Celestron Advanced Series C10-NGT Reflector Telescope

Comments about Celestron Advanced Series C10-NGT Reflector Telescope:

Some experience helps to use this rig, but if you read directions you can easily operate it. If you are looking for a scope to throw in a car or a scope to quickly drop down and start observing you may want to go with a different model. It is large and must be set up in pieces. The OTA weighs in at 31 lbs. The mount requires 33 lbs. of counterweights. It weighs close to 100 lbs assembled. Expect some time for set up and alignment. The mount does not exceed specs with the OTA mounted. Is it the most stable mount available? No. Look at a CGEM or the PRO DX if you like. However, this telescope and mount combo is more than capable of CCD imaging. You can hook up an Autoguider to the mount also for extended exposures. You will not get PEC with this mount. I also thought it was nice to get the larger spotting scope too. Make sure to get a collimator for this scope too if you don't have one. You will need it. This scope does not come with a fan on the primary mirror so expect some extra cool down time as well. It's worth the wait considering the views that are possible with this scope. I really enjoy it.

Comments about Celestron Advanced Series C10-NGT Reflector Telescope:

Know what you are getting into. I didn't think the weight was a major issue, but it is heavy. I am fairly fit, I lift weights and exercise, and setting up this scope was exhausting. The first night I had it, I took it to a field and got chased out by the landowner. In the process of hurriedly packing it away, I broke the plastic cover of the DEC drive motor. I don't know whether to be upset that this well put together has a cheap plastic covering, but the mount survived and I was able to superglue the plastic back together. Just so your warned, a common issue seems to be breaking something the first time out.
Even with a GPS, I have yet to get the GOTO to work properly. The two star alignment seems not to work so far, but I am sure it will work eventually. It just isn't as easy as I thought.
The views are fantastic. Looking at the moon, it felt like I was flying in a glider over it. I showed someone the views and they were literally speechless. I used a 2 inch 40 mm to scan the skies, and came across many binary stars.
All in all, its a great value for the money. Just know that its huge and heavy. Also, don't intend on taking it far the first night.

Comments about Celestron Advanced Series C10-NGT Reflector Telescope:

Not for the inexperienced. I don't know why this scope is labeled as a scope good for astrophotography. Without drastically modifying the scope you can only get images of the moon with some effort. If you're lucky you can get okay images of Jupiter. There's not enough in focus for a DSLR camera when it's attached to the focuser. Plus this scope is way too shaky on this mount to get decent long exposure images. So if you want something for deep sky photography this is not going to work. The mount really groans under this 31 pound tube. It's almost too heavy for the mount but it works well for just observing objects. I can't understand why everyone is complaining it's heavy, of course it's heavy. Did you not know that when you purchased it. Heavy is good, that means its good quality. If you're looking for a light bucket but not interested in imaging and you have experience with big scopes this is the one for you.

Comments about Celestron Advanced Series C10-NGT Reflector Telescope:

showed up on a friday. assembled it on saturday afternoon. was using it saturday night. worked great, stays on the objects much better than the cheaper go/to scope I have. jupitor sayed in center for more than 10 min. Easy to align, would usualy put the discribed item in the field of view on the first time, useing the 2 star align

Comments about Celestron Advanced Series C10-NGT Reflector Telescope:

I just got this about 2 weeks ago and finally had a somewhat clear night. Setup is a breeze once you assemble it a couple times. The car adapter cord that came with it was a piece of junk,it would not supply enough power to run the motors. Fortunately I had ordered the car cord separately by accident and it was a good thing, it is far more heavy duty and works great. It tracks perfectly and alignment is a breeze. It does not "know" the limits of the mount and got stuck once Ihad to do a emergence power off, but partially my fault for not paying attention to where it was going to be pointing. You will need to rotate the tube for best viewing once you get the object in sight or get a tall ladder. All in all it seems to be a fantastic unit!