This might have been discussed before but...C14 edge. This scope is an optical dog, has been since day one. Primarily had astigmatism. Took the corrector out. There are three alignment marks: there is one on the edge of the corrector plate, etched saying "align". There is a black sharpie mark on the primary, and a black sharpie mark on the secondary/secondary housing. I have rotated the corrector so that the "align" mark align with the mark on the primary. This seems to have helped with the astigmatism. But this scope is just not sharp. For example, last night my seeing monitor (Santa Barbara Scientific) showed about 1" seeing (sometimes better). I used a Cool Edge to cool the scope, the scope acclimated for about two hours. Collimation was checked and adjusted straight through the back end, no diagonal. I have an external focuser. I am using an Astro-Physics Maxbright 2" diagonal with Televue Plossl eyepieces. Jupiter was well placed and at high elevation. Had trouble deciding where focus was at 230X and 300X. Pretty much a fuzzy tennis ball. Stars are somewhat blobish. Different eyepieces, different diagonal, same result. This scope has always struggled with this. And I do have virtually optically perfect scopes here-Astro-Physics refractor and a Mewlon 250. So the question is-should all three alignment marks line up: corrector with primary, secondary with primary and corrector? This is a "Covid" vintage scope, produced in I think 2021. As it sat unused for some time, it is long out of warranty. Thanks,

I am 82 and have problems bending and twisting my neck around to even get 3 stars for lining up my Frankenstein NexStar 8 SE Hybrid. Getting 3 stars well separated meant that at least one or two needed Cirque de Soleil type circus moves for me. Then, I just bought a used StarSense System, with camera, mount and new Handpad. I was able to assemble it and try it out on National Astronomy Day (May 18th). This was less than $300 US. WOW - What a bonus. After alignment and calibration in my back yard, it works superbly. No more do I have to struggle to get my preliminary alignment done, and can even dispense with my hard to use red dot finders (I've tried a few - poor!). This StarSense Alignment system may not be for everyone, but movement restricted viewers will benefit, as will old fogeys, like me. Ontario Yearly Starfest registration opens today for August 8-12th - I plan to go again. Mike .....>

I know how to remove the secondary on the C14 edge. Question is, the secondary housing that goes "through" the corrector, is this screwed together or glued? I want to remove this housing from the corrector. I know I need to remove the corrector as there are "pieces" on both sides. Thanks,

I am looking, if possible, to update the software and firmware for a NexStar 4GT. This scope has been, in practice, on loan elsewhere for years. It was always, and still is, a very good instrument though recent electronic issues took two years to solve due to lack of available parts. Now it is back in this house, and working well, I am minded to attempt update of the firmware and software. However, Celestron have moved on by light years (this scope's last update was probably at least fifteen years ago, maybe more). Moreover, the chance that it will talk to my Windows 10 64 bit computer is questionable. However, I do have leads that will connect it to a USB port! Does anyone have advice, comments etc? (Which may include "Don't"!) There are files on the Celestron site but I am by no means sure which to try. Any feedback will be appreciated befor I try plugging it in. Nick Hudd

There has been some discussion about issues with my C14 Edge. Namely, inside/outside of focus defocused showed significant displacement of secondary shadow. Also, scope showed a fair amount of an axis astigmatism and was basically an optical dog. I did two things: center dotted the secondary and laser aligned and made sure that the rotational alignment of primary/corrector was correct. Last night was the test. After collimating-it was waaaaaay off-and after OTA cooled down, inside/outside of focus showed little displacement of the secondary shadow. There was minimal on axis astigmatism. Stars seemed a little tighter and there was a sense of being able to find focus easily. There is a Feather Touch focuser on the back end, the primary is locked down. I use a star at about 50 degree elevation (much higher and I can't reach the eyepiece), no diagonal, and a 10.5mm old Tele Vue Plossl. Seeing last night as measured by the Santa Barbara Scientific SB2 seeing monitor was running between .8" and 1.2". I don't know if this OTA is going to be a planet killer, but there does seem to be some improvement. Mike

To follow up on an earlier post, took the corrector off the C14. Noted where the alignment mark was on the edge of the corrector...there was an etching that said "alignment". This was in about +/- the 4 o'clock position. I made a small "dot" with a sharpie on the edge of the inside of the tube so it could go back where it started. Now this is interesting. There is a black sharpie mark on the inside edge of the primary (I can see it clearly with a dental mirror). This was off quite a bit from the mark on the corrector AND the mark on the secondary. So now everything is rotationally aligned(ish), within say 1/4" of rotation. Mark on the primary aligns with the mark on the corrector and this aligns with the mark on the secondary mirror, at about +/- the 5 o'clock position. My understanding is that the alignment is traditionally set at 3 o'clock position from a set position (don't remember what that is), that does not seem to be the case with this OTA. Clock references are me facing the OTA, dovetail on my left 9 o'clock position. Also, not only did this OTA have a possible centration issue, it was an optical dog. Images were never really sharp, and there was a fair amount of astigmatism. I have a Takahashi Mewlon 250 that blows it out of the water optically and I use the Tak for planetary work. We'll see if this made any difference. Mike

So I have a C14 Edge. I am having I think a centration issue. I am using a Feathertouch focuser on the back end, screws onto the rear cell. Collimation is after the scope has acclimated for several hours, Do not use a diagonal, straight through the back end. Star at fairly high elevation. Start at low power and work up. The corrector was centered by the folks who sold it to me. Using the primary mirror locks. I am somewhat outside of the 5.75" backfocus spec, this is a visual scope. I can get a good collimation on the OUTSIDE of focus. Secondary shadow is centered. Will run towards focus, just out of focus, star "ring" is evenly bright. Go INSIDE of focus, secondary NOT centered. So I can make myself crazy trying to even things out. I am thinking that the primary might be tilted slightly as there is image shift when using the "factory" focus (the mirror lock are backed off, when using the factory focus), so the primary wobbles a bit. Question is, how to square the primary to the secondary. Anyone have this issue and what was the fix? Thanks, Mike

