Celestron 21045 114mm Equatorial PowerSeeker Telescope
(24
List Price: $167.95
Your Price:
$90.71
-- saving you 46 percent
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List Price: $167.95
Your Price:
$90.71
-- saving you 46 percent
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Height: 10.00 inches
Width: 16.00 inches
Length: 37.00 inches
Weight: 30.00 pounds
Model: 21045
Manufacturer: Celestron
Optical Zoom: 5 x
Warranty: 2 years warranty
Aperture Modes: 100mm-150mm
Telescope Type: reflecting
Model SKU: B0000Y8C2Y
OK telescope, but ...
by R. Becker
from Madison, WI,
2010-03-06
I bought this telescope for my son as a starter telescope. The price was quite reasonable and it seems like a reasonable telescope. Well, appearances are not all that they seem to be. We put it together, which was quite simple, and noticed a couple of things right away. The instructions are reasonably clear and assembly was quite easy. The tripod is a bit wobbly if you don't tighten everything up and the rotary base of the telescope has a bit too much slack. That makes aiming a bit tricky. The finder scope pretty useless. The finder base has two elongated holes in it for the mounting and is always getting knocked out of alignment. It also feels really cheap, especially since the plastic base used to mount it to the telescope is hollow underneath and can't really be tightened adequately without breaking it. Still, what do you expect from a telescope that cost under $100.
There are also some shortcomings in the hardware. The biggest problem is the elevation adjustment screw. The screw started to gall after only three uses. Fortunately I had some very high tech (and high cost) teflon grease (it's called Krytox and it's $35 for two ounces)that pretty much stopped the galling. Also, there is excess slack in the rotary base that fits into the tripod. If you tighten it enough to pull out most of the slack, you can't turn it. Not a good start.
The big disappointment was looking at the stars and moon. After setting it up and aligning the finder scope, the stars were horizontal smears and the moon was fuzzy: lunar features were indistinct. Checking into it, I found tat the collimation was completely off. The secondary reflector was far out of position and the main mirror was adjusted to compensate for the problems with the secondary mirror. After about 3 hours of fidgeting with the secondary mirror, taking the main mirror off twice and putting crossed strings on the end of the main tube to aim the secondary mirrors, and purchasing a laser collimator, the telescope is now pretty clear. Distant stars look like points of light and not smears and details are now in focus on the moon. We haven't tried much else yet, but a starter telescope should have reasonably clear images so that a neophyte doesn't get discouraged right away by poor image quality. I expect to spend another $100 or more on optics to get some standard screw-on filters and eyepieces that will accept standard filters instead of the "it-fits-Celestron-only" variety that Celestron sells. In retrospect, I would look for a somewhat better quality telescope rather than spend my way up to what I should have bought in the first place.
not for childs
by Samuel Dania Fuentes
from Venezuela,
2010-01-11
Este lo compre para ver las estrellas con mi sobrino, esta bien construido y es fcil de armar, pero no es fcil de utilizar, realmente hay que meterse de lleno en la astronoma para aprovecharlo, lo recomiendo para personas interesadas en esta materia que tengan tiempo y paciencia
15 year old telescope
by C. Moses
from Michigan,
2010-01-06
I bought this as a gift for my 15 year old daughter. She loves it. We have only used it once due to bad weather and a bad cold we are sharing. Its relatively easy to assemble. It's our first telescope and I recommend it for the younger beginner. You get a lot features for the price. Critical reviews I've read don't comprehend the low price you pay for what you get.
More than expected!!
by Cajun Controller
from Lafayette, LA,
2010-01-01
After reading many reviews on this telescope and researching for about 3 days, I decided to purchase this telescope, mainly because of the price (it was $89.95 with free shipping). I received it 2 days sooner than I was told by Amazon, excellent, and it was the newer version pictured on the Celestron web site. Assembly was very easy, but it was aided my research while awaiting delivery. As in other reviews the finder scope is crap, the reason I didn't give it 5 stars. The eq mount takes some getting used to if you have never used one before. Once aligned tracking is a breeze. The first object I looked at was what I thought to be a very bright star and it turned out to be Jupiter and 4 of its moons. The mount, and tripod are very sturdy when set up properly and everything is tightened and secured properly. I used all of the accessories and was able to see Jupiter in great detail even with the 3x Barlow and 4mm combined, despite the great amount of light pollution where I am located within the city. Although at that high of a magnification focusing is difficult and the smallest vibrations while tracking are very apparent. This is an excellent first scope and I plan to enjoy many hours using it with my son.
Great for the money
by Robert Peed
from Greenville, SC, USA,
2009-12-24
Mine arrived in black, but that is fine. The scope was bought for a replacement tube. I already have a go to tripod. The optics are very good for the price. The whole assembly is less expensive than any stand alone tube I could find, and it comes with two eyepieces and a Barlow. Not a super scope, but it is a super deal.