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Celestron CPC 1100 GPS (XLT)

4.0 (2 Reviews) Read Reviews Write Review
Brand Celestron
Part Number
Availability available

Product Info

Overview

11" f/10 C11-A (XLT) optical tube on a computerized fork mount

Reviews

4.0 (Based on 2 Reviews) 100% of reviewers recommended this product.
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    1. DigitalDon

      DigitalDon New Member

      Skill Level
      Unknown
      Time with Product
      Unknown
      User Notes:
      1227036900
      Nov 18, 2008

      4.0 Celestron CPC 1100

      Pros:

      Excellent optical and GOTO performance; Large aperture in a small package; Ease of use

      Cons:

      Ergonomic, but still heavy; Focuser needs improvement

      Comments:

      Let me start off by saying that I’m partial to Schmidt-Cassegrains and GOTO scopes. I think these two concepts have done more to advance amateur astronomy than anything else ever offered to the general public. With this in mind, here’s my review of the Celestron CPC line of telescopes.

      Celestron’s CPC scopes are available in three apertures – 8”, 9.25”, and 11”, all f/10. The scopes are mounted in dual-arm forks and share the same drive base. All include GPS and Celestron’s Starbright XLT coatings. Pictures of the CPC scopes proved somewhat deceptive since the silver ‘flying saucer’ drive base was actually much larger in person than I imagined!

      The CPC scopes also share the same tripod. It includes a circular bubble level, has adjustable 2” stainless steel legs, a heavy metal spreader, and provides excellent support even for the CPC 1100 in its native alt-az configuration.

      In addition to the tripod, the scopes are shipped with a 50mm straight-through finder with a quick-release bracket, a 1¼” 40mm eyepiece, a 1¼” diagonal, a reducer for the rear cell (for the 11”), the hand paddle, a serial cable, a power cable for 12v, a copy of NexRemote software for computer control, and the user manual. An A/C adapter is not included.

      Over the years, I’ve owned numerous Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes from 5-11” aperture and all but two were from Celestron. I’ve always found Celestrons first-rate optically and mechanically, so when I wanted a GOTO scope for my new roll-off observatory, I knew that’s where I’d start looking.

      Luckily, Celestron was offering a fairly substantial rebate, and the dealer I purchased from was also running a promotion at the same time. This made it a little easier to convince the “CFO” that this was the telescope I really needed.

      The CPC 1100 arrived in a double box. The tripod was packed separately. Double boxing helps the contents survive the ‘tender mercies’ of the delivery services. The CPC 1100’s external box clearly showed transit ‘scars’, but the interior box, and more importantly the telescope itself, were in excellent condition.

      The biggest ‘challenge’ I've faced with the CPC 1100 was removing it from the box! The CPC scopes are ‘suspended’ in the interior box by rigid foam packing material. I removed the upper foam and accessory boxes but wasn’t able to get at the handles to lift the scope out of the box. Ultimately the solution was to return the upper foam, lay the box horizontally, open the bottoms of both boxes and push the scope and packing foam out as a unit.

      Once that was done, I set up the tripod and installed the scope. The underside of the CPC base has a shallow inverted cone with a hole in the center. The tripod has a pin that fits into the hole. Once the pin is lined up, you simply rotate the base of the scope until the ‘feet’ on the base settle into the corresponding depressions in the tripod head. There are three spring loaded, captive knobs that secure the drive base to the tripod. A simple, secure setup!

      The CPC scopes are ergonomically designed to facilitate lifting and carrying. The right fork arm has a vertical handle, and the left has a cavity at the bottom for your other hand. I had a 10” LX-200 that weighed about the same - 65 pounds or so. The CPC 1100 is easier to hold, but 65 pounds is still heavy and I really wouldn’t want to carry it for any distance. However, this is a non-issue for me since my scope is permanently mounted.

      So, how does it work? I’m hardly a newcomer when it comes to computerized scopes having owned several different GOTO scopes and a couple with Digital Setting Circles. But the CPC is the definitely easiest to align and has GOTO accuracy equal to or better than any scope I’ve ever owned. The optics are very good and the scope arrived collimated well enough that I haven’t bothered tweaking it.

      Celestron provides several alignment routines for the CPC series including one for scopes mounted on a wedge. I use the ‘Auto Two Star’ method. You select the first star and center it. When you press the ‘ALIGN’ key, the scope picks a second alignment star that you can use or choose another. Once the second star is confirmed, the scope will automatically slew to it (and typically put it in the eyepiece field!). I always use Polaris for the second star because it’s easier to center. Even simple ‘eyeball alignment’ with a 24mm Panoptic gives accuracy sufficient to put every GOTO target in the telescope field! Using a reticle eyepiece puts objects even closer to the center.

