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Showing results for tags 'ioptron'.
Found 21 results
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I bought this mount, from FLO, at the beginning of January 2020. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/ioptron-mounts/ioptron-smartstar-cubepro-az-mount.html These comments are after a month's occasional use. I already have a selection of Celestron & Skywatcher (Synta) GoTo mounts, but I wanted something smaller for a grab-and-go with quick setup. Overall I am very pleased with my choice. The GPS locks in a few tens of seconds, and the mount emits a short "beep" to indicate the lock (the top-right corner of the display also changes from "ON" to "OK"). Provided that the mount is pointing towards its designated starting Az & Alt positions, (see below), the automated slew to the selected target is accurate and, after final centring, tracking is excellent. It is very quick and easy for solar white-light observing when there is a gap in the clouds. The single object alignment (2 and 3 object alignment is also available) is ideal for daytime, when only the Sun is visible. The mount incorporates a holder for 8-off 1.5V AA cells, and there is a socket for a 12V, 2.1mm ID/5.5mm OD power jack. I have measured the current consumption. Initially (no tracking) it is between 75 & 90mA; whilst tracking, between 90 and 130mA; 2-axis slewing at maximum rate, up to 470mA; and 2-axis slewing at 128x standard rate is about 155mA (about 10mA less if only 1 axis). Generally, the standard zinc/manganese dioxide "alkaline" cells have a capacity between 1700 and 2850mAh. The manual indicates a supply range of 10V to 14V and >1.5A (the supplied PSU is rated at 1.5A - so, in theory, out of spec!). The mount has a 3/8" - 16 UNC internal thread (heavy duty tripod), and is coupled to the top of the tripod by a long, captive, bolt. The tripod's legs are locked in position by rotating a plastic tray (with holes for 3 off 1.25" eyepieces) similar to the Synta ones. There are a few areas with significant differences to my other Celestron and Skywatcher mounts, and other "features" of note:- (1) The Cube's dovetail clamp is on the right, whereas on the Synta mounts it is on the left. Thus any Synta OTA is going to be upside down on the cube. This is not a problem with most focusers, but the finder is now bottom right, and A RACI with eyepiece facing downwards, is unusable. The OTA from my Heritage 130p has the helical focuser pointing directly downwards (I believe it is possible to remove and reverse the truss tubes, but then that would make the OTA incompatible with my other mounts). The 127mm Mak from my Skymax system is right at the top end of the mount's OTA-weight range, and I have glued a second finder shoe at 180 degrees to the original, so I can use my 6x30 RACI finder. I have a Celestron C90 Mak. spotting scope, designed to go on a tripod, and this works fine with the cube - the finder moving from top left to top right. (2) The supplied system includes a 12V 1.5A mains PSU. This supply is a small block with a permanently-attached mains input lead. This lead has a "European" small, round-pin, (incompatible with standard UK socket) mains plug. It has similar spacing to the plugs supplied with UK shavers and electric toothbrush re-chargers, but, the pins on the supply are of a smaller diameter. I tried the plug in two plug-in shaver adapters; there was no problem with electrical contact, but it was far too easy to dislodge the plug with a small movement of the lead; easy to disconnect in the dark (leads and supply are black). I cut off the plug and fitted a UK BS1363 square-pin plug. (3) With my Synta AZ/Alt systems, the default starting position is with the OTA pointing North and the OTA level or pointing to the NCP (Virtuoso Dob. mount). With the Cube The default starting position is with the mount facing South, and the OTA/dovetail clamp, vertical. This makes it far more difficult to attach the OTA. With a horizontal dovetail clamp, the clamp supports most of the weight of the OTA, and just requires a gentle push to adjust the OTA's dovetail plate position in the clamp. With a vertical clamp, you have to support the full weight of the OTA + any clamp-to-plate friction. I have found a solution that seems to work for me. Unlike the Synta system, the Cube remembers the mount's position at power-down. So, at the end of a session, I slew the mount to AZ 180 degrees, Alt