I bought a Celestron Evolution scope a few years ago but after struggling to align it on many a cold night it ended up in the loft. This year I decided to buy the StarSense and give it another go. What a difference it makes! My backyard has a very obscured view of the sky, but each time the StarSense aligns the scope perfectly within three minutes. This is a game changer for me and has reignited my enthusiasm for astronomy.

First off, the service from FLO is as good as advertised, very fast delivery as this arrived the next working day, sadly I haven't been able to use it until recently as FLO don't currently offer a weather manipulation service.

That said, I am using this with a Astro-Fi 130, straight out of the box it was easy to attach on the small mount, the Astro-Fi does not need any adapter/port splitter and can accomodate both the handset which makes aligning and calibrating the telescope much easier while still using a mobile phone for GoTo, a great combination for an amateur like myself.

The camera manages to work with the Astro-Fi through the Android version of SkyPortal without needing to be updated, and even on a misty night it managed to catalog more than 130 stars on a 'plate' which it uses to match againts its catalog of stars. The alignment took less than 3 minutes and using GoTo it put the star in question in the viewfinder (a 20mm Wide Angle Plossl), but not absolutely center. This could be due to needing a better calibration than I gave it or not being completely level, but I feel that it is well within tolerances and part of the learning process.

Before, I was pointing at stars and not really knowing what I was looking at, even with the app, now I can be absolutely sure what I am looking at and managed to see the Perseus double cluster NGC-869. Something I would not have been able to do without this.

If you have a Celestron with GoTo and can afford to get this, it is a must buy to get up and running quickly. Don't forget the power tank though!

I am using this unit with a Nexstar 8SE. So far I have only had a couple of nights when I could test this but so far really pleased, it is a great piece of kit and dramatically reduces the time it takes me to set up. When racing against clouds every minute can be valuable!

There are a few issues to be aware of. I had to do a firmware update on the camera and hand controller. This is relatively straight forward using the Celestron Firmware Manager program from the Celestron website but it is worth doing this when you get the kit. Also the instruction manual is a bit dodgy in places - my general rule here is to use the instruction manual but follow what the Hand Controller tells you to do if the two differ! Finally, and this is me being a bit slow but might stop others making the same mistake, if you are using a wedge remember to tell the hand controller you are doing so. You will find this in the menu under Telescope>Set Up.

Overall super pleased with this unit and really pleased with all advice and help provided by FLO.

Brilliant service and very quick delivery from FLO. Excellent product makes aligning mount so much easier giving you more time to stargaze.

I recently purchased a starsense from Celestron through First Light Optics, the delivery was incredibly fast and with no problems at all as always FLO deliver a top notch service and I do recommend them very highly.

Second on the box it did say "may contain clouds" this I found very amusing until it came to fruition I have mounted the starsense and this was as easy as it gets but I have as yet to use it because the aforementioned clouds did escape from the box and have been in the sky ever since.

When I get a clear sky I will try out the starsense and will post a second reveiw.

Untill then I suggest for all your astronomy needs you use FLO they are the best.

Jim

I'm using an old C8 OTA on an A-VX mount and bought the StarSense accessory after seeing so many good reviews on it. The StarSense module was very easy to install in place of the original finderscope, and the StarSense hand controller replaced the A-VX Nexstar+ controller. Ordered from FLO and it arrived the next day. Excellent service, thanks guys.

That night I was fortunate enough to have clear skies so I set up the scope and waited for the stars to come out. A rough polar alignment and basic tripod leveling is all that is required apparently, so having aligned the mount roughly North I fired up the StarSense, entered my location and date/time then pressed ALIGN. StarSense slewed the scope to a location and started doing it's thing. The display on the hand controller reported that 147 stars had been found, and the scope slewed to another part of the sky and started imaging again. This went on for a couple of minutes with StarSense finding 245 stars but then the scope slewed to a final location and StarSense just seemed to sit there with nothing happening for a long time. After 15 minutes of no progress, I backed out of the process and started it again with the same results.

I ended up resetting the mount to it's home position and powering it off. After waiting for a minute or two, I started up again and went through the process from the start, with exactly the same results, 234 stars found then nothing further happens. Factory restored the settings through the hand controller, then tried again with exactly the same results. Finally gave up and just spent a while observing before packing up for the night.

