I have been contacted by a girl in East Belfast who has been left the above telescope by her Grandfather. I have been to see the scope, but have not looked through it, and have not checked to see if the go-to is working properly. The girl suggested that the scope is around 3 years old. As far as I am aware, this scope has now been discontinued, although a few websites still have it for sale, albeit they do not have a delivery date.
Here is a link to one of those websites for those who do not know this telescope
www.telescopeplanet.co.uk/celestron-advanced-c9.25-sgt
The OTA is in fair condition, but has a few scratches and bits of paint missing, mainly in a line along one side. These could easily be covered with a few dabs of black matt paint. The corrector plate seems in good shape, with no visible scratches. It is a bit dusty, and has a couple of finger marks on it. The mirror appears to be clean. The focuser seems to be fine, moving smoothly in both directions. There are relatively few marks on the dovetail bar, which suggests that the scope has not been used very often. The standard Celestron 6x30 finderscope is present, as are the rings to hold it. The original 1.25" visual back is in place, although there was no plug inserted. I found the plug in a plastic bag and inserted it into the visual back. The OTA is fastar-compatible.
The CG5 mount looks in good shape, with no major marks or scratches. The movement felt a little bit stiff on both axes, but this may be due to the fact that it has been sitting around for quite a while unused. All wires and cables, along with the handset, are present, as is a 12 volt cable. However, there were no counterweights. I have asked the girl to check if these are available. The tripod is in good shape, but one of the feet is missing.
There were no eyepieces, however, there were end caps in a plastic bag, so there may be some somewhere, possibly with the counterweights. There was also no star diagonal.
Please note that this is as accurate a description as I can give of the scope as I saw it. I have no financial interest in this telescope. I would strongly advise anyone who may be interested in it to go and see it for themselves, and make their own judgement. I would also strongly advise you to check the performance of the go-to, and to view through the scope. Better take your own eyepieces. I can provide a phone number, address and email for anyone who may want to view it, and will answer any questions as far as I can. I would be happy to go and view with scope again with a prospective buyer, and help to test the optics and the go-to.
The girl is asking £550 for the whole telescope. I do not know if she would consider selling the OTA or mount and tripod separately. She knows absolutely nothing about telescopes, and really just wants it out of her house.
EDIT - 11/1/16 - the counterweights have now been found.