to 0 degrees, and then power down. The mount seems to accept this as a starting point for the next session. (I have yet to try the Az at zero [= North] end/restart setting). (4) The initial "South" starting point is more difficult than North, (no Polaris equivalent) and the mount has a strong stray magnetic field, so you cannot use a magnetic compass near it. I have found the best method is to use a compass to identify an object (roof/tree/pole) roughly due South, point the OTA's finder at the object, tighten the tripod's mounting bolt, swing the OTA vertical (spirit level across objective end shroud/ dew shield), and tighten the Alt knob/balance weight shaft. Remove spirit level - its a long way down to a concrete paving slab when the mount slews! (5) The Cube mount relies on a level tripod for its initial accuracy. However, the little bubble level incorporated in my mount was not well aligned. With a leveled tripod, using a "good" builder's spirit level, the mount's bubble was off-centre, with one edge of the bubble touching the black line. I got round this by putting a Tipp-ex white blob on the level's glass, positioned to just cover a properly-leveled bubble, and leveling is now just a game of "Hide the bubble". (6) Some of the advertising photos show the handset as though it is attached to one leg of the tripod. There is no way of doing this with the supplied kit. The handset has a little lanyard, and there is a small raised "button" on the North face of the Cube. The lanyard slips easily over the button, and is a reliable "dock" for the handset. However, both the lanyard and the button are black, so in the dark, it is difficult to find the button, and ensure that the lanyard's loop is open and correctly positioned. I made a tripod-leg docking clamp, similar to the ones supplied with the Synta tripods. I find the lanyard is best for daytime solar, and the (home made) docking clamp for night use. (7) The Alt axis drive is from a sleeve on the main Alt shaft. The coupling is performed either by the locking knob, or by the end of the balance weight shaft. In both cases, the drive is through metal-to-metal friction with the end of the drive sleeve. There is no compliance in this coupling, so a minor release movement completely unlocks the drive. I have added a thin fibre washer (of a type often used in plumbing joints) to absorb any minor changes due to temperature or a nudge on the OTA. It's still not the same as an adjustable clutch, but it seems to stop inadvertent release (and associated loss of alignment). When I have a few suitable photos, I will add these as an edit. Photos now added. 90mm Mak from Virtuoso system and Ioptron-supplied 1.4kg counterweight. Note "glow-in-the-dark" tape added on mount's lanyard attachment button, handset, eyepiece tray and tripod legs. DIY docking clamp for handset - in dark, easier to use than lanyard. Skymax 127mm Mak and 3.5kg counterweight from SkyTee mount. Note, extra finder shoe (the black one) on OTA, so RACI finder works. 127mm Mak in "zero" position. Note that you are fighting gravity when sliding the OTA into the dovetail clamp. Cosmos 90mm refractor and 1.4kg counterweight. Note upside-down position of RDF and focus adjustment shaft. Heritage 130P OTA showing focus tube facing downwards. Geoff
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I have decided to sell my Cem-120 mount as i got a second hand AP 1100 GTO from my friend who got a new AP 1600 with encoders its just under a year old bought from Altair Astro so still under two year warranty is in mint cont i couldn't miss the opportunity to get AP 1100 GTO and let it go still waiting for pier plate for mount. So theirs no point in keeping two large mounts after i got my dream final mount buyer will pay shipping price is 2150 pounds. Altair Astro price without Ipolar Camera is 3250 pounds without Ipolar Camera which is 200 pounds total 3450 pounds -
Hi everyone, I decided to sell my iOptron iPolar, that is currently mounted on my SkyGuider Pro. I only used it a couple times so it's like new. Since I'm now using another mount, and will probably sell my SkyGuider eventually, I no longer need the iPolar. Please note that it isn't compatible with other mounts, mainly because the USB slot is on the back of the camera, not on its side. Price is £150, including shipping from Munich, Germany. Payment via Paypal or bank transfer. Please let me know if you have any question or if you need pictures! Thanks!
