment is cheaply made and the cover tends to pop off. o The software TheSky is old and certain functions cause the program to crash. The only way to fix that is to go the the publisher's web site and pay for a new version. Celestron should provide a version that does not crash. o As others have stated, the included lens selection is insufficient but that is an easy problem to remedy buy purchasing additional ones. Though I've not tried one yet on the scope, I recommend a CCD imager as a nice addition.
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I have now owned this telescope for 4 months, using it (so far) exclusively on upper Manhattan... yes, NYC! So my experience so far is with the moon and planets. For this, it's a great telescope, bringing out many details quite nicely. Set up was quick and easy to understand. Once set up, I did notice a little tweaking on the alignment [mirror collumation] was needed, and after some indoor alignment, followed by "bright-star" fine tuning, this telescope's fine optics came into full display.
The 2 eyepieces that come with the scope are quite good, but it was with my 7mm Nagler eyepiece that Saturn's rings shone fine, and Jupiter's cloud bands popped right out!
Now, the few caviats: This scope is not good on a windy day as it is prone to vibrations! Vibrations induced from touching the scope to focus quickly disappear so, for normal use, it's quite tolerable. As to the "goto" system: If you're going out just to spot the moon or planets, use the "solar system" alignment. It's quick and only
The 2 eyepieces that come with the scope are quite good, but it was with my 7mm Nagler eyepiece that Saturn's rings shone fine, and Jupiter's cloud bands popped right out!
Now, the few caviats: This scope is not good on a windy day as it is prone to vibrations! Vibrations induced from touching the scope to focus quickly disappear so, for normal use, it's quite tolerable. As to the "goto" system: If you're going out just to spot the moon or planets, use the "solar system" alignment. It's quick and only
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I was really excited to get this telescope, having spent years using my old, manual one. The first night I took it out, the motor didn't work correctly. The telescope would move left and right and down, but wouldn't move up. I thought maybe it was just rather stiff because it was new, but after several more attempts, it still doesn't move up. Without the motor working, the telescope is impossible to align correctly, which makes the computerized viewing list of stars and what not worthless. I am returning it and thinking that I will purchase another brand of telescope next time.
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I may have been spoiled by the Zhumell 10" Dob, but I feel that this telescope will show me what I want to see and more as long as conditions are ideal. I have tried to get alignment by using the Skyalign feature but after 5 attempts I have never been able to get that to work. Auto two star alignment seems to work well. That is what I have been using in place of Skyalign but I feel that aligning on three objects rather than two would give me more accuracy so I am a little miffed about Skyalign not working. I may check for an software update for the handheld controller to see if this helps but I have to have the proprietary cable to hook it up to the computer to flash it so that will be another 15 to 20 smackers and they don't tell you that you will need a usb to RS232 adapter if you want to hook it up to a USB port another 40 smackers or so. These should be included in the package. I am a little po'd at Celestron for that. So far, I have not been able to collimate this scope to my
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I'm a telescope newb, bought this for a family member as a gift as they aren't as technically competent I was hoping the computerized bit would alleviate that issue. I also expected a scope at this price to have performed better. I couldn't get it to align using skyalign. i got it to work on a two-star alignment but even then when i asked it to go to different celestial bodies it would be inaccurate. i had highly accurate gps coordinates and times as well as trying it in many places on many stars on quite a few nights. in addition the mount is wobbly, almost never calms down, and does not come with a collimation tool which would be a cheap part to add, leaving the images just slightly blurry. about the only thing this was awesome for was looking at the moon, easy to find, track and see. images were clear and very cool, but certainly not worth the money to look at the moon each night. cool idea, not ready yet, or mine was broken.
