New home needed for a pampered original NextStar 5

[Steven Sergeant]

"Marvin" we named it… After the paranoid android in the Hitch Hiker's
Guide to the Galaxy.

"I've got a brain the side of a planet and all you ask me to do is find
M31 and M13."

Actually its first generation of Celestron's GoTo system found many more
interesting objects than those.

This 'scope is looking for a new home. I use it occasionally, but not
frequently enough to justify the storage space. So I'm looking for offers.

This 5" SCT scope has clean optics. It has been stored in an indoor,
climate-controlled space. The package includes not only the scope with
its tabletop robotic mount, but everything one needs to use it:

• Celestron NexStar 5 on robotic arm mount
• Original shipping box
• Original printed manual
• AC adapter
• 12V power cable (cigarette lighter plug)
• Serial port cable (it's too old for WiFi or Bluetooth)
• Tripod adaptable between Alt/Az and siderial
• 1x "red dot" finder
• Three 1.25" eyepieces:
+ 7mm Ortho by Univeristy Optics
+ 12.5mm Orion Lanthanum
+ 32mm Sirius Plossl
• 90° Celestron star diagonal
• Travel/flight case, JMI
• Dew shield

Showings can be arranged by appointment with seriously interested
prospective buyers. Photos available on request (I haven't taken them yet).

One of you must have a family member who is eager to get started in the
hobby!

Before I list it on eBay and/or Craigslist I'm giving the TAC community
first light.

[John Pierce]

On Fri, Dec 5, 2025 at 5:12 PM Steven Sergeant <stev...@effable.com> wrote:

...

Actually its first generation of Celestron's GoTo system found many more
interesting objects than those.

...

its probably NOT the first gen Compustar    Back in the mid 80s Celestron built a fully goto controller for their EQ fork mount SCTs, it was expensive, power hungry, prone to electronics failures, and hard to use.  IIRC, it had two sets of motors, faster slewing servo motors and slow motion stepper motors.   The freelance engineer who designed this for them later designed the LX200 for Meade, stirring up the animosity between the two companies.

https://www.cloudynights.com/articles/articles/revisiting-celestron%E2%80%99s-compustar-the-grand-daddy-of-go-to-r3009/

[Steven Sergeant]

Thank you, John, for the deep history lesson.

However, I'm certain this *IS* the first generation of the Nexstar family.

> https://www.cloudynights.com/articles/articles/revisiting-celestron%E2%80%99s-compustar-the-grand-daddy-of-go-to-r3009/ <https://www.cloudynights.com/articles/articles/revisiting-celestron%E2%80%99s-compustar-the-grand-daddy-of-go-to-r3009/>
>