Celestron CPC 1100 review

CELESTRON CPC 1100 PRODUCT REVIEW

Author: Wens Coetzer, I am a retired aeronautical engineer living on a farm in the Waterberg district of Limpopo province.

Pros: Precision engineered computer automated telescope with a very sturdy Alt-Az mount and excellent 11” optics

Cons: None really

Would recommend: Yes

I have been using a Celestron C8 since 1986 but recently decided to acquire a more modern and larger telescope. I contacted Foton Optoelectronics for advice on which telescope to purchase. I wanted to have portability with as large a mirror as possible on an Alt-Az mount. Oleg Toumilovitch recommended the CPC 1100. I duly purchased such an instrument from Foton Optoelectronics.

When I first tried to align the scope, I was not successful. I contacted Oleg and he quickly identified the problem to be too large a Volt drop between the 12V battery and the telescope motors. The problem was rectified within few minutes and the telescope worked perfectly .

Weighing approximately 30 kg, the telescope is just about portable with the sturdy carry handle and slot ergonomically well placed on the two fork tines to ensure a comfortable carrying position. I have mounted the telescope on a steel pier attached to a concrete plinth in an observatory equipped with a roll-off roof.

The Instruction Manual supplied is comprehensive and well written. After switching on the telescope, it links via its built-in GPS receiver to the satellites. I was then prompted by the hand controller to choose from one of the many alignment methods offered. I chose “Sky Align”. The process is easily executed using the hand controller and does not take long to complete. Once properly aligned, the telescope then “finds” objects using the “Go-To” function very successfully from its large database.

I use an 18 Amp-hr battery and even with a Foton Optoelectronics Astrocam video camera running, the CPC 1100’s current demand is very small.

The CPC 1100 offers magnificent sharp and clear views of both the planets and deep-sky objects. Views of the Moon are nothing short of stunning. Jupiter and its moons crossing in front of the planet and casting their little shadows on the planet and Saturn and its rings are a joy to behold. So rewarding are the views through the CPC 1100, that I keep on returning to view the Omega Centauri globular star cluster, the “Hamburger” and “Sombrero” galaxies and the “Lagoon”, “Trifid” and “Dumbell” nebulae to name but a few.

I like the “Hibernate” function, which I use after every observing session to park the telescope in the vertical position before I switch off the power.

The focusing knob has a nice positive feel to it and the object image moves only slightly in the field during focusing when higher magnification eye pieces are used.

The hand controller, once you become familiar with the software architecture, is easy to use.   The buttons are logically grouped and the on-screen prompts and scrolling text are concise and to the point. The information displayed on the important celestial objects is very handy.

I have since purchased an equatorial wedge manufactured by Foton Optoelectronics. The wedge is extremely sturdy and places the telescope’s centre of gravity very close to the centre of the wedge’s base plate. This makes for a very solid low vibration setup. I used the  “EQ South” alignment method followed by “Wedge Align”, which once again, using the hand controller, is easy and quick to perform. Finally I used the “Declination Drift” method to accurately align the CPC on the South Celestial pole. Mounted in this way, I use the telescope for astro photography with a Celestron NexGuide and Canon 550D DSLR camera.

I would highly recommend the CPC 1100. Its sharp and bright views bring out exquisite detail in both planetary as well as deep sky objects. I have been operating the CPC 1100 for the past 2 years virtually every night and each time it has performed flawlessly.