The CPC can be powered in two different ways. Each has its own benefits and drawbacks.

The first power source is an AC ad]]> You can obtain a replacement hand control for your CPC series scope. 

Simply contact your dealer.  Or go to Celestron.com and order there:
Both the altitude and azimuth clutch knobs have brass inserts threading into aluminum fittings on the clutches. One problem: sometimes debris can get into these threads, preventing proper contact of the clut]]> The serial number for most older CPCs is located underneath the secondary mirror cap.  The cap sits over the collimation screws and is more of a decorative feature rather than one that]]> Celestron’s heavy-duty wedge is the accessory you need. The upgrade kit is highly recommended, as it makes minor adjustments in altitude and azimuth for polar alignment much, much easier. The wedge bol]]> When it’s turned on, the GPS module in your CPC’s mount will use information about satellite positions (called ephemeris data) it received the last time it linked with the GPS satellite system. I]]> Your CPC Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope (SCT) has threads on the back of the tube to accept accessories for visual and photographic use. 

Your CPC Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope (SCT) has a focusing knob to the right of the center of the back of the tube assembly. Unlike a refractor or reflector, the SCT achieves focus by moving the primary]]> Magnification of a telescope is actually a relationship between two independent optical systems – the telescope itself and the eyepiece you are using. To determine power, divide the focal length of the]]> It appears that your hand control is stuck in programming mode. 

Fortunately, the fix is easy.

First, try cycling the power of your scope. This will often clear the condition. Collimation of a SCT is critical to getting the sharpest images possible, especially when viewing planets at high magnification.  There are three stages to a really goo]]> Your scope is experiencing backlash, play in the drive gears. All telescopes have some backlash, as gears can’t be too tight, preventing the motors from turning. Backlash causes the delay in scope move]]> It’s best to protect your telescope from the elements and bring it inside between observing sessions. 

Allow the scope to warm up when bringing it inside. Uncover all optics and let the]]> The CPC tripod and mount are attached to one another by three bolts that are part of the tripod assembly. In order to make assembly easier, especially in the dark, there is a central alignment pin that stick]]> The CPC has clutches on both the azimuth and altitudes axes. The great advantage is that the scope can be freely moved by hand.

When d]]> Because the CPC is permanently-mounted in a twin fork, the scope can actually be oriented right side up or upside down and still be usable. However, it’s best to do alignments with telescope oriented s]]> While it could be from moisture condensing and running on your optics, most likely it is the grease in the baffle tube that has melted  (separated) and l]]> Cordwrap safeguards against the telescope slewing more than 360 degrees in azimuth and wrapping the power cord or accessory cables a]]> If you are following the instructions in the manual and cordwrap isn’t working, most likely you need to upgrade your motor control firmware.

First, check which version you have in the menu u]]> Make sure no buttons are stuck. If not, then you can try the following three steps yourself.

First, power supply. Try an AC adapter that is]]> The CPC models have an autoguider port on the base.  This port will directly interface with any of the SBIG (Santa Barbara Instrument Group) type autoguiders on the market. 
The AUX port can be used  to plug in the hand control if the regular HAND CONTROL port is not working or blocked for some reason.]]> The PC port can be used with the MCUpdate software to flash or update the motor control (MC) firmware on your CPC scope. It can also be used with Nexremote to control your scope. MENU – SCOPE SETUP – GOTO APPROACH lets you choose the direction the scope will use when approaching an object during the final part of slewing.]]> It could be an encoder problem. The encoder is a light-emitting diode (LED) device that measures how much the motor has turned. Try this general test of the encoders:

(NOTE: These instructions apply to versions of the firmware older than NXS 4.18, which introduced all-star polar alignment. For these newer versions, please see the CPC manual pa]]> All of these mounts do indeed support PEC and Celestron’s PECTool.

The reason you see this error message is because you are usin]]> You need to review and adjust the button direction logic in your hand control menu.

The directions are made user-adjustable so you can match the direction the star moves in the eyepiece with the ]]> Cordwrap safeguards against your scope slewing more than 360 degrees in azimuth, which can spiral your power and accessory cables around the b]]> Please go to this web page on the ASCOM Initiatives website:

Once you have your solar filter over the front of your scope, you can safely point it at the sun. However, as a safety feature, the sun does not appear in the hand control unless you enable it.

Go]]> The drivers and software used with most Celestron products are (as of Fall 2009) not compatible with Mac operating systems.

Though Celestron provides no support for these work]]> If you have NexRemote, HCupdate, MCupdate,PECTool compatibility issues, simply download the latest versions from Celestron’s Manuals/Drivers page. ]]> A computer crash or communications break between your PC and the hand control during an MC update may result in either “Initializing”, blank screen, “No Response 16” or “No Resp]]> Issue a command to move your mount from your autoguider program or autoguider hand control (not to be confused with the scope’s NexStar hand control).

The movement is very small, so you ne]]> These scopes come with a quick release bracket system for the finderscope. One part mounts to the OTA, while the cage carries the finderscope.

First, identify the correct row of screws on the mirr]]> No, you don’t need this program or any other program to take advantage of your scope’s periodic error correction (PEC) function.

PEC is]]> There are no official settings to use with Celestron mounts that support autoguiders (these scopes have ports that will directly interface with any of the SBIG (Santa Barbara Instrument Group) type autoguide]]>  In outline, here’s how to remove the OTA]]> No. Only stars brighther than or equal to magnitude 2.5 (bright stars) can be used for alignments with Celestron’s NexStar computerized mounts.

Even though there are about 250]]> PEC data is stored on the motor boards in the GPS, CPC, CPC Deluxe, CGE, CGEM, CGEM DX and CGE Pro mounts in order to improve their drive accuracy. Using functions in the ha]]> Technically, yes, it will work. Many modern autoguiders can keep up with the guide rates involved. In practice, no, guiding with an alt-azimuth mount won’t work. Here’s why.
Probably nothing.

Slew limits are designed to stop your scope from either hitting itself, an attached accessory like a camera or poi]]> Interrupt the mount’s GOTO slew by pressing any arrow key. The mount will halt the GOTO in progress.

Since this is a regular h]]> The differences are not really important.

Here is the diagram for the NexGuide pinout requirements:
Here are instructions on how to get into the CPC mount base:

The CPC Deluxe HD mount is one of the bigger mounts in the Celestron product line. It takes a recommended 12VDC input of 2.5 amps to successful]]> Whether you are using the HD Pro wedge and heavy-duty tripod or another wedge-tripod combination, once you have a wedge for your scope, the all-star polar alignment consists of 4]]> No, it’s not a problem. This noise is perfectly normal and does not adversely affect the performance of your mount.

The audible noise originates from Celestron’s new i]]> Yes you can.

Such programs connect to the mount via ASCOM (AStronomy Common Object Model). ASCOM provides a standard interface for a range of astronomy equipment inclu]]> Yes, it is classic gear backlash.

Gear backlash will often show up on the Az axis at rates above rate 2 when moving east.

Here’s how to fix this]]> Please contact Orion Telescopes and check out their line of SteadyPix smartphone adapters: