Celestron CPC 925 GPS (XLT) Computerised Telescope

This is an incredibly well-made device. Anyone who has ever used a simple telescope will be familiar with the two greatest problems: a tripod that vibrates and using two knobs on stalks to keep the object in the centre of the eyepiece. The tripod used with this telescope is heavy and rigid, 14.5kg of die-cast aluminium with stainless steel tubes; I have not noticed any vibration. The telescope is motorised and keeps the object centralised.Setting up the telescope took some time. Once the tripod is levelled, lifting the telescope into place can cause difficulties if you are alone as a central peg on the tripod has to locate in a hole on the underside of the base of the telescope. With some practice, and looking around the base for symmetrical placing of the tops of the tripod legs, this will become easier. One rotated into place, three bolts hold the telescope in position. Engage all three bolts before tightening them. They are captive bolts and they are sprung too, so when dismantling you feel when the bolts have disengaged. The telescope is heavy (22kg) so hold the telescope close to the body when lifting it into place.The sighting scope (9x50) is good for terrestrial use but can be a nightmare for use at night. A 'red spot' sight is much easier to use when aligning the telescope. I had some difficulty at first and found that the GPS system thought that I was in California rather that west Wales. I had to go through the computer menu to switch off the GPS and then switch it back on again to get the correct setting. A session in daylight in order to line up the sighting scope or red-spot finder and also to familiarise yourself with the computer menu is a good idea.The CPC 800 is a joy to use. The motors are very quiet and move the telescope very smoothly to your target. You may have a few people waiting to look, and not having to twiddle any knobs in between is sheer bliss. It is, as I said at the beginning, a very well-made machine that is a delight to use.The telescope is packed in two large boxes because of the weight of the tripod and the heavier optical tube assembly and base. These can become separated in transit. Be patient, it is worth the wait.

I decided to upgrade from a Skywatcher 130 (a good beginners scope) and have found it well worthwhile. It arrived very quickly and well packed from Green Witch. The supplier has helped me with a small problem I thought I had (that turned out to be a misunderstanding on my part) and I am grateful for their excellent service. The scope is solid and robustly made - I am reasonably fit though wouldn't like to risk my back with any of the larger models - this one is quite heavy enough thankyou! - and it sits firmly on the tripod. Setting up the guidescope was easy though I may also attach the smaller guide scope from the Skywatcher for rough alignment. The control system (GPS, GOTO, huge object database) is not difficult to set up and is truly stunning, taking all the hard work out of finding and tracking targets of any brightness. Great to be able to pick out nebulae, double stars, planets etc from the list and let the CPC800 do the rest. you get a pretty good 40mm eyepiece with it which gives about 50 mag. I am also using the 24 and 10mm and 2xBarlow that came with the Skywatcher but will probably look for some better quality ones in the future. The only minor issue I've found is that the lead for the 'car battery' power supply (I use a Skywatcher 7Ah power tank) plugs into the scope base and has a screw thread to secure it - but it doesn't quite engage in the socket on the scope. However, all in all this is a brilliant quality, easy to use, telescope and good value for what you get. At some point I would like to do some astroimaging but I believe it may be necessary to purchase a wedge to convert the Altazimuth mount to Equatorial for this purpose.

Easy to use. Optically good. But tracking failed after an hour or so of use. Would be really exellent If tracking could be cured. I believe there are a great many in use around the world, maybe I was just unlucky. I have other Celestron products with no problems at all.

this is an awesome piece of kit,solid tripod,nil vibration for pics etc,if you're looking for a new scope this one i would recommend although it's not for the fainthearted as it weighs a lot.!!!!!!

Great telescope easy to use and easy to set up.

First class product made in China, plenty of extras and easy set up, turn it on GPS acquires position then point at a couple of objects... Done. Auto track works well

fantastic telescope - dont need to say anymore, just buy one if your thinking about it :)