Upgrade a Classic Orange C8

can the classic C8 be "upgraded"? i'd like to get some new
electronics for it. i need some new toys! that always helps me get
motivated.


Hi:

You dont' spell out exactly what you mean by "upgraded," but if you're talking
about goto, the answer is no. If you're interested in that, you'll have to
remove the tube from the current mount and place the scope on a goto equipped
German mount. You can add digital setting circles and other niceties to your
Orange Tube, however.

Peace,
Rod Mollise
Author of _Choosing and Using a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope_
Like SCTs and MCTs?
Check-out sct-user, the mailing list for CAT fanciers!
Goto http://members.aol.com/RMOLLISE/index.html

Re "upgrading", Rod the SCT guru has given you a good answer re the
mechanical upgrade. You may also need to upgrade (or restore) the
optics, depending on how it was stored. Last year I needed to have my
(newer) C5+ cleaned and recoated by Celestron due to some deterioration
from moisture -- a surprise, since I am in So. Calif.

Phil

mbg wrote:
hi,

i have a C8 my dad bought me in high school back in the early 80's.
it is the classic orange C8. i used it for a while, bought some
accessories (drive corrector, off axis guider, etc.), but the scope
ulimately got put away, and has seen seldom use since.

i now have a 4 year old son, and want to show him some cool things,
and have since gotten interested in it again. all of the stuff today
is very advanced, and i would like to get some new automation hardware
that will work on this classic.

can the classic C8 be "upgraded"? i'd like to get some new
electronics for it. i need some new toys! that always helps me get
motivated.

if anyone can give me some pointers, that would be great. thanks!!

maddie b.

On Sat, 24 Jul 2004 09:01:47 -0400, mbg wrote:

can the classic C8 be "upgraded"? i'd like to get some new
electronics for it. i need some new toys! that always helps me get
motivated.

If the telescope is good optically there is not much to upgrade. The
old Celestron tripod was pretty stable. The stock wedge was hard to
adjust. I don't know whether anyone sells an adjustment attachment
like the one Roger Tuthill used to sell or whether the new model wedge
fit the old model tripod and base.

A better finder or a Telrad might be worth getting.

If you are gadget mad you can interface the mount to a computer. You
have to move the telescope by hand, but you get the same finding
capability as with a goto mount. Orion (http://www.telescope.com),
Lumicon (http://www.lumicon.com) and David Chandler
(http://davidchandler.com) sell kits.