Celestron Dew Heater System In
January 2022,
Celestron introduced a line of dew heater products for SCT
and EdgeHD optical tubes. The product line is anchored by two "smart"
controller units:
The controllers have multiple connections (2 on the 2X, 4 on the 4X) for a variety of new Celestron dew heater rings (sold separately) sized for 5, 6, 8, 9.25,11 and 14-inch SCT telescope tubes. Celestron also states third-party heating elements can be used. A thermistor (heat sensor, also sold separately) is available and recommended to monitor the temperature of each heater in real-time. The final new additions are aluminum dew shields with built-in cord management for the heaters and thermistor. The dew shields are available for Celestron's 6, 8, 9.25,11 and 14-inch SCT telescope tubes.
The 2X controller has two AUX ports - one for connecting to the mount, the other for connecting other Celestron accessories (hand control, GPS module, etc.) The 4X controller has three AUX ports - one for connecting to the mount, the other two for additional Celestron accessories.
One last key feature of both the 2X and 4X is a built-in mount that clamps unto the telescope tube's CG-5 (Vixen) or CGE (Losmandy) dovetail rail. Alternately, they can be strapped onto a tripod leg. See Celestron's website (www.Celestron.com) for more details. Just use the search feature to look for "dew".
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The
"smart" aspect is that the system monitors ambient temperature and humidity and
adjusts power to the dew heaters automatically. Additionally, you can
control the system via a NexStar+ or StarSense hand control (update to the latest
firmware to add the new dew heater options to the Menu) or Celestron's
In
addition to powering and controlling up to 4 heaters, the 4X controller includes
a couple of additional features. First, there is a built-in USB version
3.2 hub with three powered USB-A ports. These ports can be used to connect
devices such as cameras for both data and power. Second, there are four
12VDC power jacks (one is adjustable to lower voltages) for powering cameras and
other scope-mounted accessories.
