I have a Celestron NexStar EVOLUTION 8 inch.


There are not many nights when the sky is clear enough to make any observations except for watching the Moon.


Ever since I have had it, I have alot of trouble trying to get it Calibrated successfully and then complete the Alignment process.


I pointed it at the Polaris star to get a calibration but it kept saying error cannot solve the plate.


I then pointed it at Jupiter and this time the calibration was ok but when doing the auto Alignment it kept getting either too many stars or not enough stars errors.
When I did manage to eventually get a completed Alignment, I did a GoTo
Jupiter to observe but the telescope pointed way off the target.


So I tried to do another alignment but kept getting errors and eventually I gave up.


It is very frustrating and I am at the point that if I cannot get this resolved I shall sell the telescope, transit box, StarSense Camera and lenses.


Am I doing something simply wrong? Can someone who knows about this subject provide me with some tips on how to get this resolved?


I have set the Date Time and location correctly on the settings.

Is it this one?

https://www.celestron.com/products/n...on-8-telescope

And have you tried using it with the app that goes with it?

https://www.celestron.com/pages/skyportal-mobile-app

It says this:

"The NexStar Evolution is the first Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope with integrated WiFi. Leave your hand control behind and slew to all the best celestial objects with a tap of your smartphone or tablet. Connect your device to NexStar Evolution’s built-in wireless network, and explore the universe with the Celestron mobile app for iOS and Android."

Hello


Yes it is the one with the built in WiFi and I am using the app that works with that.


also did not use the Hand controller.

It still needs to be calibrated to a Star of planet and then aligned before can start exploring the Universe

I have some years of experience, albeit not with go-tos (I'm a star-hopper kind of guy). But after 30 years or so of stargazing you hear enough from other people. So assuming there's nothing physically wrong with your scope, here my first questions that you didn't cover:

1) Did you make sure to level the scope? Even if you're well aligned, if your scope is not level, it will move correctly but end up pointing way off.

2) Did you use large coordinates, e.g. your postal code? Or did you try to nail down your exact GPS coordinates?

3) When you try to do your initial alignment, do you use the standard lens that came with the scope? The scope will assume a pre-determined degree of error when aligning, and your star accuracy will not be the same when using a 10mm vs a 25mm lens.

4) Did you ever adjust your handset controller settings? It's very important that both the azimuth as well as the altitude point in the "same" direction, e.g. regular, or reverse. But not one standard and the other one reverse.

By the way, if you ever decide to get rid of it, let me know. My 12 year old is in the market for one.

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1) Checked was level with built in leveler, as well as my own level gauge
2) GPS set by the shop seller for me, so I believe. It seemed to be correct
3) Used Auto align, but have used Manual Align with 25mm lens
4) Did not adjust but don't know anyway.
If Sell: It has Starsense Camera, Various lenses 9mm , 13mm, 25mm. Star range Finder, wheeled Transport box for telescope, Power cable and Instruction Manuals.
total cost around 3000 CHf, what would be your budget for second hand hardly used?

This may be a silly question: the GPS coordinate set up at the shop...where they your house's coordinates? Didn't you try to re-enter them, in case they made a mistake? That could completely throw the scope off, especially if it's auto-aligning (I guess the little StarSense thingamabob is for automatic alignment).

Yikes, 3 grand is more than I want to put into an 8" tube. For Fr. 3000 I can trade in my 16" dobson (not very portable, the rocker base is almost 1 meter wide) and well over 60 kg but upgrade to a new 20". I was thinking more along the Fr. 1000 price range (it requires an explanation: I also have a little 5" newton that's hyper portable, so I thought a short 8" tube would be a nice compromise between them).

Sorry, I haven't been in the market for MANY years.

__________________
The internet makes it easy to be a jerk and forget the person we're talking to is a human. It also makes us see messages from awful people and assume they come from normal peers.

Sorry you got the wrong end, the 3000 was what I paid but would be willing to come down
to 1800 ONO and can deliver.
If interested in photos of all extra lenses and peripherals contact me via:
[PM] and can send additional photos

No, I got it, but it's almost twice as much as I had in mind for a 12 year old who can easily use my BIG scope. Plus included in the price are accessories/functionality that adds a LOT of value to the gear that I wouldn't use (e.g. the GoTo function).

But before putting it on sale, I'd double check the coordinates in the system. That might be what's throwing it off.

ok thanks for the advice and will try it again on the next clear night.
Unfortunately where I live has alot of peripheral light from the Airport and town, even when I go up on the hill.
It only gets total darkness after street lamps turn off at 01.00 am

cheers

Yes, unfortunately stargazing and comfort and cozyness don't ever go hand in hand. The best observation you only achieve when you're far away from home, in the middle of the night, and in winter (in summer, warm air holds a lot more moisture which obstructs view, while the drier air of winter is ideal).

Hi,

I had a similar experience where I fumbled the setup on my CG14 and flipped the encoder polarity. Having been in astronomy for awhile, knowing the sky helped a bit. I knew where the target was, so when the encoders was saying 'go in the other direction', I had the clue I needed.

I would add that looking for a flipped NS polarity, a wrong time zone etc. could cause some confusion. The cell phone app might be in the wrong time zone (or daylight savings) as well. Having just thought about that... you might try using the hand controller and NOT the phone app. On its own, the scope should synchronize to sidereal coordinates.