IOptron iPolar Electronic PolarScope

[FLO]

Just received a message from a colleague that reminded me I haven't mentioned iOptron iPolar Electronic Polarscopes are in stock with adapters to suit a wide range of mounts 🙂 

Essentially it is iOptron's version of the QHY PoleMaster, but better. 

Steve

 

[Astroscot2]

Hello Steve,  do you know if there is or will be an adapter available to fit the Mesu 200?

 

Mark

[FLO]

Not that I am aware of. I will ask. 

[The Admiral]

3 hours ago, FLO said:

Just received a message from a colleague that reminded me I haven't mentioned iOptron iPolar Electronic Polarscopes are in stock with adapters to suit a wide range of mounts 🙂 

Essentially it is iOptron's version of the QHY PoleMaster, but better. 

Steve

I've no experience of the QHY PoleMaster, but is there much difference in the way the version licensed by QHY to iOptron is used? The chat shown above seems to suggest it is.

Ian

[Grant]

8 minutes ago, The Admiral said:

I've no experience of the QHY PoleMaster, but is there much difference in the way the version licensed by QHY to iOptron is used? The chat shown above seems to suggest it is.

Ian

Two different things - iOptron used to sell a branded version of the PoleMaster which was identical, apart from the branding.

The iPolar is a completely new product that uses a different methodology and software to do the polar alignment.

[The Admiral]

Just now, Grant said:

Two different things - iOptron used to sell a branded version of the PoleMaster which was identical, apart from the branding.

The iPolar is a completely new product that uses a different methodology and software to do the polar alignment.

Thanks for the info Grant, I wasn't aware that this was iOptron's own product. Are the dimensions of the camera identical to the QHY product? In other words, if a mount manufacturer makes a fitting for the QHY, would it also fit the iOptron one?

Ian

[Grant]

10 minutes ago, The Admiral said:

Thanks for the info Grant, I wasn't aware that this was iOptron's own product. Are the dimensions of the camera identical to the QHY product? In other words, if a mount manufacturer makes a fitting for the QHY, would it also fit the iOptron one?

Ian

the iPolar is physically smaller, here are the PoleMaster dimensions:

The base part of the iPolar is 36mm diameter so around 4mm less.

The lens part is 26mm diameter so around 11mm less.

Height is similar, 49mm so just under 2mm less.

That's for the standard version - plus the adapter parts are separate. I am going to be using it on my NEQ6.

The CEM40 I am currently playing with learning my way around has the iPolar built in already which is really neat and means the wiring is all integrated into the mount itself.

 

 

[souls33k3r]

Can the polemaster camera be used with the iPolar software to do polar alignment? Does the iPolar software recognise Polemaster?

[Grant]

5 minutes ago, souls33k3r said:

Can the polemaster camera be used with the iPolar software to do polar alignment? Does the iPolar software recognise Polemaster?

Nope - they are two totally different products.

The iPolar installs as a USB HID device rather than a camera which means no driver is required, just the client software.

I'm not sure if the device itself does some image processing before sending the results back to the computer - perhaps some basic edge / contrast detection to identify the stars in the image - I'm not sure, that's just speculation on my part.

[souls33k3r]

1 minute ago, Grant said:

Nope - they are two totally different products.

The iPolar installs as a USB HID device rather than a camera which means no driver is required, just the client software.

I'm not sure if the device itself does some image processing before sending the results back to the computer - perhaps some basic edge / contrast detection to identify the stars in the image - I'm not sure, that's just speculation on my part.

Ah, ok. Makes sense. Thought i'd ask

Cheers mate

[FLO]

6 hours ago, Astroscot2 said:

Hello Steve,  do you know if there is or will be an adapter available to fit the Mesu 200? 

 

5 hours ago, FLO said:

Not that I am aware of. I will ask. 

IOptron say “If you have the drawing/dimension, certainly we can make it”. 

Perhaps @ollypenrice will mention this to Lucas Mesu.  

Steve 

[ollypenrice]

9 minutes ago, FLO said:

 

IOptron say “If you have the drawing/dimension, certainly we can make it”. 

Perhaps @ollypenrice will mention this to Lucas Mesu.  

Steve 

I don't have any regular contact or connection with Lucas Mesu other than as an indirect happy customer (both my Mesu mounts were second hand) but I'll be happy to look back through the thread and drop him a line. Personally I keep my observatories as gadget-free as possible (which is not all that gadget free!  ) and drift align.

Olly

[Helen]

As a general point, do these have to be attached to the mount and therefore mount specific?  Wouldn't it be more versatile to mount on the scope?  So a bracket that fits a standard finder shoe? or one that just screws into tube rings??