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The optics are good, but the software and the tech service are terrible. I ordered the Celestron NexStar 130 SLT based on glowing reviews I had read. It arrived promptly and was easy to assemble. I was easily able to align the view finder with the main optics, which seemed to be very good. But I was totally unable the align the computer. I made a dozen attempts after entering and re-entering the necessary information and entering the position of various triplets of widely spaced stars, but the computer kept telling me that alignment had failed. I attempted one call to tech service, but was on hold for half an hour before I gave up. I emailed tech service regarding my problem, and received an automatic acknowledgement, but absolutely no further contact over a two week period. Amazon allowed me to return the scope as defective, and even paid the return shipping. So Celestron was terrible, but Amazon was great.
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I got my Celestron 130 SLT last month and am extremely happy with it. For the price, it's a great scope and the goto software was pretty easy to get the hang of. The sky mapping software that comes with the scope is also a great help and easy to use. A few caveats: Buy the AC power cord....otherwise you'll need new batteries every night. You'll need to reset the date/time on the goto computer every night.....it doesn't remember date/time between uses. It takes a few tries to get proficient with the three star align....it works pretty well, but you need to make sure you've setup your location and the date/time correctly. This scope isn't weighted and is very light. This causes it to shake a LOT when you touch it (i.e. when you're focusing). It takes a few seconds for it to stabilize after any adjustment. Some people weight the tripod tray to add stability. The focuser could have a finer adjustment. It takes a very steady hand to get optimal focus. The scope doesn't come with
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I got my Celestron 130 SLT last month and am extremely happy with it. For the price, it's a great scope and the goto software was pretty easy to get the hang of. The sky mapping software that comes with the scope is also a great help and easy to use. A few caveats: Buy the AC power cord....otherwise you'll need new batteries every night. You'll need to reset the date/time on the goto computer every night.....it doesn't remember date/time between uses. It takes a few tries to get proficient with the three star align....it works pretty well, but you need to make sure you've setup your location and the date/time correctly. This scope isn't weighted and is very light. This causes it to shake a LOT when you touch it (i.e. when you're focusing). It takes a few seconds for it to stabilize after any adjustment. Some people weight the tripod tray to add stability. The focuser could have a finer adjustment. It takes a very steady hand to get optimal focus. The scope doesn't come with
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more
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I received this telescope about a month ago. It is easy to use and works well. The 2 lenses that come with the scope allow you to begin checking things out in the sky, but there are a few more things needed. 1- A filter kit (at least one filter for the moon. It's too bright to look at without one). 2- 2X Barlow Lens. This will double the magnification of the lenses you have.
Also, this scope needs maintenance. The mirrors must be perfectly collimated (lined-up) on an F5 scope. (The lower the focal ratio, the more precise the collimation must be, and F5 is low.) My scope needed collimating right out of the box. The scope does not have to be shaken hard to knock the mirrors off of angle or alignment. This requires tools and some mechanical ability. Get info online or visit local stores that sell reflector scopes. I paid $200 for my set of collimating tools (Sight Tube, Cheshire and Autocollimator). For this scope to work properly, this maintenance must be done regularly
Also, this scope needs maintenance. The mirrors must be perfectly collimated (lined-up) on an F5 scope. (The lower the focal ratio, the more precise the collimation must be, and F5 is low.) My scope needed collimating right out of the box. The scope does not have to be shaken hard to knock the mirrors off of angle or alignment. This requires tools and some mechanical ability. Get info online or visit local stores that sell reflector scopes. I paid $200 for my set of collimating tools (Sight Tube, Cheshire and Autocollimator). For this scope to work properly, this maintenance must be done regularly
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If you want to view the night skies above with certainty on what object(s) you are viewing, this is a great way to get started. Definitely a first time 'scope, experts will want something bigger. SkyAlign is a good feature, but you need to be careful in centering the star image. Buy an additional power supply, like the Celestron PowerTank or at least a 2000mA 12V regulated power adapter, unless you want the landfill to rapidly accumulate your used AA batteries. The supplied "The Sky" and "NexStar Observer List" software helps plan observations.
Michael Swanson's "NexStar Users Guide" (Amazon currently has the best price) is an invaluable aid. See my review.
Michael Swanson's "NexStar Users Guide" (Amazon currently has the best price) is an invaluable aid. See my review.
