Guest mike foster Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Hi thought I drop in and say hello, My name is Mike I am 61 just retired due to poor health so I am looking to try my hand at astronomy again, My last attempt was in 2006 when I purchased a Tal 2m 6` reflector + Meade dsi ccd camera, I am sure in the right hands this would be a great scope but I never got the hang of it so give up and took up woodturning (another slippery slope) ,Then Google led me to this forum the result being the purchase of a celestron nexstar 4se, Because standing outside on a cold night looking at stars is not an option the ability to connect the scope to my laptop and control the scope in the warm from my workshop/observatory makes it ideal for me, My main interest is the moon & planets not sure if this scope will be able to see any deep sky objects, Look forward to chatting to you all. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz Type-R Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Hi Mike and welcome to EMS. Sorry to hear about your recent ill health, but every cloud as they say, has a silver lineing, no more work! Enjoy your new (ish) hobby, I`m sure the scope will perform fine for planets etc. All the best, Darren. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Fluke Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Hiya Mike, Welcome to EMS, Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Hi Mike and a warm welcome to EMS Some deep sky objects are visible naked eye - so you're scope will deffo be able to see those with a bit more definition. And an Sct with long focal length and high f-ratio is great for moon and planets. Don't know if you have "Stellarium" but it's free to download - highly recommended. Enjoy the forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz Type-R Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Link to Stellarium below, lots of people use it, very good for learning the sky...... />http://www.stellarium.org/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Welcome Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catman161 Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Welcome to EMS mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldfruit Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Hi Mike and welcome to EMS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAZ Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Hi Mike, a warm welcome to EMS. Enjoy your new scope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Strings Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Hi Mike and welcome to EMS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glider Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Welcome to EMS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Hi Mike welcome to EMS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RonC Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Hi Mike, just down the road from you, welcome to EMS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmic dave Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Hello from a very snowy sutton on sea mike... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mike foster Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Thanks fot the warm welcome & the link to Stellarium,Have just downloaded it just what i needed, Big thankyou. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Just an aside Mike - you'll be able to control the 4SE from Stellarium - just click on an object at the laptop and it will slew automatically - just needs a little bit of setting up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cazz Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Hi Mike, welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Harper. Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Welcome Mike.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mike foster Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Thanks kim, is the cable easy to get hold of to connect to laptop it would need to be 10mtr and is it connected to the handset or aux port on mount. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Hi Mike it connects to the handset - and there's a serial plug at the other end. I use a "serial to usb" adaptor which then plugs into a usb port on the pc/laptop. If you need to extend it 10m you'll need an "active" usb extension cable. You can get all the above from Astronomiser. They specialise in cameras, guiding, and cabling. They tend to bit a little dearer but the stuff they sell is tested, proven, and guarantedd to work with astro gear. Hope that helps - here's a link to their website http://www.astronomiser.co.uk/ Also - the lead that connects to the scope can also be used for downloading software updates from Celestron and updating the scope axes encoders and handset software/database. Cabling from other sources may work but I'd rather pay a little extra and get stuff I know will work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mike foster Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Thanks Kim just bookmarked that link, looks like a good place to look for a webcam also Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Andy Ellis is one of the first folks to adopt Steve Chambers design for webcam mods and sell them commercially. If he doesn't know it then it ain't worth knowing lol. I sent my webcam to him for SC1.5 modification, and I've had several cables 'n' bits and bobs too. He's only a small business though so sometimes lead time is a week or two if he has to re-stock. But very a very nce chap, reliable, and he'll talk to anyone to discuss a product before they buy it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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