GPS / Wireless comparison?

[maclark88@gmail.com]

I am on a budget and would like some advice on which is the better option. My goal is ease of use.

Getting the scope aligned is hard for this newbie. I was wondering if a GPS attachment might speed the process up. Also, if the wireless attachment also could provide assistance in alignment I might use that instead of the GPS. Just wondering what my options are and what would help the most. I am assuming that ultimately both the GPS and the Wireless could be attached some day when budgets allow.

[OzEclipse]

Hi Maclarke,
I have never owned a Celestron or Meade. So I'll answer more generally then hopefully a Celestron owner can jump in and answer some specifics about models.

Can you expand on what you mean by, "Getting the scope aligned is hard for this newbie?"

Wireless doesn't assist the setup. It just means that you can use a planetarium program such as Stellarium, Cartes du ciel, Sky Safari on a tablet and you don't need a wired connection to the scope electronics.

GPS only tells the telescope where on earth it is located and the time and time zone. This saves some time imputing location coordinates and time but not much more. A GPS cannot orient a telescope because a GPS cannot tell direction unless it moves and establishes direction from the two measurement points. A telescope being stationary doesn't allow this.

Plate Solving is the technology you might want to look at. A camera usually attached to a small guide or finder scope, compares imaged star patterns to known star patterns to work out where the telescope is pointing.

There are two main configurations of mounting:
1. ALT-AZ

2. EQUATORIAL

ALT-AZ better for visual observing. Quick to set up and align goto. Some alt-az models essentially align themselves, others require the user to know at least a few stars, point the scope at two or three specific identified stars. Limited use for deep sky astrophotography because the field rotates during long exposure photographs.

EQUATORIAL The axis must be aligned with the earth's rotational axis. There is no way to automate this but there are computer programs where a camera attached to the mounting images the pole area, then it rotates the mount, images again. It analyses the images and guides the alignment. You have to get close to start with so that the camera field is imaging the pole.

cheers

Joe

[Bigzmey]

Welcome to TSS Maclarke!

I agree with Joe. GPS and wireless add-ons provide convenience but don't necessary make the alignment process easier. In fact they could make it more complicated since you will need to make sure that all the modules are properly talking to each other.

Astronomy like any other hobby has a learning curve. Alignment is not hard once you spend time learning it.

Basic tips: make sure that your scope is well leveled, that it has correct location info and date/time and that when it calls for a star you pick the right one (this requires learning sky as well).

[KathyNS]

By the way, welcome to TSS. Be sure to stop by our Introductions forum to tell us a bit about yourself.

[maclark88@gmail.com]

Thanks for the input. Having the GPS set the time and location would help tremendously. It's a royal pain getting this into the system and it only has "approximate" locations if you don't provide actual coordinates. This tells me the GPS is the first item I should get.

[OzEclipse]

What is the make and model of your current mounting?

When asking a question, always best to list what you have. Hopefully you find someone with the exact same equipment and has travelled your path. That can save you a lot of time.

I agree with Kathy that learning to align a goto altaz or polar aligning an equatorial is a learning curve but once learnt, not difficult. Learning new skills is not a bad thing. You can spend an awful lot of money trying to automate to avoid learning any skills.

Once my equatorial mount is fully assembled and it is reasonably dark, toward the end of twilight, it takes me 3-4 minutes to align to the celestial pole accurately enough that I don't need to make any guiding corrections with a 1300mm focal length telescope. I do it with an optical polar finderscope, no computer assistance and I live in the southern hemisphere where we don't have a bright pole star. Although I've been an amateur astronomer for 46 years, I only acquired my first mounting with a polar scope 7 years ago and I learned the polar finder technique quite quickly.

Learning your way around the sky is a good thing. I have a close friend who has an observatory with a very expensive fully computerised and automated mounting. He doesn't have to find anything, just plug it into the controller and the scope finds it. BUT although he's been an amateur astronomer for many years, he's clueless about what's in the sky overhead because he's never bothered to learn. A few years back, we were over at his place for some observing. We were looking at Jupiter through his 12 inch RCOS. He then looked at 2 other objects. Sagittarius was overhead. He said, well that's it I don't think, there anything else up. I just instinctively responded, "There's plenty." Then he said, I wonder what time Mars rises. Mars was overhead not far from Jupiter.

Yes, you need to put some work into this hobby but that will pay back manyfold.

Joe

[Lady Fraktor]

I have used many Celestron telescopes over the years and I would recommend you do not pay any extra to have GPS function.
It only puts in time and location but you can get this information free from your telephone.

It takes less than 2 minutes to input all of the information required and if you only view from your home the only things you have to change after is the date and time, the coordinates are saved in the hand control memory.

[maclark88@gmail.com]

What is the make and model of your current mounting?

Sorry, I should have provided that info. It is a Celestron 130 SLT. I have a hard time getting it to do the first alignment. I suspect my gps location isn't accurate enough or the time isn't close enough. It doesn't keep track of time once powered off nor would I expect it to. That leads to my question about the GPS attachment. That would automatically provide both time and location so that part of the setup would be gone. If the wireless connection provided an easier way of inputting the coordinates and time from a PC it would be good too. The GPS attachment is pricey for what it is doing.

https://www.celestron.com/products/skys ... -accessory

[Lady Fraktor]

As I stated above, the coordinates are retained.
You only have to input time and date when turning the mount on again.

What alignment routine are you using and how long are you taking to do it?
I have used SLT mounts since 2004 so quite used to their eccentricities.

[Graeme1858]

I've not used an SLT but my Celestron CGX retains my location information and it also retains the date and time information but you have to enable that function from the hand controller menu. It is disabled by default, strangely! The SLT Manual is vague on the subject!

I too would not bother with a GPS device. Just practice aligning the telescope manually you will get the hang of it and gain a lot more useful astronomy skills in the process and save your money for a good eyepiece!

Graeme