Coyle Field 03/22/03, Celestron 11” GPS
Hi All;
Got out to Coyle Field again this weekend. I arrived about 8:00pm. The sky looked terrific. You could barley pick out Leo and Orion from all the stars that were visible. I couldn’t wait to get set up. Two other club members were there for the first time. They were setting up a Celestron 11” GPS. I was excited about seeing this scope. People ask about it all the time and how it compares to the Meade 10” & 12” LX200. I though this was going to be good opportunity to check it out. They brought it in 2 boxes. One guy lifted the OTA and fork mount out of the box by a handle on the back with one hand. That would be impossible with my 12”LX200. I don’t see the 10”LX200 being lifted with one hand either. So right away I’d say it was an easier for one man to handle than either of the LX200’s. I didn’t see how easy it was to attach to the tripod, but I will say this, the tripod was real small in comparison to the giant field tripod that comes with the 12”LX200. I’m sure it was smaller than the one that comes with the 10”LX200 as well. They said it held it steady. I didn’t get a chance to see. At that point I went back to set up my scope. By the time I unpacked and got the scope on the tripod, there wasn’t a singe star in the sky. A cloudbank moved in and lasted all night. I did notice one thing, my friend Mauro rolled in just about the same time as the clouds. I think he had them in tow. Anyway, I did get my scope aligned when Arcturus poked out for a second. We did get to see Jupiter. That was it. We never pointed the 11” GPS at anything. So I don’t have anything else to report about it, that was a big disappointment . Maybe next time. We hung around until 11:00 hoping for the sky to clear, but no luck. 11:30 we were out of there. We figured, by the time the sky would clear the moon would be up. Just can’t get a break!
That’s it;
BOB SAL