Celestron Cpc 800 x Lt 2005

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Exclusive Review of the Celestron CPC 800 XLT Telescopeby Ben Hauck - OPT

May 18th, 2005

The excitement began when OPT received a phone call from Celestron telling us that they would betraveling from Torrance to Oceanside with one of their newest products to hit the market. This newproduct was the highly anticipated CPC 800 telescope, a fully computerized 8 SCT telescope with newhardware, brilliant new software and a very enticing price tag. The CPC 800 is part of an exciting new lineof telescopes that will include an 8, a 9.25 and an 11 model. The 8 model, the CPC 800, is beginningto ship from Celestron now while the CPC 925 and the CPC 1100 will begin shipping in August.

We were honored to have four members of the Celestron team bring the CPC 800 down for a test drive.Rick Hedrick, Victor Aniceto, Lance Lucero and Jason Fournier arrived at OPT at approximately 7:00pmand setup the CPC 800 inside the showroom so we could check out the scope under the lights.

After the sun set over the ocean and the skies darkened, we took the telescope out to our parking lot totest out the new Sky Align software and to do some basic imaging.

In the review below I will discuss everything from the hardware to the software, from the tripod to thefinder scope, from top to bottom and from inside to out. I will begin with a review of the hardware and will


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then move to the software and our test run with the telescope under the night sky. Finally I will discussour imaging session with the CPC 800 and wrap up with our overall thoughts on the telescope.

The Hardware

Tripod - Beginning at the bottom of the telescope and moving up, we first inspected the tripod. The tripodincluded with the CPC 800 is a heavy duty, adjustable height tripod made with high quality steel legs. Thetripod weighed in at approximately 19 lbs and was definitely sturdy enough to support the weight of thetelescope.

One of the best new features on the tripod is a new mounting system that OPT has unofficially named theInstalock system. There is a center pin on the tripod and a center hole on the bottom of the telescopethat allows you to get the telescope positioned properly over the tripod. In addition, there are indentationson the tripod and protuberances on the bottom of the telescope at the three points where the telescopebolts onto the tripod. All you have to do is set the telescope down on the center pin and then rotate thebase until it clicks into place. You then use the three captive, spring loaded thumb screws to attach the

telescope to the tripod. The great thing about the captive screws is that you will never lose them in thedark, having to dig around in the dirt with a red flashlight as your only friend. They stay attached to thetripod at all times. Simple, yet very smart!

Another smart feature on the new tripod is a built-in bubble level on the top plate of the tripod. This allowsyou to level out the tripod before you mount the telescope. This is another example of a simple additionthat can make life much easier for the amateur astronomer.

One improvement over the old Celestron tripod is a new spreader bar that is significantly thicker andmore substantial than the previous. The spreader bar is dual-purpose, also serving as an accessory traywith three 1.25 slots for eyepieces, barlows or other accessories. It not only has the standardindentations for use as a spreader bar, it also has indentations for when you are transporting the tripod.Celestron also built in a strap with a buckle that will allow the user to secure the legs for transport and

carrying. For transport all you have to do is loosen the spreader bar knob, rotate the spreader bar, folddown the legs and buckle the strap. You now have a nice portable package that is easy to carry andtransport.

The new tripod will accept the current heavy duty wedge. There may also be a new Celestron wedgesometime in the future, but this is simply conjecture on our part at this time.

Base and Fork Arms - The base and fork arms have some of the basic familiar looks of a fork mountedtelescope, but there are some notable differences as well. One of the most distinguishable features of theCPC series of telescopes is the metallic silver base. This base has a very wide diameter, housing a largeazimuth bearing measuring a full 9.8 inches. Inside the base you will find over 100 ball bearings along therotational axis that allows the telescope to rotate in a very smooth motion. The azimuth gear housed


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within the base is a 5.625 hard anodized, 180 tooth gear coupled to a brass worm gear that providessmooth slewing and accurate tracking for both visual and photographic applications.

The CPC 800 sports some new hand clutch locks in altitude and azimuth that allow you to get a solid grip,even in the cold with thick gloves on! The azimuth lock is now located on the top center of the base foreasy access and the altitude lock is located on the right fork arm.

For lifting, carrying and setting up the telescope, Celestron has incorporated their intelligently designed

handle system originally incorporated into the Nexstar GPS series. There is an indentation with a handgrip underneath the left fork arm, and a solid, oversized handle on the right fork arm. When you lift thetelescope you get a very good grip on the scope that makes it feel even lighter than its 42 pounds. Thedistribution of the weight is balanced, so there is very little stress on your back and on your arms. The forkarms are made of solid aluminum with molded plastic covers; effectively combining these two materials tomaximize rigidity while retaining a low overall weight.


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Another simple yet smart feature is the new hand controller holder. The telescope comes with a bracket

that holds the controller slightly away from the left fork arm. It is in perfect position to center stars andchoose objects without having to hold onto the controller. There is a slot on the left fork arm where youcan simply slide the bracket up and out of the fork arm without having to use bolts, screws or hardware. Italso may negate having to make a separate Velcro purchase to attach the controller to the tripod!

Nexstar Controller - The Nexstar controller is very similar in its user interface to that of the prior Nexstarcontrollers, yet there have been a few changes. One of the most exciting changes is the move to a flashupgradeable controller. This will give the user the ability to upgrade the software, download informationand more via an RS232 connection port. There are, of course, tons of new software features including theSky Align technology, but that will be discussed in a later section.

