Nexstar 9.25 or CPC 1100?

[killar65]

Hey guys...seeking some advice about buying a first telescope.
50th coming up...always wanted a scope, so I'm going to pull the trigger on one...budget @ $5k.
Currently I lay on the back lawn and look at the sky and go wow...so, super keen...super excited...
I'm ideally looking for a scope that's easy and practical to use, setup etc...
Have done a little research and realise it's aperture, aperture, aperture...so I was initially looking at a 14" computerised Dobsonian...but being a complete newbie, I felt I was going to be out of my depth, plus I thought portability would also be an issue.
So I've narrowed my search down to a Celestron Nexstar Evolution 9.25 computerized;
http://www.telescopesdirect.com.au/Celestron-NexStar-Evolution-9-25-Computerized-Telescope?sc=304&category=7664112
or a Celestron CPC 1100 XLT GPS SCT goto
http://www.skywatchertelescopes.com.au/#!product/prd1/2096766785/celestron-cpc-1100-xlt-gps-sct-goto
The nexstar seems to have some awesome features (to a newbie) and the only real downside I have with the CPC is having to carry around a battery of some description, + a tad heavier...
Would love some advice and thoughts about these 2 scopes or any other scopes you might suggest...
Also, any other general advice would be greatly appreciated...
James

[Atmos]

Welcome James, so exciting buying a new telescope, especially a first one!

Both of those are good choices and both are going to need a battery in that regard they are both on a level playing field. Personally, I would suggest getting the CPC 1100 XLT not because it is bigger but solely because it is on a fork mount as opposed to a single arm. Yes, bigger will capture more light but the proper fork arm will give much greater stability. I have never used either of those telescopes myself so I am just going off a theoretical case.

The biggest downside of the CPC 1100 is going to be its overall weight. The extra arm will increase stability, especially if you end up putting heavy wide field eye pieces on the back, but it will be considerably heavier. Plus, if you ever want to get into astrophotography and have the 9.25", I don't believe that the mount will be up to anything other than planetary with a webcam.

I noticed the difference between my 8" and 10" LX200 SCT. I could pick up my 8" with one arm but with the 10" I need to brace myself and lift. So if you think you're going to have problems lifting the CPC 1100, I'd go with the 9.25".

Remember, the BEST telescope is the one that you use :)

[casstony]

Welcome to IIS James. Of the two scopes you're considering I'd play it safe and go for portability. The Evolution 9.25 should be fairly stable without being so heavy that you're risking a blown disc.

[raymo]

I agree with pretty much everything that has been said. Just one small correction; the 9.25" doesn't require an external battery, it's internal
rechargeable one will last for a long viewing session. The 9.25 is easy for a reasonably fit person to carry complete, whereas the 11" is approx.
45% heavier, and more awkward to carry, so you'd probably have to remove the OTA. The 11" also has seriously long focal length, meaning
that a number of deep sky objects won't fit into the field of view even with your lowest power eyepiece. Of course this also applies to the 9.25", but to a lesser extent as it's focal length is about 17 or 18% less. Neither of these scopes is suitable for very low power sweeping of the sky. I personally would not plunge into buying an expensive scope. I suggest that you try and attend a star party and try some different scopes, or try to find someone reasonably local who has a similar rig, and spend an evening with him/her.
My choice would be the Skywatcher collapsible 10" Go To Dob; fits in a hatchback, both parts easy to carry, wider field of view.
raymo

[The_bluester]

I have been told that the evolution scopes have dual encoders and can be manually pointed after alignment by releasing the clutches, if that is correct it is a really big plus. I had a CPC925 and eventually remounted it as I got tired of having to wait for relatively slow slews and not being able to manually point without wrecking the alignment of the electronics.

In addition, I saw another IIS members evolution 925 earlier this year and the slew speed is far faster than the CPC so even that gripe would be of lesser importance.

I would think that the CPC1100 would be getting to be "bust a fluffle valve" territory to move and set up, the 925 on the dual arm mount was borderline for a one person job if you had to carry it any distance.

[The_bluester]

just to add, I dug up a manual for the evolution 925 and it does not mention retaining alignment with the clutches released so I am not sure if it does that. It was the primary reason I remounted my CPC925. Again, the slew speed of the evolution is a lot faster and would make less of an issue of it. Hopefully someone with an evolution will pop in and confirm if it does it.

[killar65]

Hey guys...many thanks for taking the time to read and reply...greatly appreciated.:thumbsup:
Am going to try and catch a local star gazing night to get an idea of what different scopes offer...unfortunately these gatherings are pretty infrequent, so I might have to travel to Perth in September when i know there is a night on...
This will give me an idea of what i will see using different scopes, issues that other operators have encountered, and long term considerations re: astrophotography...

[BeanerSA]

If you are thinking of going astro, only the CPC is able to take a wedge.

[Moontanner]

Hi James,

I was in your situation a while back and was looking at similar options. As it was inconvenient for me to get to a star party I decided to do lots of reading and experiment first with a smaller second hand scope.
Fast forward a year and I now have a 10"LX200 ($1600 second hand)with a heap of extras to get me most places.

While I'm sure that both the scopes you listed would look great in my lounge room, I would have to agree with Raymo's take on the situation. At this stage you've no idea which type of scope will yield the most enjoyment. That part takes a bit of time at the helm.

Another very important thing to consider is the cost of those "extras" I mentioned before. The cost of the actual scope itself tends to pale in comparison to all the trimmings that you add to the base package. Another reason to get some time at the helm before committing all your funds.

