Celestron NexStar 4GT Problem.

Hi Phil,
IIRC it was 89.9 degrees (prevents scope from going upside down, I assume). It can be set to a lesser angle if you have something attached to the port on the back that might collide with the base.

Well none of the above worked, I'm afraid. Telescope Service have agreed to ship the scope back to Germany and have a look. I got Michael Swanson's book 'The NexStar User's Guide' and he states in the 'Additional tips and solutions section':

Occasionally a new telescope will not move freely when using the arrow buttons on the hand control...The best solution is to return the scope to the dealer for adjustment or replacement. The problem is generally caused by a bad motor, the axis being adjusted too tight, or the motor having been positioned too close to the large gear that drives the axis.

It's very disappointing, but hopefully it will be worth it in the long term.

For the sake of completeness, I'll just record how I got on with this. The scope was shipped back to Germany by Telescope-Service. This took about a week via UPS. Once back in Germany, the problem was immediately identified as a faulty Az motor. Telescope-Service replaced this and sent the scope back to me. It arrived back OK and now appears to be working fine. The whole process took about 2 weeks, once it was decided that it had to go back to Germany. I had the working scope back before Christmas. I've clarified that the remainder of the 2 year guarantee on the scope is still valid. I have to say that I was very satisified with the way that Telescope-Service dealt with this. Their after sales service was excellent, and I would have no hesitation in recommending them to anybody. Now, if we could only get some clear skies around my way...

Well I have to say, that's an excellent outcome !

I've never had to send anything back to them but I am happy to say that I've always had good service, advice and prices when I've dealt with Teleskop-Service. Phil's result reinforces my good opinion of them.

*Moved to Observing Equipment*