Posts Made By: Bernard Ferry

Hi, does anyone have the circuit diagram or instructions on how to make a Celestar hand controller? I bought the basic Celestar 8 model and it did not include a controller. I now need one to use for astrophotography. Any advise would be appreciated.

Hi,
I own a Celestar C8 on a standard wedgepod which I modified to improve for CCD imaging. I added latitude and azimuth fine controls, however the wedge is still not stable enough for me to be pleased. It giggles a bit when adjusting for polar alignment. I have a Zentithstar 66 piggybacked on the C8 and no counterweights as yet. I use digital setting circles which work quite well. Unfortunately I find that the RA drive does not turn un-aided due to the weight of both scopes. I've heard of people using elastic to rectify this problem but I don't feel that its an adequate solution. Moreover, my wedgepod does not have adjustable legs and is very heavy since I filled the legs with sand to make them more stable.

I am now considering changing from a fork mount and wedge to a Equatorial mount, preferably a GOTO one. I have seen several models used for a C8 including the LDX75, the CGE5 and of course the better Losmandy 8 and 11 models and the CGE, however these are way over my budget.

I was wandering whether any of you have advice on suitable mounts for the C8 and piggybacked 66 especially for CCD work.

Regards,

Bernard

Hi, has anyone experienced a similar problem:

I've recently been experiencing my feedback rating being reduced. It used to be 41 this morning and now its 37.

Regards,

Bernard Ferry