Vixen GP mount - GotoNova upgrade

[Stu]

This was a bit of an impulse purchase from ABS! Having recently picked up a nice Vixen GP mount, I fancied being able to use it with SkySafari via a SkyFi box.

The GP came with MT1 motors which as far as I'm aware are not compatible with the SkySensor 2000 PC controllers, so I needed to change the motors anyway.

The GotoNova kit came with two replacement Servo motors with optical encoders, a handset with eight line display, the gears and bolts to install it, plus cabling and power lead. Installing it was fairly straightforward, although I did find it fiddly getting the RA motor installed and aligned correctly. The covers are black, somewhat spooling the lovely green finish of the GP, but I will live with that.

Once installed, I checked everything was working, and it all seems fine. The motors are quieter, and also have a much faster slew rate than the MT1s which is great. It means I don't have to keep undoing the clutches to get anywhere fast!

I had no idea if the setup would easily work with SkySafari. The iOptron handset has a USB connection on the bottom, so I simply plugged a cable into it, and connected it to the SkyFi unit. I connected via WiFi to the SkyFi network, powered on, opened SkySafari and connected to the scope and away it went, synchronising with the position that the mount was in. I now have slewing from my phone and Goto control with all the ease of SkySafari. Brilliant! Might be able to keep up with some of Nick's target lists now!! ??

All I need to do now is check it out properly at night with an accurate align procedure, but so far it looks good! The GP is a nice lightweight mount, suitable for grab and go so will be regularly used hopefully both at home and at my club nights.

Photos to follow.

[chiltonstar]

Hmm.....I'm interested too Stu (also to keep up/exceed Nick's count). What sort of cost are we talking about in the UK?

Chris

[Stu]

I'll keep you posted in this thread about how it actually performs, accuracy etc. First impressions good though. I'm not sure if there is a UK supplier of these though

[Stu]

I guess the alternative is a Synscan Upgrade kit?... Not sure what the differences are

[Alkaid]

I used to have an older Gotonova kit on an EQ5, mine was very sensitive to initial star allignment. Be very interested to hear how you get on.

 

[Stu]

58 minutes ago, Alkaid said:

I used to have an older Gotonova kit on an EQ5, mine was very sensitive to initial star allignment. Be very interested to hear how you get on.

 

Thanks very much for the inform. Any tips to assist, or is it just a case of making sure you are accurate with the alignment of each star?

Is there a particular home position? Can't seem to see one in the instructions for the three star align.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I added a dual motor system to my GP mount (great little mount) that does support guiding, but no go-to. Works well, and if I decide to go the synscan route, all I need is another controller (quite a bit more expensive). I have heard that that combo works well, however

[Alkaid]

On 23 March 2016 at 19:23, Stu said:

Thanks very much for the inform. Any tips to assist, or is it just a case of making sure you are accurate with the alignment of each star?

Is there a particular home position? Can't seem to see one in the instructions for the three star align.

I found that I had to get really accurate star centering but admitedly I did not have a reticule eyepiece. My goto's were off by a fair bit I am afraid. Having said that, it was an old one and newer ones might be much better. I always polar aligned as best I could but never had much luck. Finally it died one night. Sorry to report such a negative story! I am on holiday now for two weeks abroad, if you have any questions please put them up, I will be happy to answer as soon as I return.

[Alkaid]

Any luck with it Stu?

 

[Stu]

Hi,

I've not used it at night yet, but the tracking on the sun seems really good when it is aligned properly. I need to try out further but am happy so far. If nothing else, the slewing speed is nice to have and makes the mount much easier to use.

Stu

EDIT just tried slewing to the moon and it was very accurate