Brilliant engineering, cheap execution, poor support
Pros:
Useful for astronomy students at any level, truly amazing technology, fun (when it works)
Cons:
Cheaply made, no lens caps, eats batteries, unacceptable customer support from manufacturer
The Bottom Line:
I love the device, but hate the manufacturer for their cavalier support practices. I will keep it (when I get a replacement). Judge for yourself.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
I ordered a SkyScout the day it was reviewed in the Wall Street Journal. It seemed like such amazing technology that I had to have it.
Three months later I received it, tore open the box, followed the directions. Turned it on. Waited for the GPS to acquire satellite signals. Waited for the GPS to Acquire satellite signals. And waited, and waited...After an hour it actually DID acquire once. But at that point the batteries died, so I had to start over. Despite several hours of trying (using 3 sets of batteries), it never got a GPS fix again.
I put in new batteries again, entered my coordinates manually (using a Garmin handheld GPS, which acquired immediately). At this point it was awesome, living up to the rave review in the WSJ. Picked a bright star, pressed Identify, centered it in the viewfinder, and was told it was Vega, with lots of details. Used the Locate feature to find Polaris; you just follow the blinking arrows in the viewfinder. I tried the audio feature, but was mildly disappointed to find that it has audio for only 200 of the 6000 objects it "knows".
When it works it is a wonderful toy^H^H^H serious tool for amateur astronomers. (Pros would know most of what it can tell, but it would still be a nice adjunct to a telescope.)
As a followup to the GPS problem I called the dealer I purchased it from (telescopes.com). They said they had several reports of GPS problems, and sent me a return shipping label to exchange it, although they said it might be a while before I get it because it is backordered. I also called Celestron, and they immediately offered to replace it, but wanted me to pay the return shipping. While I would have gotten a replacement sooner, on principle I was not willing to pay for Celestron's poor quality control.