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I have recently bought an iOptron GEM45 (from FLO) and I am a bit mystified by the Zero Position. The hand control gives you the options of "Goto Zero Position" and also "Search Zero Position", but they appear to do the same thing! Does the mount have sensors like the Home position of a Paramount, which sets the axes to an exact hardware position, or is it something else? I guess this is the same for other iOptron EQ mounts so maybe a skilled user can enligten me. Many thanks Chris
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Hey all, I'm considering and tempted by an iOptron CEM25P. Just wondering if there's any owners (current or former - for any reason) who can share their experiences with this? I intend on buying it new, so a substantial wedge to drop. Many thanks
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The postman was kind to me today and dropped off a William Optics Zenithstar 61 and Flat61A flattener and the gods smiled on me with clear skies for 30 minutes. It would be a shame not to christen the new toys I only managed 10 lights so I didn't even consider darks or flats. The 10 lights from the Canon 5D MkIV, shot at iso 1600 x 60 seconds, were stacked and aligned in PS, median filtered for some noise reduction and then a few layer/curves tweaks to pull out some basic detail so I could look at the star profiles and and any vignetting. Overall impression is extremely good build quality and the focusing through the mask is ok on very bright stars but quite a challenge on lesser star magnitudes. Very little vignetting through the imaging train so the image circle cover the full frame sensor and it will be simple to either remove the gradients in PS or use flats and sharp stars corner to corner with no obvious colour aberrations. I do need to check where the weird smudges are in the imaging train because they weren't on the camera sensor yesterday, hopefully I'll find them pretty quickly because they are nasty! Screenshots are also included of APT focusing, Stellarium for the imaging area after plate solving in APT and then PHD2 for the guiding with the ZWO ASI120mm-mini camera on a ZWO 30mm f/4 scope (I've no idea if the guiding is good or bad but the polar alignment was achieved with the iPolar camera in the SkyGuider Pro mount I think at some point I'll add an 2" IDAS D2 filter into the imaging train and see if I can counter some local light pollution we have around here.- 8 replies
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Hiya, I recently treated myself to the iOptron SkyTracker and tried it out for the first the the other night. I kept getting star trails (which I later realised may have been due to the fact that I had it set to half speed! Silly me!) But I also had a lot of trouble with the polar alignment and I feel that, even if I had had it set to the correct speed, I still would have been getting star trails... These are the steps I went through, can anyone tell me if I am doing something wrong? I levelled my tripod and faced the tracker towards North I set my latitude to around 56 for the UK (Perth)... am I right in thinking that Polaris should then be within the field of view if I just pan my tripod around? This is where I think I messed up, as I couldn't find Polaris anywhere and had to significantly increase the latitude to find (what I thought) was Polaris. Did I maybe not level my tripod properly at the beginning? I was in such a rush to start imaging, that I probably didn't pay enough attention when I was setting it up! I used a polar alignment app and placed 'Polaris' (in hindsight I think it might have just been a random star that I thought looked decent enough ) where it was meant to be... but I just got rubbish pictures... So if anyone has any advice, I'd be very grateful!! Also, if anyone has any images taken with the iOptron SkyTracker and wouldn't mind sharing them, I'd love to have a look! I live in a fairly light polluted area and my first target was Andromeda... not the best combination, but is it still possible to get a semi-decent picture? Thanks! -
This is the original iOptron Sky Tracker. Comes with the polarscope, case and manual. In excellent condition. Please note this is NOT the v2 version which has the azimuth adjustment - I used a panoramic head to adjust the azimuth. Although this model has been superseded by the v2 and now the pro versions it still tracks extremely well provided you get it polar aligned (just the same can be said for the newer models). However as this is the older model I'm selling it at for just £95 including postage within the UK Payment via paypal (sorry, you pay the fee or send as gift) or bank transfer. -
I’ve been having issues with platesolving using Platesolve2 and my Ioptron IEQ30PRO Mount, I’m connecting using the Ioptron Commander Ascom driver. I’m using Maxim DL5 to locate and image via the Planetarium section. When the Maxim platesolving fails, especially when I’ve just started in a new location, I need to use Platesolve2, which is installed as an add on. Unfortunately I can never sync once it’s finished platesolving as the telescope disconnects at some point in the process. I only use the above setup at Star parties. At home I have an observatory with Eqmod running an eq6. I don’t have any problem using Platesolve2 in a Maxim. I was wondering if I should be connecting using POTH in between Maxim and the telescope driver. I don’t generally connect a planetarium programme now I use platesolving but I want to use The Sky6 to help with camera orientation in the future. As I understand it Eqmod will act as a hub allowing this but Ioptron Commander won’t. This may be why I have issues when using my Ioptron Mount. Can someone confirm that I’ve understood the process correctly, please? Anne
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This very useful upgrade kit will give you full Goto when added to an EQ5 or Vixen GP type mount. This is an extract from the instructions: The GoToNova® dual axis GOTO upgrading kit is available for the EQ5-like mounts (144 teeth). The kit is compatible with the following mounts: EQ5, Vixen Great Polaris (GP), Orion SkyView Pro, Celestron CG-5, Meade LDX55/LDX75 and Astro-5. The kit may also be used on the older Vixen Super Polaris (SP) with some more modification to the housing. I am selling it because I now have an AZEQ5 so do not need it any more. It is in good condition, fully functional and works very well. It is easy to fit to a Vixen GP mount (I have done this), and should be similar on an EQ5. The others I have no experience of. The hand controller has a nice clear display showing good detail of what is going on and making it easy to use. It will connect to SkyFi type systems to allow control from a smartphone/iPad via SkySafari for instance. Full instructions here: https://www.altairastro.com/public/ioptron/GoToNovaKitV20.pdf Looking for £200 Plus postage via PayPal fees paid or bank transfer. Photos at the weekend! Cheers, Stu NB Now also on ABS. Will resort to eBay at some point too!