      For daytime observing – an eclipse or transit for example – there is a ‘Solar System’ alignment routine that can use the sun (with appropriate filtration, of course!), moon, or planets as alignment objects. There’s also a ‘One Star Align’ method that will provide sufficient accuracy for tracking.

      The CPC 1100 is nearly silent when tracking, and fairly quiet while slewing - my observing buddies used to call my LX-200 Mr. Coffee! Tracking is excellent and very smooth even at higher powers.

      The LX-200 did have a couple of features that I wish the CPC scopes had though. When a GOTO ended, the LX-200 hand paddle would ‘beep’. Also, when you started a GOTO, a two rows of blocks would be displayed – one for Right Ascension, the other for Declination. Each block represented 5º if I recall. As the scope moved closer to the target, the blocks would disappear sequentially so you knew how much farther the scope had to slew.

      The CPC scopes don’t provide any audible signal that a slew has finished. A rotating bar on the display indicates that a slew is in progress, but there is no indication of how much longer it will last. Neither is a big deal, but the LX-200 was nicer in that regard.

      CPCs have a neat ‘Hibernate’ feature that’s especially useful for permanently mounted scopes, or even scopes set up in the field for more than a single night. To use this feature, you move the telescope to a position of your choice using the hand paddle and pick ‘Hibernate’ from the menu. You then turn off the power and can even unplug the scope from the power source!

      As long as the telescope is not physically moved it remains ‘aligned’. When you power up, you are directed to press ENTER to ‘wake’ the scope, or UNDO to cancel Hibernation. Pressing ENTER turns the GPS receiver on and once it links, the hand paddle shows ‘CPC Ready’. The scope is now aligned and you can begin selecting objects even during the day!

      So is everything about the CPC scopes sunshine and roses? Mostly, but not quite… The focuser on my CPC 1100 produced an unacceptable amount of image shift. Unfortunately, image shift is common in Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes and is probably the biggest flaw. Fortunately, a simple - if pricey - solution exists: Starlight Instruments excellent ‘FeatherTouch’ Crayford focuser completely eliminates image shift. Ca-ching! Also, for the price paid, an A/C adapter could have been included in the package.

      In the end, my biggest regret is that there was no CPC 1400 available to put in the observatory!

      Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? Yes
      Was this review helpful? Yes / No
    2. Norm

      Norm New Member

      Skill Level
      Unknown
      Time with Product
      Unknown
      User Notes:
      1180621440
      May 31, 2007

      4.0 Perfectly designed SCT, but some quality issues.

      Pros:

      Large aperature, but still portable; great for accessories and add ons; EASY to use.

      Cons:

      Suffers more from poor seeing; Quality is somewhat disappointing; MUST buy ac adapter and dew heater.

      Comments:

      I bought my CPC 1100 XLT in August 2006 at Hands on Optics. Overall I really like the scope. The scope design is nearly perfect for ease of use and portability. I agree that it is about the biggest scope that's still portable. I have taken it to dark sky locations with relative ease. The OTA weighs 65 pounds, but is not to bad to handle due to the well placed handle and grip. It can be difficult to center on the tripod. I wish there was an aftermarket fix for that. The tripod is sturdy and easy to use. The optics appear to be good. I do not know how to do a star test, but I have seen greater detail on high contrast objects like Saturn and Jupiter that were not visible with my prior scope, an 8" lx -90. Deep space objects certainly benefit as a result of the increased aperature. Not even under the best conditions was I able to spot the "nebulosity" around M-51 with my 8" cat under light polluted skies of my suburban Pittsburgh back yard, but I have seen the ever so faint arms with this scope. Globulars like M13 are resolved to the core. I can usually see nebulas like M8 under any conditions with this scope.

      Quality of build is a little lacking. This is disappointing considering the nearly $3000 price. The bracket for the Nexstar controller is flimsy. The handbox fits sloppily. The display on the Nexstar controller has moved and is no longer straight. I had to tinker with the power cord to make it fit snugly. The emblem fell off the tripod (no big deal). The separately purchased ac adapter is already shot. I'm using a power tank. Alignment is easy, but only generally accurate. Tracking is not as good compared to my LX -90. Just this week, the scope has decided not to track. I have not yet called Celestron to resolve the problem. The OTA itself is well built and finished. When all things are working properly, which is most of the time, this can be a great scope. I expect to work out the relatively minor problems (let's hope), and keep this scope for a long time. The scope should come with an ac adapter and a dew heater. Don't even think of buying one if you live in humid area and don't have a heater. On warm summer nights, the corrector lens will fog before you finish the alignment. If it weren't for some quality issues, I would give the scope five stars. Mine I give four.

      Bottom Line: Would you recommend this item? Yes
      Was this review helpful? Yes / No
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