Celestron CM-1100

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Celestron CM-1100
Best big scope for the money. Incredible optics. They do need colimating out of the box though. Still having problems with drive not tracking, clutch slips even when perfect balanced. 9x60 finder is perfect.

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By: Anonymous (xxx.xxx.97.134)
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=39231

Celestron CM-1100
The mount needs a bit of adjusting in terms of tightening
allen screws on the drive motor gears and RA and Dec knobs,
also an adjustment to the play on both worms was needed on
mine. After doing so, mine has exceptionally accurate
tracking. I have been able to take perfectly guided CCD
images of up to an hour at F/6.3 repeatedly. I am very
pleased with the mount. Tracking problems with this mount
are related to a too tight RA worm adjustment and loose
allens. Properly adjusted they work very well.

The optics are quite good. Only complaints relate to the
need for a better focuser. There is a bit more image shift
than I would like, and the focuser could be a bit smoother.
Overall, I am very pleased. When you take into account that
this scope is available in the $3000.00 range mail-order, it
is a very good deal.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By: Anonymous (xxx.xxx.253.233)
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=39232

Celestron CM-1100
I have owned my CM1100 for a year now and I'm just as impressed as the day I received it. On good seeing conditions stars show an excellent airy disc,planets show good size but not as razor sharp as my ETX.
The moon is great through this scope . With a Meade UWA 8.8 I can zero in on a single crater. Deep space is the place where I have the most fun with this telescope.
The mount has given me a few problems,first the RA bronze gear was always working loose I fixed that by adding another locking screw to the other side of the gear shaft and filing flat the end of tightening screws that meet the motor shaft. Second the fast slew speed doesn't always work. I don't know if its a voltage problem or something else.Third was the star diagonal It was way out of collimation which was a result of a cracked casing. A quick call to Celestron and three days later I had a new one in the mail. I think thats great customer service.
One other thing I don't like is not having adjustable legs. I sucks have to level the tripod with pieces of wood.I would have gladly paid extra for this feature. I would also like to see a reasonably priced Celestron "go-to" add on to this mount.
Other than these few nit-pics I'm very pleased with its over all performance.

Ed Commers

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By: Anonymous (xxx.xxx.45.234)
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=39234

Celestron CM-1100
The CM1100 is a great scope, but it can be frustrating for those not used to how to set it up. My first night with the CM1100 was a complete bust - large plates instead of stars. The problem was temperature conditions - a 40 degree fall from sunset to midnight in near-desert country in CA. The next night, the fall was closer to 20 degrees over the same period, and the scope was given more time to adjust, and viewing was done once temperature had flattened out. The resultant images were outstanding. Despite considerable light pollution, Vega showed up with the expected coma, but not too much, and lots of other stars showed up in the field with the supplied 26mm eyepiece (which is bargain basement for sure). With Parks Optical eyepieces, contrast was better and faint objects still resolved well, and were more point-like. I checked the scope and it was out of collimation, but still did well. For the price, it cannot be beat as an optical system, and I have had no focal shift problems so far.

I can't say enough good things about the 700 mount. It's STABLE! I bumped the eyepiece, the mount, everything, and unless I nudged it hard enough to shift it, it just stayed right where it was pointed. About the only thing to complain about is that the clutches are a bit tough to harden down with the knurled finger knobs.

Easy setup, fits in my car, almost defies light pollution (my eyes wash out before the scope does), not too big to lug around. The CM1400, if one doesn't have trouble lifting the tube to the dovetail, might be the largest truly portable SC one can get.

I'm exceedingly pleased with how much scope I got for my money.

A few things were missing from one of the boxes - the polar alignment scope for the mount (very nice touch), the hand controller, the DC adapter and the safety rail for the scope's dovetail. I called Celestron, explained what was missing from the sealed carton, I got it all three days later. The customer service, when I had this problem, was outstanding. I got my callback from Celestron the same day I called them, and had a box with all the missing parts 3 days later.

Unlike the Meade I have seen, I consider the Celestron CM scopes to be much better. There are no plastic "bearings" and the feel is solid and top drawer from first to last.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By: Anonymous (xxx.xxx.31.199)
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=39237

Celestron CM-1100
I've owned a CM 1100 for a year now. Cost was A$7800 (about US4k)

I had a C8 before which I sold. Polar nevbulae are a real pain with a fork mount.

OIverall I like this telescope, though it is big. It has a huge light capacity. Very bright images, esp with a televue 35 and a 17. I had to source a 2" diagonal for these but it's been worth it. Only prob with heave eyepieces is to make sure the screw plate on the back of the telescope is really tightly done up.

Drive took a bit of working out. I don't think I am there even now. It must be absolutely level. Wind can affect (worse if you use the dewshield). I would think this mount for a 14" would be stretching the limit!

Collimation was not perfect when the scope arrived. That is one thing to check with your dealer. Maybe shipped in the US they come OK but coming across the pacific they may get bumped a bit.

Overall, I'm very happy. Just remember that any big scope woill take a bit of practice to set up and get to use well.

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By: Anonymous (xxx.xxx.192.141)
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=39238

Celestron CM-1100
I've owned this scope since september 2001, and feel I can offer some insight into it's performance.

The optics are first rate. Perfect rings inside and outside focus. Fantastic symmetry, and fine images. The planets offer great detail, Saturn has more than one ring! (from a former small refractor user) & the enke minima is visible on nights of good seeing. Deep sky - this 11" brings out the faint fuzzies with good detail. Great detail in even the tiny eskimo nebula.

If relatively large aperture with portability is an issue, you've come to the right telescope. The OTA weighs only 27 pounds - not much for a 280mm scope. And the lift to the mount is easy, the CI700 is stable and mostly user friendly. Although the mount is not intuitive to use, once learned it becomes easy.

Overall, impressive views, really good quality (the scope looks great with it's high gloss black finish, mounted on the black and substantial CI700). A joy to use, a fine overall, general purpose scope, and it really opens up the night sky. The best telescope I have ever owned.

Complaints: The optical tube needs to be collimated from time to time. This is probably good if you take pleasure in knowing your scope is in absolute top operating condition.

The focuser is somewhat less than precise. I find myself wheeling in and out and double doing when seeking precise focus.

The finder is fine(Celestron 9 x 50) but the mount with its rubber O-ring is difficult to use. I replaced the finder mount.

The advanced Astromaster DSC works well. I enjoy pushing my scope around the nightsky, and the AAM gives you all the joy of a GoTo without the limitations.

Overall, I love this scope, and haven't looked back since making the decision to go with the larger size. this is also an excellent astrophotography telescope, and I plan to begin taking astro photographs soon.

Overall Rating: 8
Optics:9 Mount:7 Ease of Use:8 Value:10
Weight: 6 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By: Anonymous (xxx.xxx.25.192)
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=67245

Celestron CM-1100
An oustanding, high quality instrument. Capable of providing amazing planetary as well as deep sky views. Fantastic platform for CCD astro-imaging.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:10 Mount:10 Ease of Use:10 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By: Anonymous (xxx.xxx.64.222)
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=181074

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