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iOptron has improved what was already my favorite portable AP mount. The CEM25P now actually guarantees a periodic error of less than +/- 10 arc sec, which guarantee, as far as I know, is unprecedented for this category/price (£799 currently at Altair Astro). You can read my full review here, although with the winter weather I have only managed a couple of decent sessions. Overall, it includes some improvements over its predecessors ZEQ25 and CEM25, while retaining the amazing lift/weight ratio it is known for and my unit does actually show a PE that is well bellow the specified +/- 10" (less than 2 cycles were recorded, so if I record more to remove non-PE noise it might be even less):
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From the album: DoctorD's Photos
Photo of Minitower II control board showing revised electronics and surface mount capacitors. -
I had bought this in the hope that i will do astro trips more often. Hasn't happened and i use my avx at home. So this is not finding much use. An extremely portable setup, the mount with weight and tripod leg spreader fits in a shoe box. The stock nuts have been replaced by winged nuts for easy grip in the dark. One of the tripod's legs suffered a slight damage, but I've taped it well and does not affect its performance. I will include the computer connecting cable as well as polemaster adapter. You can read its review here: http://www.altairastro.com/public/ioptron/Skyatnight_95_april2013_ioptron_smartEQPRO-review.pdf Will prefer pickup from London as the postage may be tricky due to the tripod £250.00
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Hello to all, I have got a chance of going for a IOptron CEM25P that I want to use in my back garden. I also would like to take it on my travels around the UK and possibly abroad. I have organised a deal for this mount together with an 80 mm triplet refractor and guide scope. I can order the mount with 1.5” or 2” legs; weight difference is about 3kg for the heavier version, extra cost about £100. I just wondered if anyone could advise if the 1.5” legs would be good enough and stay stable in the wind? Does anyone own this mount and have either of the two sizes of legs? I would love to hear your experiences before I finally put in the order. May I thank you in advance if you can offer any help. Cheers!
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I bought a new CEM25P and just spend two nights trying to get it to track. I've had many GEM mounts over the last 30 years, so I thought this would easy. But it seems that either I have a problem with the mount, or I am getting old. I leveled, balanced, and polar aligned the mount well. Then I attached a guide scope. I did NOT attach the cable from the guidescope to mount. I also did not attach the mount to my computer. This way I could watch stars drift and get an idea of was going on with just the mount. I checked the CEM25's tracking rate, and it is set to sidereal. LAT/LONG and perfect. Time accurate. Next, I watched stars drift on my laptop using PHD. When the mount is turned on, and tracking turned ON - the stars move somewhat quickly in RA. Like they are slewing slowly. When I turn OFF the tracking (zero key) they still drift, but a little slower. When I turn off the power to the mount, of course the stars drift, but at slower rate still - normal sidereal rate. When I turn the power back on the stars drift a little faster. Turn the tracking back on, and they drift faster still. But when I set the slew speed to 2x, and press and hold down the left arrow key, and the stars STOP drifting. Perfect tracking. Thanks for any advice! CF
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Hi, having recently upgraded to a telescope I no longer require my iOptron SkyTracker 3302W. I purchased it from WEX Photographic & to be honest, I have only used it in anger 3 or 4 times because of time constraints. It is in perfect working order in original packaging & box as seen in the pic below. A word of warning that I found out through trial and error is that unless you use exceptional quality batteries, tracking time & accuracy will be compromised. The unit does however have a 12v input & I used a Celestron Car Battery Adapter cable to power the Tracker but any 12v supply that ends with a male 2.1mm center positive cable will do. Full specs are available here: http://www.ioptron.com/product-p/3302w.htm Due to the weight 1.7kg I would have to post the item via Royal Mail Special Delivery - Guaranteed by 1pm next day, this is reflected in the post price. So, price: £190.00 collected £200.00 posted (UK only: UK services cover the Highlands and Islands, Scilly Isles and the Isle of Man but not the Channel Islands) Sensible offers may be considered. Payment via Bank Transfer prior to posting or cash if collecting in person , (finer details to be discussed via PM after sale agreed, as per forum rules). LISTED FOR SALE ELSEWHERE Any questions I'll try to answer as quickly as possible. Thanks
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Hi. Has anyone used this mount. Sky at night magazine gave it very good review, but elsewhere I read stories of tracking issues. How would you rate it compared to an heq5? If have an 80 mm Ed scope most likely to be used for AP, but I would like option to observe visually with an 8" newt. I Suspect the latter would overload it? Thanks Mark