The next day I searched Google to see if anyone had reported similar issues and found that there had been a buggy earlier firmware release for StarSense that had resulted in similar issues to my experience. StarSense should never find more than 100 stars, if it does then there is a problem.

As it turns out my StarSense had that old firmware version so it was time to update. This was easy enough and fairly straightforward, however it may prove to be somewhat challenging if you're not computer savvy, so you may need to enlist the help of someone who is. You will need a PC/Laptop with 2 USB ports and Java installed, plus 2 x USB to USB mini cables. You will also need the latest Celestron Firmware Manager (CFM) software which can be found very easily via Google. The firmware and update instructions are all in the CFM zip file and it really is very straighforward to use.

It took all of 5 minutes to update the StarSense module, the Hand controller and the A-VX mount firmware to the latest versions and then I was all set to try again. Clear skies again that night so I got set up and turned on the scope. Pressed ALIGN on the hand controller then let StarSense do it's thing. This time it found 100 stars, took an image then started plate solving. Slewed to another part of the sky and did the same. After a couple of minutes it reported that it had finished. Success. I then ran through the calibration process and a final alignment and was good to go. Incredible results, every object I selected on the hand controller appeared dead centre of the eyepiece. Calibration only needs to be done once unless you're moving the StarSense module across different scopes.

StarSense is an amazing piece of kit, once you've got it set up. Now I can set the mount up, leveled and roughly polar aligned, fire up StarSense and within a few minutes the scope is perfectly aligned with no effort whatsoever. I can start observing within minutes. I really recommend the StarSense accessory, actually I would say it's a must have item if your goto mount supports it. I believe that the version for Sky-Watcher mounts even works with their goto Dobs. When I eventually pick up a Stargate 450P or 500P I will be getting a StarSense for it too.

An excellent item from celestron that gives you superb pointing accuracy and much better all round mount control from the handset . If you own a celestron mount this is essential in my opinion . Even if you have a large amount of backlash you can take a quick reference point and the mount will quickly re-adjust its position . Just remember to update the firmware out of the box as I was using a Cpc deluxe with pro wedge but there was no option for the wedge until I updated . It's a pity celestron didn't consider extending the length of the cable as this is very short. The hand control gives you much better detailed information on objects for visual astronomy and has a great 4 line lcd display .

bought this 4 Oct 2015 and since out of the box I can not think how I ever managed without it.
once setup with the one time setup it takes but a few mins to complete alignment. I use it with an edge hd8 on an avx mount and it has always got the target in the centre of the scope. would I recommend..YES more time viewing/ imaging less time setting up. well worth the money

Good:
- not hard to set up but see Not so good. Indoor dry run is essential
- hand controller gives good instruction prompts
- go-to aligns in under a minute even with full moon glare blanking out stars to the eye
- deals well with obstructed sites, aiming at a high angle to get clear views in different directions
- goto objects reliably appear in mid view.
- can quickly build a ten star sky calibration model for accuracy
- has a polar alignment routine
- firmware updates work with Windows 10, 8 and 7

Not so good
- Customers are beta testers for this product. It had serious flaws on release and though most are now fixed updating is a continuing feature
- requires a firmware update out of the box to do polar alignment properly. Fiddly requiring usb to serial connection, installation of Java and Celestron Update Manager software.
- User manual has not been updated since mid 2014. Some instructions are now plain wrong and very frustrating - (time and location input via Menu button if you get stuck). A number of features of the hand set are not covered at all. Some explanations not helpful.
- Screen uses 4 lines with small text which are hard to read and sometimes very hard when the text scrolls

Should you buy? It is expensive but the joy of accurate goto aligning a 2m focal length scope automatically in under a minute is well worth it for me, as a set it up from scratch every time back garden observer.

Just bought this and was up an running within minutes. Much faster and more accurate than 3 star align as it uses plate solving.
Very solid and doesn't move in use.
Screen can be a little difficult to read, a small torch makes it easier.
Its a shame celestron didn't add an auto guide feature into the software then would have given five stars.
Even if you are an experienced astronomer like me his is a definite must have. Just make sure you give it correct setup location and time and it will always hit the target.