GPS alignment?

Hello Everyone,

I just tried my new GPS9.25 and after 25 minutes the scope still had not linked. Is this normal or is GPS possibly unusable from my front yard? My house does block the first 20 degress of the western horizon. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Steve

My GPS 11 always seems to link within 2 minutes. The first 20 degrees of the western horizon shouldn't make a difference. Just what did the hand controller say? Did you have the clutches locked down? If they are not locked down the scope will just keep attempting to slew and not complete alignment.

The GPS should lock within 2-3 minutes. Make sure that you have a bit of open sky though. Trees and houses canbe a problem. I have gotten a lock even indoors before though.
Get to another place before you decide you have a problem.
I did have some problems with the NS8GPS with that and they replced the scope, but they have a board problem I was told and that has been fixed they say.
Floyd

Hi Guys,

I appreciate all the good advice. I left the scope in the garage tonight due to weather. It was on for 4.5 hours and nothing. I would be satisfied with the two star alignment under normal circumstances but I need to see if the GPS works in my scope. If it doesn't then it's more a POS than a GPS. I'm going to put it outside the next clear night I can but the store I purchased it from only has a 10 day return policy so it better clear up quickly. It may be a little frustration talking but I find it ironic that all of my other scopes are either Japanese or Chinese and they worked very nicely right out of the box.

Thanks and Clear Skies,

Steve

The Nexstars scopes have an internal battery just for the GPS. There is a chance that your battery is dead inside your scope. In order to charge up your battery, plug in your scope to a wall outlet, but don't do an align. Leave it plugged in for at least 40 hours. That will completely charge up your battery. If that battery is dead, it will never link up. There is also a chance that the GPS got unplugged inside the scope. Call your dealer or Celestron and ask them if it is alright for you to take the covers off to check the wires. For more info on the Nexstar scopes go here: http://www.nexstar11.com/ and look in the Tips section. There are a couple of more suggestions there for you to try. Once you get the problem solved you will love your scope. Mine links up in a couple of seconds and then it puts everything just about dead center in the eyepiece.
Ralph

Hi Gang,

Thanks for all the help and support. The scope is definitely amazing. It still won't link but when I input the data manually the pointing and tracking are nothing short of perfection. The optics are far better than any SCT basher would want to see, it would be too embarassing. I had the scope apart and there was nothing wrong with the connection to the GPS board. I'm going to drive 230 miles one way to exchange the scope for one that works right. I know some of you think that's probably not necessary but I want what I paid for and I like the idea of doing things face to face. I don't know if I would recommend these scopes due to the hassle I'm going through but a 9.25 OTA is most likely one of the real bargains in astronomy.

Thanks and Clear Skies,

Steve