Celestron NexStar 114GT

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Brand and Model:Celestron NexStar 114GT
Price ($USD):$439.00
Type:Newtonian
Attributes: checked Go-To un-checked PEC
Aperture:114mm (4.5 in)
f Ratio:f/9
Focal Length:1000mm
Finder:StarPointer
Electric Power:12v AC; 8AA's
Mount:Alt/Az
Tripod:Aluminum
Weight (lbs):16
Dimensions (w/h/d):
Description:GuideStar computer software
1.25" rack-and-pinion focuser
25mm and 10mm SMA eypieces

Vote Highlights Vote
Celestron NexStar 114GT
I'm very disappointed with the optics, even with a deep and hard collimation process I can't get rid of the coma except in the very center of the eyepiece.
The motor is very noisy, faulty and has a lot of internal backlash.
I had problems with the azimuth motor twice, in both cases the motor was totally loose.
Sometimes it stops to tracking and the electronics are not reliable.
I think the big problem is this telescope is not made by Celestron, it is made in China and just imported by Celestron as a complete telescope.
I don't recomend this model even for a novice.

Overall Rating: 4
Optics:5 Mount:6 Ease of Use:7 Value:2
Weight: 6 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: https://www.excelsis.com:443/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=126076

Celestron NexStar 114GT
I've had this several months. VERY disappointed in the optics, coma extremely bad except in the very center of the field. I spent many hours fiddling with collimation, and this helped quite a bit -- but still no where near what I'd like to see. Celestron upgraded the software in the hand controller at no charge, when I asked. This has been a tremendous improvement, with few or no software crashes now, and much more reliable go-to. I'm tempted to try a different OTA on this mount.

Overall Rating: 5
Optics:2 Mount:6 Ease of Use:7 Value:6
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: https://www.excelsis.com:443/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=87399

Celestron NexStar 114GT
I got mine on deep discount at Costco. Yes, the optical system is a bash-up of a spherical primary and a built-in barlow lens making it about F8 with some residual spherical aberration and some edge field coma. The three thick spider bars and large secondary lead to marginal optical performance. Not the best, but the GOTO and tracking are pretty fair if you are careful in setup and alignments.
The views of Mars on closest approach in 2003 were remarkable. I saw good detail at more than 350X. I used some better eyepieces than were supplied. I was happy with the performance considering the price I paid. I would not pay more, however, considering some of the faults in design and construction.

Overall Rating: 5
Optics:5 Mount:6 Ease of Use:5 Value:6
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: https://www.excelsis.com:443/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=444542

Celestron NexStar 114GT
An excellent vallue in a goto telescope! I suspect that some NexStar 114's may arrive out of colimnation and provide disapointing results. Last Wednesday, I attended a party looking at Mars from the Florida Keys. We had a Meade LX90 8" scope, a Meade ETX-90 and the C-114GT. Mars looked great in the LX90, but there were many favorable comments about the C114 using a 9.7mm Scopetronix eyepiece. The ETX-90 did not fare as well.

If money is not an issue, get the most expensive telescope available. The NexStar 114, properly colimnated, is an excellent starter scope.

Overall Rating: 8
Optics:7 Mount:7 Ease of Use:8 Value:9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: https://www.excelsis.com:443/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=295030

Celestron NexStar 114GT
Overall a great deal on a beginners to intermediate level telescope. You can find them new on ebay or costco for a Substantially lower price than at retail stores. It comes with the digital nexstar system and 2 eyepieces (10mm and 25mm), also includes a nice sturdy tripod with an accessory tray. The celestron model seems to be of higher quality than the equivalent meade ds2114 model. Another nice feature is that it is compatible with the Nexstar GPS module (for accurate tracking without allignment). I did have a few problems with the nexstar system, but that is mainly due to the somewhat poor manual that could of explained the alignment procedures better. You can clearly see saturns rings and detailed shots of the moon with the included eyepieces, however, for Mars you will need different eyepieces such as a 4mm-6 mm or a barlow. Filters can help too.

Overall Rating: 8
Optics:8 Mount:8 Ease of Use:8 Value:8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: https://www.excelsis.com:443/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=292061

Celestron NexStar 114GT
I hate this telescope, it came assembled upside down and the software is maddening. I'm returning the damn thing tomorrow.

Overall Rating: 1
Optics:0 Mount:0 Ease of Use:0 Value:1
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: https://www.excelsis.com:443/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=243263 

>I hate this telescope, it came assembled upside down and the software is maddening.  I'm returning the damn thing tomorrow.

