Argo Navis and Servo Cat or are there alternatives?

[Mike73]

Ahh ok.

Has it really dropped that much in price then? I've been looking at this which is $249

http://www.astrodevices.com/products/Nexus/Nexus.html

[Mike73]

Just noticed that price is US $ !

[Dreadz]

Just noticed that price is US $ !

£169 delivered but import duty will add a bit onto that. Pretty good price - Argo Navis is easily twice that! Setting circle and wixey will likely go on my skiliner but think Nexus will definitely be going on whichever big dob I buy

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[Scooot]

Ahh ok.

Has it really dropped that much in price then? I've been looking at this which is $249

http://www.astrodevices.com/products/Nexus/Nexus.html

just checked, I paid £430 for it Doh, but that included everything, the unit, cables, encoders, and mounting kit. It might be one reason why they're not supplying anymore as it's so difficult to compete with buying directly from Oz. I'm still very pleased I bought it.

[astronymonkey]

So is that "push to" or driven/goto .... and am I right in thinking that its driven direct from an App on a phone or tablet ?

cheers

[Scooot]

So is that "push to" or driven/goto .... and am I right in thinking that its driven direct from an App on a phone or tablet ?

 

cheers

Its totally Push to, no motors. There's 1 cable from each encoder to the Nexus unit and you connect wirelessly to the Nexus unit with your phone or tablet. From then on you push the scope, and the curser on the sky chart in Sky Safari shows you where your scope is pointing.

[Dreadz]

So is that "push to" or driven/goto .... and am I right in thinking that its driven direct from an App on a phone or tablet ?

cheers

Its push to but the readout shows you your position on the app or computer program. If your on android seems your choice is limited to sky safari, didn't look at ios or pc as I'd be using my phone exclusively. First impression of skysafari though is that the database seems pretty extensive.

You can add servo cat to make it goto but that's going to add a fair lump to the cost. (£1.5-2k to be more accurate! )

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[Dreadz]

Scooot beat me to it

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[faulksy]

Ahh ok.

Has it really dropped that much in price then? I've been looking at this which is $249

http://www.astrodevices.com/products/Nexus/Nexus.html

same one as mine mike and richards

[Mike73]

Thats a cracking price for what you get! I was thinking of getting another decent 10x60 finder but Nexus will do better for a few extra quid, bit of a no brainer me thinks.

[faulksy]

mike i dont even use my finder anymore, apart from doing the alignment i then use my device

[Scooot]

One of the things I like is you can highlight the contents of observing lists on the screen with little blue circles. Then you just move your scope on to the blue circle you fancy. You can do it with built in catalogues, messiers, NGC's, etc or you can make up your own list.

[faulksy]

i didnt no that, you can teach me at dobfest

[Scooot]

i didnt no that, you can teach me at dobfest

in sky safari, press search, select a list say messiers, press settings top left, turn on the highlight objects button top right, press back then done.

now all the messiers are highlighted on the screen.

[faulksy]

in sky safari, press search, select a list say messiers, press settings top left, turn on the highlight objects button top right, press back then done.

now all the messiers are highlighted on the screen.

thats brilliant, just done it now, i take it you can do it with any you select and all

[Scooot]

thats brilliant, just done it now, i take it you can do it with any you select and all

Yep and any you make up. I use ''tonights best'' quite a lot because I'm a bit lazy an don't make up a lot. Once you have a list highlighted a new icon appears in the middle of the screen at the bottom, tap this and it takes you straight back to the list so you can easily turn it off again if you want to highlight something else.

If you go on southern stars website you can also import some of theirs. they've got some good double star lists and a host of other stuff.

[faulksy]

i seen the icon and pressed it like you say and back to lists, brilliant, thanks richard

[Mike73]

How long does your ipad/iphone battery last when your connected to Nexus with wifi? Does it make any real difference?

[Scooot]

How long does your ipad/iphone battery last when your connected to Nexus with wifi? Does it make any real difference?

I'm usually only out 2 or 3 hours and never had a problem, I think it would easily last the night if it was fully charged. I have put a screen cover on the ipad to help protect it from dew and scratches whilst outside. I also use a grabbit handle to carry it

http://www.ipadgrabbit.com/

[astronymonkey]

Its push to but the readout shows you your position on the app or computer program. If your on android seems your choice is limited to sky safari, didn't look at ios or pc as I'd be using my phone exclusively. First impression of skysafari though is that the database seems pretty extensive.

You can add servo cat to make it goto but that's going to add a fair lump to the cost. (£1.5-2k to be more accurate! )

Sent from my GTi9300 using random spelling mistake generator!!!!

I thought the few hundred quid seemed cheap if it was goto as the 1.5 - 2k price was what I had seen in the past.

I think these systems are going to move on hugely in the next few years, both fitted as standard and as add on kit. Encoders are pretty cheap these days and software that allows a motor to move the scope to a preset encoder reading isnt too hard to do meaning the prices are likely to drop as more and more systems become avaiable.

If you go back a few years push to on a dob was unheard of , then I think Orion did their XX14i and then the flextubes came along with driven versions. I think meade will be next in line as the lightbridge is due an upgrade and drive systems will become cheaper and cheaper

[faulksy]

4-5 hours, but thats the beauty of the nexus, if you use a small external 12v battery you can charge your phone of it at the same time as you use it, via usb lead

[Mike73]

I dont think I'II be able to fit Nexus to my Canopus, you need 33mm clearance between the base and the mirror box for the azi encoder and I just dont think I have it. I may be able to gain some space somehow but if its too much trouble then I just wont bother.

I think thats worth remembering though Dreadz if you do order a Sumerian and plan on fitting Nexus yourself, just let Michael know and he will probably make sure theres enough room.

[Dreadz]

@Mike73 there must be some way of fitting it. Am sure I saw pics on the Sumerian site of the canopus with a few different dsc/servo cat combo's.

Ironically I thought my mind was pretty much made up on my choice of scope but aperture fever is pushing me to go bigger and if the budget allows that would mean sumerian would be out for me. Shame really as they're beautiful scopes

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[Mike73]

@Mike73 there must be some way of fitting it. Am sure I saw pics on the Sumerian site of the canopus with a few different dsc/servo cat combo's.

Ironically I thought my mind was pretty much made up on my choice of scope but aperture fever is pushing me to go bigger and if the budget allows that would mean sumerian would be out for me. Shame really as they're beautiful scopes

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Michael has just sent me a pdf with some pics of a Nexus system fitted to a Alkaid so its doable. Its a little different to my Canopus though, my centre collimation screw would clip the encoder so I may just need to get a smaller screw or at worse raise the height of the alt bearings by about 5mm.

As much as I think Nexus is a good thing if I were you I'd put all my money into getting as bigger aperture as you can afford and some decent EP's. Get the views right and you can always come back and add this sort of thing later.

[Dreadz]

Michael has just sent me a pdf with some pics of a Nexus system fitted to a Alkaid so its doable. Its a little different to my Canopus though, my centre collimation screw would clip the encoder so I may just need to get a smaller screw or at worse raise the height of the alt bearings by about 5mm.

As much as I think Nexus is a good thing if I were you I'd put all my money into getting as bigger aperture as you can afford and some decent EP's. Get the views right and you can always come back and add this sort of thing later.

That was my intention. Pump as much money as possible into optics. If i was to add the servo cat drive it would be at a later date although I'm tempted to get Nexus straight off the bat given how reasonably priced it is. All depends on my final budget.

Be interested to hear how it goes if you do install nexus on your scope though.