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Now this is the way to ring in the New Year. I took advantage of our unseasonal like crystal clear skies we are enjoying and forgo the traditional festivities and spend it under the stars. I was finally able to make another dream come true and at last image the Orion Nebula with my iOptron Zmount and AT65EDQ. With an amazing 5 hour session that wrapped up at about 3 in the morning here's the results. Let me know what you think of the processing. 15x5 seconds, 15x30 seconds, 15x120 seconds, 15x300 seconds. Each series went thru DSS and then blended together in PS4 and tweeked in LR4. The ORION Nebula by Leveye, on Flickr
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I have been loving my Celestron Nexstar 8SE scope for viewing the night sky and am starting to think about getting my next scope to use for imaging. I bought a copy of 'Making Every Photon Count' a week or two back and have just finished reading it (very well written book ) and I am now thinking about what my options are. I have already ordered an INOVA PLB-MX Mono planetary camera to have a play with on my Nexstar to see how things go with imaging the Moon / Jupiter / Saturn & Mars. This camera should arrive tomorrow. I have also ordered and received a set of LRGBC Baader filters and filter wheel. I am hoping that these items will give me a good indication to if I am going to enjoy doing this sort of thing, or if it just going to irritate me that I can't get the computer software to work . I spent over the odds on this camera as if I do enjoy doing this sort of imaging, this camera should be a reasonable starting point for some DSO with my new scope (see later), and if I get really serious about things, it should hopefully proved to be a good investment as a auto-guiding camera. So, on to what I need to get; the mount and scope. First thing is I want some thing which is portable and pretty quick and easy to set-up. As I have already got a filter wheel and a decent set of LRGBC Baader filters, the scope must accept a 1.25" adaptor, as I do not want to re-buy this sort of thing in 2". My idea of a good night would be to spend 30 minutes setting up the imaging scope / camera / laptop and leave it taking some photos while I set up the 8SE next to it and spend 2 - 3 hours viewing the night sky. I then pack up the lot and spend the next five cloudy / wet nights processing the images I have taken. With all this in mind, this is what I have though of as being a good option which should (hopefully) keep me going for a fair while:- Mount - iOptron ZEQ25GT. This seems to have got some good reviews, fits the portable bracket and is not too expensive (in the grand scheme of things). The one thing which concerns me is not all that many people seem to have one, which could be because it is fairly new and not all that well known, or it could be because it is not that good? What do people think of this mount, and what else should I be considering? Scope - 80mm F6 Super ED Triplet Apo 80/480 Altair Wave Series 2014. I have seen some nice images taken with this scope, and logic would say that it was a good match for the iOptron mount. Again, it fits the portable criteria, but I am sure that there are lots of other scopes which also do this. Does this seem like a reasonable choice and what else should I be considering. So, these are my thoughts. I am in no real rush as as I have said, I want to see how I get on with some planetary / luna imaging over the next few weeks before I take the next step; assuming we get some breaks in the clouds that is. Do my initial choices seem reasonable and how would you do this different, assuming a max budget of £2k (looking to buy new, not second hand). All views / comments welcomed. Cheers, Dave
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Due to to a combination of a change of shift pattern at work&a shoulder opI had last year Im reluctantly putting up my imaging setup for sale.It comprises of the following: 1. Ioptron ZEQ25GT with custom made CWs and extendable shaft,custom made pier head adapter with materials to make a DIY pier 2. SW 200PDS with rotating ring and secondary dew heater 3. Optistar AR80S Dual Speed 4. Modified Canon 350D with charger and battery 5. Astronomic CLS CCD 2" filter 6. SW Coma Corrector 7. Astronomiser 10m cable(for camera control) 8. QHY 5-II camera with guide scope adapter 9. Hotech Laser Collimator 10. Phillips SPC900(not in original casing) 11.DIY dew heaters and control unit 12.Bahtinov masks for both scopes Comes in a flight case and a few other bits and pieces that you see in the photos.I've attached a photo of The Witches Broom which i took with this setup,photoshop not being of of my best skills £1300 ovno -
Finally received my QHY5l-II from Astronomia so had a go at setting up PHD2 last night/this morning.Finding stars with this camera was easy compare to the SPC900! Equipment used: iOptron ZEQ25GT,SW 200PDS with an Optistar AR80/QHY5l-II piggy backed,default settings in PHD2.Once locked onto a star it all then went pete tongue,the graph below tells the story of my 1st attempt,the RA just dropped off the scale! So after this I altered the counter weight on the mount which gave me this graph,maybe get the balance better on the mount? Then the dec went 'off course' for some reason? Managed a 5 minute sub with this but compared to some graphs I've seen this isn't right! Any tips etc much appreciated!