Clear skies.
Ross.

[blink138]

james there is a 10' meade lx200r gps on the classifieds at the moment.......... $2750, would leave loads of room for eyepieces?
pat

[Greenswale]

I have a 9.25 Evolution, in use for several months now.

Easy for a 69 year old to set up, and a delight to use via the on board wi-fi and my iPad running Sky Safari Pro. I do get a bit terse over gear backlash on occasion, and vibration at low angles, but both are tolerable.

The iPad and Sky Safari make it dead easy to learn the sky, and learn stuff about any objects being observed.

Set up is totally easy (no cables!), alignment is a snack, and holds acceptably well over a five hour session. Go To works just fine, better if the alignment is very accurate.

I have moved to wide angle2" eyepieces for low power work, retaining 1.25" for higher power. I did experiment with a focal reducer, but did not like it, as it made for difficult ota placement to give clearance at high angles.

This scope is my 'retirement' scope, having played with many over time. I thoroughly enjoy using it, the wi-fi making it pretty sexy! Remarkably, these reasons make it a good starter scope, even if expensive.

Not a perfect scope, but well performed and very easy to live with.

[tonybarry]

Hi James,

Your situation is common for many people in amateur astronomy.

The SCT on the Alt-Az mount is very quick to sent up, and provides good gotos, and reasonable resistance to vibration and wind due to the short tube.

But it takes longer too cool down.
Collimation for planetary objects requires you to fix the primary mirror with some kind of mirror lock. Otherwise you will get a soft result which you will not like.
Central obstruction is larger than a newtonian, which gives a slightly softer result too.
It is heavier than other scope types.
It costs more than the goto dobs, aperture for aperture.

My take is to go with an goto 8 inch scope, of either the sct type or the newtonian, and work out what you like and don't like. Setup and pointing are easy and quick

After that, decide what to do on the basis of increased knowledge. You may wish to move to a goto dob. Or you may wish to move to a bigger sct.

I currently run a 10" LX90 on alt-az. It is very good for my purposes (occultations).

If I were into serious planetary, I would spring for a goto dob of say 16". If I were into galaxy searches for supernovae, I might go for a 16" sct. If I wanted a grab and go, I would get an 8 inch sct.

Your mileage is going to be unique for you. Experimentation is the only way to learn here.

Regards,
Tony Barry
WSAAG

[issdaol]

I must be a lot stronger than what I thought !

I am close to your age and definitely not a weight lifter and have a bad back an knee.

However I have owned the Celestron CPC 1100 in the past and I found it pretty easy to move around and could be setup very quickly.

The most difficult thing was having the patience to wait until it had acclimatised to start viewing.

Viewing quality was very good once acclimatised (approx 2 hours) and that aperture opens up a lot of extra targets to look at :-)

The most disappointing thing with the CPC1100 was the mechanical quality and the GOTO alignment accuracy.

For this I found that my prior Meade was much nicer and the GOTO alignment much quicker and more accurate.

If I had to go back to an SCT with a budget of approximately $5000.00 I would probably choose the Meade 10inch LX90 ACF approx $4000.00 leaving some room for a couple of nice eyepieces or the Meade 10inch LX200 ACF for approximately $5000.00

[Atmos]

Having never used a Celestron I cannot mention on its point accuracy but I can attest to the accuracy of the Meade LX200. 10" SCT on fork arms, it's not light but I can carry it a few hundred meters if need be. I am 26 though :P
I can go from unpacking the telescope from the boot of my car to having it all setup and viewing my first nebula of the night in 15 minutes. I haven't done any drive training but it can still nearly centre most objects easily.

[issdaol]

Agree on the accuracy and very quick setup for the Meade :-)

However, unless all of your optical gear is already acclimatised I don't see how you can be looking at any quality views in just 15 minutes on any 10 inch SCT even with good fans ??

[Camelopardalis]

Just because it isn't fully acclimated doesn't mean you can't see anything...it might not perform at its best, but if you keep the magnification down it's better than nothing.

The differences only really become most apparent when trying to zoom in to planetary neb or planets/Moon.

[Atmos]

I spend a LOT of my time on my Televue 35mm Panoptic :) At ~75x mag temperature differential isn't too big of an issue, not to my eyes anyway.

[issdaol]

I did not say you can't see anything :-)

I used my SCT scopes a lot purely for visual and never saw any good views in my 11 inch SCT until it was properly acclimatised. You can quite easily tell the difference in views over time as the optics gradual settle in over a viewing session.

My scopes were always stored inside my house so there were usually big differentials depending on outside conditions. So if your scopes are always setup outside that would make a difference.

But I guess what you will happily put up with is all up to the individual.

[sil]

I suggest holding off, watch the forum classifieds and pick up a good deal on a setup that already has the extras to make life easier, like a feathertouch focuser. I've got a C11 EdgeHD, but may never be able to use it again after my stroke. Its got great optics but size, shape and weight made it tricky to set up. Its kept in the garage in padded "tubs" so it has very little cooldown time, the garage is ambient already, the tubs keep the parts dust and vermin free too. An 11" may be too problematic to live with as a first scope. For visual I would use my 100mm tabletop dob, the C11 just takes ages to set up and pull down. Go for a decent 9.25 , add a dual speed focuser, telrad, good televue 8 & 24mm eyepieces, and enjoy the rainy nights for a month :)