Accessories - The accessories are for the most part standard; 40mm Plossl Eyepiece, 1.25 StarDiagonal, 9x50 finderscope and bracket, 1.25 Visual Back adapter and a 12v DC car battery adapter.One accessory that has been redone is the finder bracket. The bracket is now a quick release bracket,which saves having to pull out tools every time you want to pack up the scope or set it up. The quickrelease bracket also uses an easy system for alignment. It has one adjustment screw that is springloaded to put continuous pressure on the finder. There are then two threaded screws for the X and Y axisthat allow the user to simply align the finder.


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Optics - Celestron has always been well known for their top quality optics and this telescope is noexception. We did not have much in terms of seeing conditions during the test run. The combination ofhigh clouds, light pollution, flash photography, headlights, vibration from Mission Avenue, a first quartermoon and mediocre stability made it difficult to do much of an optical test, but complications notwithstanding, the telescope performed very well. The optics are still being made right up the road inTorrance, California, from the primary to the secondary to the corrector plate.

The Software

One of the most highly anticipated features of the new CPC series of telescopes is the new Sky Aligntechnology. This new technology was designed after outside influences forced Celestron to discontinueuse of their North and Level alignment procedure. The basic concept of the alignment procedure isbased on calculating the angles between objects in the night sky. When you choose three objects in thenight sky, the Sky Align calculates the angle between two of the objects chosen and then compares thoseangles of separation to the known angles in the hand controller database. The third object is used to

positively identify the two objects chosen. Sound confusing?

While the science behind the technology may require an advanced degree in trigonometry, using thetelescope absolutely does not. Aligning the telescope does not require knowledge of astronomy, or evenknowing what is what in the night sky. You can align the telescope without even knowing what the Moonis! I have not met anybody who does not know what the Moon is, but if you are out there, you can stillalign the CPC telescopes!

So the theory sounds great, but how did it work during the test drive? Perfectly.

We took the telescope out in our parking lot, leveled out the tripod and then attached the telescope to thetripod with the "Instalock system. We aligned the finderscope to the telescope, attached the diagonal andthe 40mm eyepiece, plugged in the DC adapter and within five minutes we were ready to rock and roll.

The internal 16 channel GPS unit automatically captured the date, time and observing location. We thenhad the option to choose from a variety of alignment procedures, including Sky Align, Auto Two-StarAlign, One-Star Align, EQ Align or Solar System Align. We chose the Sky Align method and thetelescopes asked us to point the telescope to a bright object. You can move the telescope manually to thefirst object, so we unlocked the altitude and azimuth clutches and moved the telescope over to a brightobject in the northwestern area of the sky. We centered it in the 40mm eyepiece and pushed align onthe controller. We then slewed to the next object using the hand controller, centered it and pressedalign. We then slewed to the third object, a bright star in the southeastern area of the sky. Once againwe centered it in the 40mm and pressed align.


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The telescope took about 20 seconds as it searched for matches in its database. Our alignment wassuccessful, and the controller gave us the option to check what objects we had chosen. The first objectwas the star Procyon, the second object was the Moon and the third object was Arcturus. We decided totest the alignment by having the telescope slew to Jupiter. It hit Jupiter DEAD center in the 40mmeyepiece. Not center third of the field of view, not close to center, DEAD center. We were all amazed.

We decided to try the alignment again, this time using Arcturus, Jupiter and the Moon. This time wepurposefully did not center the moon perfectly, so we could see how well the Sky Align handled theinaccuracy. After the alignment, we sent the telescope over to Saturn and, while it was in the field of view,if was a little off-centered. We centered Saturn in the field of view and then pressed align to replace oneof the initial alignment objects. Knowing that we did not center the Moon perfectly, we replaced the Moonwith Saturn and then headed back to Jupiter. Dead center once again.Sky Align works. It is amazingly simple and incredibly accurate. Celestron research and developmenthas come up with a winner here.

Imaging SessionAlthough the conditions were significantly less than stellar, we decided to test out the overall stability andtracking accuracy of the CPC 800 by taking a few CCD images using an SBIG ST10XME.

The image below was taken with the CPC800 in polar mode on the Celestron heavy duty wedge. Theimage is comprised of eight, thirty second exposures. There was absolutely zero image processing done,but as you can see the telescope captured M104 and tracked very accurately. Keep in mind that we wereunder less than ideal conditions, and this had a major effect on the image quality. Just imagine whatcould be done under good conditions with the CPC 800 telescope!


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The images below were taken through the CPC 800 in alt-az with the basic Sky Align alignmentprocedure used. The images were taken with the Celestron NexImage and a 2x Barlow. There was verylittle processing done on these images and the viewing conditions were very average.

ConclusionAs you may infer from reading this review, we were very impressed with the CPC 800 telescope and theSky Align technology. The telescope is extremely easy to setup and use, it features high quality Celestronoptics made here in the USA and the prices are very reasonable. The CPC 800 XLT telescopes are nowin stock here at OPT for the low price of $1999. Please call us or send an e-mail if you have anyquestions or would like to be one of the first on the block to own the CPC 800!We would like to thank Rick, Victor, Lance, Jason and the rest of the Celestron crew for taking the time tovisit OPT with their new CPC 800 telescope!


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From Left to Right: Lance Lucero, a Polar CPC 800, Victor Aniceto, Mike Fowler, Ben Hauck, ChrissHoffman, Rick Hedrick, Craig Weatherwax, Jason Fournier, and the Alt-Az CPC 800!


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Celestron Cpc 800 x Lt 2005