Do you mean the image is upside down? If so welcome to the world of Newtonian telescopes, all of them do it, even the high dollar models! If you had done any research before your purchase you'd know that (or simply read the owners manual). You need a special eyepiece adapter to right the image and these are generally not supplied with a scope meant for astronomy because it can add another layer of optical imperfection and it will raise the price.
Celestron NexStar 114GT
Total krap with a capitol K.
Don't waste your money.
Get the cardboard tube from a roll of toilet paper and look through that instead,
You will see more and it will cost allot less.

Overall Rating: 1
Optics:1 Ease of Use:0 Value:0
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: https://www.excelsis.com:443/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=129630 

Can we have informed detailed posts stating specifically whuy one likes or dislikes a particular product?



>Total krap with a capitol K.
>Don't waste your money.
>Get the cardboard tube from a roll of toilet paper and look through that instead,
>You will see more and it will cost allot less.
Celestron NexStar 114GT
I've had my Celestron Nexstar 114GT up at the star parties with the big guys with the 11"GPS's, and they were impressed by the ease of setup, alignment, and quality of views in the scope with the standard eyepieces. One guy gave me a 2x Barlow, and another person gave me a 40mm Celestron eyepiece, and I'm enjoying this unit fully. I've sent off the hand controller for the new updated one, and I must say I'm very satisfied with what I spent my money on and with Celestron in general. I have no complaints other than the little battery pack. Get an alternative power source. I got a JumpIt for $70 and it runs for days!
Great telescope. I love it.

Overall Rating: 10
Optics:8 Mount:8 Ease of Use:8 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: https://www.excelsis.com:443/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=102485

Celestron NexStar 114GT
I'm pleased with the optics of this telescope (I must have gotten a good model)
It's nice to see color on the planets. It's a good sign that the optics are well
colliminated. Just for fun, I decided to compare the view of this
telescope with that of my tak-sky 90. Results are pretty much what you would
expect with comparing an APO to a newt (with a relatively large obstruction due
to the small aperture). At low powers, however, the 114GT did remarkably well,
shoing at least 2 bands on jupiter, with possibly a 3rd or 4th one in view. Much better than what I remember my nexstar being able to do. Saturn showed banding as well and I was able to detect the Cassini division (but was never able to distinguish it).
I was able to see at least 3 stars of the Trapezium in the Orion nebula, and possibly a fourth, but was not too sure. The atmosphere or the telescope had not completely cooled since I was not able to get much above 100x magnification during this night. The tak sky 90 showed more banding of course (especially during moments of good seeing), and I was able to see the cassini division. Still, the 114GT only costs a few hundred dollars compared to the 2-3 grand of the tak sky 90. Definately a good value.
The thing that I did not like about this package was the noisy motors (2 to 3 times noisier than I remember my celestron nexstar 5 bing). Also the part that connects the bottom of the tripod eyepiece holder to the tripod looks awfully cheap (still better than the Meade units I remember seeing in the store, which reminded me of the wires of an umbrella). I haven't tested the goto function unfortunately (can't see polaris from my area so don't know where north is exactly). Though from hearing what other people have said, tracking is good as long as you align it initially well (and don't get a bad model). Celestron is now replacing the old Celestron nexstar handcontrols for older models. Hopefully tracking will improve with the new computer hand controller.

Overall Rating: 9
Optics:8 Mount:7 Ease of Use:8 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: https://www.excelsis.com:443/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=57362

Celestron NexStar 114GT
The last few years I've been playing around with moderately sized (8") dobs. Though my Nexstar doesn't have the same light collecting power, it is a blast to use. Setup takes minutes, optics are quite good, mount is stable and well damped, and the price is not bad (~$300 from Astronomics). I can jump to 6 Messier objects in the same time it takes me to snag 2 with a dob (having the goto capability keeping the scope on the target while changing eyepieces makes life very easy). The goto feature works fine except when any of the target stars is directly overhead. I've had problems with the power cord from the battery pack or the power supply pulling out as the scope slews around. I've remedied it by gluing a velcro strip to the base of the scope by the power connection and using a matching velcro tab on the power cable by the plug. Tracking seems to be good in the proximity of the 2 targets as time progress, but is less accurate over time the further away you are from the targets.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: https://www.excelsis.com:443/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=40789

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