I had almost perfect seeing last night at my new beach house location in St. George Island, Florida. I believe this may be the best data I have ever captured: http://www.bcastropics.com/img/gallery/5/2023-09-06-0707_4-U-RGB-4-set_full.jpg Brian Combs

This is the first image taken from my new vacation beach house at St. George Island, Florida. Maybe it is just "beginner's luck" but I experienced very good seeing the first time out: http://www.bcastropics.com/img/gallery/5/2023-09-04-0701_4-U-L-Jup_Uranus-C_lapl4_ap123-4-set_full.jpg Brian Combs

Here is an image of Saturn taken 2 days before opposition. I used the Uranus-C color camera for the RGB and the Mars-M, with an IR filter for Luminance: http://www.bcastropics.com/img/gallery/5/2023-08-25-0510_4-U-L-Sat_Uranus-C_lapl5_ap30-2_set_full.jpg Brian Combs

My first experience with hyperstar was on my 14" SCT back around 2014. I was into Electronically Assisted Astronomy and decided to try and see what I could see with my tiny (6.5mm diagonal) analog video camera and the hyperstar on my C14. Well I was dumbstruck by the view of the Sculpter Galaxy in great detail filling the screen in just 21seconds. I have continued to use hyperstar both for EAA and conventional astrophotography, now on my C11 and find it to be an extraordinary assets to an SCT. For those who haven't tried it, I put together a video explaining how it works, showing some examples from both EAA and traditional astrophotography and explain everything (I think) that one needs to know to get it going. If you don't already have a hyperstar you might want to take a look. And even if you already use hyperstar you might want to check out the video to see if there is anything you did not already know. You can find it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA2TWvnIIbU I would be happy to hear about other experiences with hyperstar and any feedback on the video. Regards, Curtis

This is my first image of this apparition. Seeing was variable: http://www.bcastropics.com/img/gallery/5/2023-08-18-0917_3-U-L-Jup_Uranus-C_lapl5_ap105-3-set_full.jpg Brian Combs

We are currently on vacation in the Colorado mountains. I brought the C14” EdgeHD with me since it’s Galaxy season. The first night was clear, but I just did visual. The second night was crystal clear and steady. I imaged M51. We are at 9400ft elevation. So far, this my only image from this trip due to daytime obligations (hiking and fly fishing) and lack of clear skies at night. It’s currently snowing, so tonight doesn’t look promising. C14 EdgeHD at f11 mounted in Homeyer scope cradle ZWO ASI094MC OSC with OAG and ZWO 174mini guiding 30 x 300s. Not a single image was bad. AP1200 mount Here’s a link to the image on Astrobin. https://www.astrobin.com/full/eyzszv/0/

I imaged Mars on consecutive nights at around 80 degrees near the same region. It is interesting to note what appears to be a dust storm that developed between 01-15 and 01-16 in the Terra Cimmeria region in southern Mars. The cloud formation in that region is also interesting: http://www.bcastropics.com/img/gallery/5/Mars-01-15_01-16-23_full.jpg Brian Combs

Hello, Average seeing conditions on January 6th with the C14 : http://astrosurf.com/viladrich/astro/planet/mars/2023-01-06-1926_9-ChrVldr-Mars_Planche.jpg And for the fun of it, Phobos and Deimos : http://astrosurf.com/viladrich/astro/planet/mars/2023-01-06-2035_5-Mars-Phobos-ChrVldr-Planche.jpg Clear skies Christian

Good seeing for a change last night when I took this image: http://www.bcastropics.com/img/gallery/5/2023-01-08-0208_2-BC-RGB5-set_full.jpg Brian Combs

Hi all, I am a new member of the group and I know this question has been asked before. I have a Nexstar GPS 11” with a newer hand controller and the latest firmware. Is this scope capable of being adapted for the Starsense plate solve system? If not, can a piggybacked refractor and guide camera work? If so, what hardware/software coming would work? Clear Skies, Paul

Last year at this time I helped my friend Dave tear down and modify his Celestron 11" SCT. I videoed the entire process and posted 2 separate videos on my YouTube channel some time ago which I think I shared here. The first shows the step by step process to completely disassemble an SCT. If you ever want to disassemble you SCT, no matter which aperture, take a look at this video first. The second shows a problem with the Celestron supplied hardware for their motorized focuser. Dave discovered the problem during the tear down and the video not only shows the problem but provides two different approaches to fix the problem. If you use Celestron's motorized focuser you should take a look at this video, especially if you have experienced binding of the focus motor or had it run away during a focus. This week I returned to the remaining video footage to produce the last in the series. This video addresses the main purpose of the tear down - to make modifications to the OTA to improve its performance for astrophotography. These are the modifications performed: 1. Adding nylon screws to the baffle tubes to try and minimize mirror flop - this was the main reason for tearing down the OTA. 2. Adding internal fans and deflectors to direct the air flow over the front of the primary mirror to break up the air 3. Adding a temperature sensor on the back of the mirror 4. Replacing the stock grease with a much better Krytox lubricant 5. Flocking the inside of the tube Since Dave did this one year ago we included an update at the end of the video with Dave's assessment of the value of each of these modifications. We included one of Dave's latest images after all of the mods of the Orion nebula. Whether you own a 14" or even a 6" SCT I think all 3 of these videos would be of interest. Here is the latest video showing all the mods and Dave's summary of what he would and would not do again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E3pnjDp56E Here are the other two videos Teardown https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTJs4r5Oj58 Focuser https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdADiHmGLpw ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTJs4r5Oj58 )