Celestron SkyScout Connect for control of Celestron Computerized Telescopes

Comments about Celestron SkyScout Connect for control of Celestron Computerized Telescopes:

Got this as a birthday present from my beautiful wife and it is just awesome! It enables my Celestron 6SE to use the GPS in my SkyScout to make the alignement process for my scope much much easier and amazingly accurate. No more fumbling around in the dark trying to load alignment information like coordinates or time, it does it all automatically and quickly! I now spend a lot more time viewing and enjoying rather than aligning and hunting. For someone like me who is new to astronomy it really makes learning the night sky much more enjoyable and easy!

Another cool thing it does is when I am using the SkyScout to learn differant constellations, stars or other deep sky objects and I find something I want to take a closer look at it will slew my scope to that object with the push of a button. It doesn't always put the object I am looking for dead center of the eyepiece, but I have yet to not have it in the field of view. Combining the object data base's that are in my telescope and SkyScout and I never run out of objects to view! This is a must have! Trust me, you will not be disappointed

Comments about Celestron SkyScout Connect for control of Celestron Computerized Telescopes:

I found Sky Scout Connect to work exactly as advertised. The instructions were simple to follow and effective. Once my Nexstar 4SE was aligned (I used auto align option)I was able to use my Sky Scout to direct my scope around the sky, slewing automatically from object to object. While my view was not on dead center each time, it was close enough. Sky Scout Connect helped me reduce the time it normally takes me to get a tour of the night sky.

Comments about Celestron SkyScout Connect for control of Celestron Computerized Telescopes:

Easy to use and set up. Great for telescope alignment for 2 or 3 star alignment. Just fun to play around with. Very accurate. You got to get one!

Comments about Celestron SkyScout Connect for control of Celestron Computerized Telescopes:

The SkyScout connect is a nice little add-on for your scope, and if you're considering adding GPS to your scope, the SkyScout plus the Connect gives you a much more versatile solution for only a fractional increase in price. With a working SkyScout, it's great to point the SkyScout at something, have it identify it and then slew the scope to that location. It's almost like magic!

The Connect does make your hand controller (HC) a bit bulky, owing to the need to embed the existing coiled HC cord in the Connect behind the hand controller. Overall the kit does snap together into a nice neat assembly, but it's over twice the thickness of the original hand controller. It still retains the hook on the back for hanging the HC, and provides a new cable to go to the mount.

The SkyScout attaches to the HC/Connect combo using a USB cable a the base of the Connect, while the Connect is internally connected to the serial port connector at the base of the HC. The USB cable that comes with the SkyScout is a bit short and keeps you tethered to the scope, although you can easily remove and reconnect as needed if you just want to use the SkyScout on its own. It's unfortunate that the USB connection was not configured to provide power to the SkyScout, however, as the SkyScout continues to eat batteries while it's connected and powered on. Also, I haven't looked for options yet, but the Connect blocks/uses the serial port at the base of the HC, preventing its connection to a PC. This appears to be an unfortunate oversight as it is not practical to remove the Connect from the HC on a regular basis.

Comments about Celestron SkyScout Connect for control of Celestron Computerized Telescopes:

Helps computerized scope go directly to sky objects. Great fun and easy to use.