Reddit mentions of Celestron 18778 AC Adapter (Black)

Hi there! :)

That's kind of a bummer. :( I can't think of an easy solution to fix that, but one thing you could do to isolate where the issue lies is use a different power source. The fan runs on 12V DC power, so if you have either a 12V DC power source (such as a cigarette lighter socket in a car, using a cord like this) or an AC power adapter that you can plug in to the wall (like this Celestron one, if you have one). If the fan runs, then something's wrong with the battery pack. If it doesn't run, then the fan (or the wiring leading to it) is faulty.

Clear skies!

A car adapter? Mine came with one. As for the power supply id recommend this


Here is what i bought to track with it.
PC interface Cable
Serial Adapter
And finally this, but this is optional to you. Youll probably eventually want to image from your backyard, and if you do youll want this. AC Adapter

Another thing, Unluckily for me and for you, the mount does not come with a polar scope. Do some research to what kind you want, but I got this one

Other than that, Good luck! If you ever want some real time advice come check out the chat room under the useful links tab on the side of the subreddit! Chances are I'll be there, or one of the AP gurus.

I've had it for less than a month, but so far I'm really liking it for the most part. Here are some pros and cons I thought of about this scope to help you out:

Pros:

• It's great for visual observing! With it I've seen the Great Red Spot on Jupiter, moon shadows on Jupiter, the Cassini Division in Saturn, detail in Saturn's atmosphere, detail on Mars's surface, and so much detail on the moon that it almost looks like I could touch it. Deep sky objects also look great through the scope. (I live in a heavily light polluted area and I can still see some amazing things, such as certain nebulas and star clusters.)
  
  
• It's great for planetary photography. (Don't really need to explain this one, as there's an example image in this thread.)
  
  
• If you get it aligned well, the goto function works great! I've had lots of fun using it because it's a great way to discover new objects you haven't heard of before.
  
  
• Because it's a Schmidt-Cassagrian it has a lot less coma than other types of telescopes, which is helpful for both visual observing and photography. (Though you can buy a coma corrector if you get a different type of telescope.)
  
  Cons:
  
  
• Haven't tested this myself yet as I haven't needed to, but the majority of reviews for the 8SE says it sucks down the battery power in less than 30 minutes when it's on. To fix this issue, I bought a power cord, but if you want to take it out somewhere, you'll probably need to buy a power tank. (Or something like it.)
  
  
• This is not an issue where I live so I can't say any of this with experience, but since it's a Scmidth-Cassigrian telescope and has closed optics, dew can form on the corrector plate depending on the weather. (Here's a page about it with more information.) Uf you don't want to buy anything extra to fix this issue I've heard that leaving the 8SE out for about an hour before you use it will get rid of most of the dew.
  
  
• I've had a decent amount of issues with the tracking being finicky, but it very well could be fixable. (Objects tend to go out of frame over time, even when aligned. This happens most often when I tell it to go somewhere, or when I recently moved it with the arrow buttons. I do find that if I leave the telescope alone for a few minutes to let it "catch up" to its new position in the sky it can keep the object pretty solidly in the frame though.)
  
  
• Because of its mount type (Alt-Az) and its somewhat finicky tracking, this telescope is not good for DSO photography. Keep in mind it is definitely possible to get great images of DSOs with it, but it's a lot harder and if photographing them is your main goal then I wouldn't recommend the 8SE. (Here's a thread I found, in which some of the posts go into more detail about the issues I was talking about.) I bought the 8SE mainly for planetary photography, so this isn't an issue for me.
  
  
• With a star diagonal in, the telescope can't point above 70-80 degrees or so, which can be a pain depending on what you're looking at. You can fix this by moving the tube up on the fork arm more. I have heard that makes the tracking less stable because it's slightly off balanced, so I don't keep it that way, but it is an option.
  
  
  
  Hope this helped! And my apologies if you knew a lot of this already.

I want this stellar poster so bad. I figure the odds of winning are astronomical.

If you want something more practical, this is an AC power supply for my telescope.

I bought this telescope too on Prime Day. I'm also researching what accessories are recommended. So here's something I didn't know. The GOTO computer thingy runs on 8 AA batteries. If your moving around a lot, the batteries get toasted pretty quickly. Turns out we can get a rechargeable lithium ion battery pack for about $30.00.

There's also the option AC adapter for about $20.00. Celestron sells a "Power Tank" power source, but that doesn't seem like such a good purchase.

If you need to update the software on the GOTO system, apparently Celestron didn't include the needed cable. That's another $14.00. But the thing is, that cable is an ancient 9 pin interface, and isn't compatible with a lot of laptops. You may also need an adapter for another $14.00. Or you can opt for the Wifi adapter for $90.00.

To set the computer up, you need to manually enter a lot of data about your location. Once you power down, the data is lost. Celestron has this GPS device which seems to have pretty good reviews.

That's a lot of accessories. Not sure what exactly I've gotten myself into. I just wanted to stargaze. lol

Thanks! If you do end up going with this telescope, I'd recommend getting the AC adapter especially if you plan on doing backyard astronomy as it doesn't come with one.
I'm also looking into buying a solar filter eventually.