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The NexStar User's Guide II - Excerpt from Chapter 3

StarSense Hand Control

Introduced with the SkyProdigy series of auto-aligning telescopes in 2011, this hand control is also shipped as part of the StarSense AutoAlign accessory kit. StarSense is not compatible with the original NexStar 5/8, the NexStar 5i/8i, the NexStar GPS series nor the NexStar GT series (other than the special models which ship with a NexStar+ hand control as discussed in the previous section). This hand control must be used in conjunction with the StarSense AutoAlign camera or a SkyProdigy mount. It is identifiable by the StarSense label just below the LCD display.

The original StarSense hand control (Figure 3.12) had an RJ-22 serial port jack (looks like a phone jack) on the bottom for connecting an external computer or laptop to the scope. In April 2016 Celestron started shipping an updated version of the hand control with a USB port on the bottom (Figure 3.13). More details about these connections will be discussed in Chapter 7. Celestron sells this new USB hand control as a separate item (part number 93999). The serial port version was not sold separately. Unlike the NexStar+, there are not separate firmware versions for alt-az and equatorial mounts - the single firmware version handles both types.


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