Helen

[mihaighita]

1 hour ago, FLO said:

 

IOptron say “If you have the drawing/dimension, certainly we can make it”. 

 Perhaps @ollypenrice will mention this to Lucas Mesu.  

Steve 

That's easy... There is an adaptor for Polemaster that you have in stock https://www.firstlightoptics.com/celestron-mounts/qhy-polemaster-adapter-for-mesu-mounts.html. It just needs the correct holes to connect the iPolar to it... Easy to reverse-engineer from that.

[gorann]

On 07/06/2019 at 13:22, FLO said:

Just received a message from a colleague that reminded me I haven't mentioned iOptron iPolar Electronic Polarscopes are in stock with adapters to suit a wide range of mounts 🙂 

Essentially it is iOptron's version of the QHY PoleMaster, but better. 

Steve

 

 

With Polemaster the same unit can be used on different mounts - I just need to buy the mount specific bracket. Is this also the case with iPolar? In other words, if I buy it and later get another mount, do I only need to buy a new bracket?

Edited June 8, 2019 by gorann

[Grant]

14 minutes ago, gorann said:

With Polemaster the same unit can be used on different mounts - I just need to buy the mount specific bracket. Is this also the case with iPolar? In other words, if I buy it and later get another mount, do I only need to buy a new bracket?

The external version of the iPolar is exactly the same - the adapters are available separately and FLO has stock and will be listing the individual adapters soon.

ADM do a dovetail bracket for the PoleMaster and I see no reason why you couldn’t do the same with the iPolar - I’ll see if we can sort something as I would quite like to mount one on the tip / underside of a dovetail.

[wimvb]

On 07/06/2019 at 17:45, Grant said:

not sure if the device itself does some image processing before sending the results back to the computer - perhaps some basic edge / contrast detection to identify the stars in the image - I'm not sure, that's just speculation on my part.

Probably not, because dark subtraction seems to be done in software, and that's something you'd do before other processing. AfaIct, the pa accuracy must depend on how accurately the iScope is installed (eg cone error).

Also, while Polaris doesn't need to be in view, the polar region needs to be, since the camera has a 13 degree fov, and must be pointed at the pole. You still need a clear enough view of the NP.

[Grant]

2 minutes ago, wimvb said:

Probably not, because dark subtraction seems to be done in software, and that's something you'd do before other processing. AfaIct, the pa accuracy must depend on how accurately the iScope is installed (eg cone error).

Also, while Polaris doesn't need to be in view, the polar region needs to be, since the camera has a 13 degree fov, and must be pointed at the pole. You still need a clear enough view of the NP.

Good point about the darks - it just seemed odd to me to see an imaging device installed automatically with a HID driver, I didn’t think that was possible as HID is normally used for low traffic human interface devices like keyboards, mice and serial devices - I’ll have another dig.

[wimvb]

59 minutes ago, Grant said:

Good point about the darks - it just seemed odd to me to see an imaging device installed automatically with a HID driver, I didn’t think that was possible as HID is normally used for low traffic human interface devices like keyboards, mice and serial devices - I’ll have another dig.

Do you know anything about the sensor in this device? With a 13 degree fov, and 30 arcsecs resolution, it needs at least 1560 pixels. Otoh, the manual rotation point of 480, 640 suggests a 960x1280 sensor. (Setting the rotation point in the middle of the sensor.)

1 hour ago, wimvb said:

AfaIct, the pa accuracy must depend on how accurately the iScope is installed (eg cone error).

It seems that the calibration is used for one time cone error determination. Ie, if you knock it the least, you need to redo calibration. This is unlike polemaster, sharpcap and kstars, which determine cone error with every alignment.

Edited June 8, 2019 by wimvb

[The Admiral]

On 07/06/2019 at 16:04, Grant said:

the iPolar is physically smaller, here are the PoleMaster dimensions:

The base part of the iPolar is 36mm diameter so around 4mm less.

The lens part is 26mm diameter so around 11mm less.

Height is similar, 49mm so just under 2mm less.

That's for the standard version - plus the adapter parts are separate. I am going to be using it on my NEQ6.

The CEM40 I am currently playing with learning my way around has the iPolar built in already which is really neat and means the wiring is all integrated into the mount itself.

I've just read this on CN:

"I recently received an iPolar for my CEM25P but have not been able to test it out yet.

FYI, I paid the extra $20 when selecting the "CEM25P" but it turns out I didn't need it. If you install in the back, you don't need any adapter, the set screw that holds the polar scope holds the iPolar as well. The adapter is for a front install.  May be worth contacting iOptron to see if you need the bracket for your mount depending on where you install it."

This rather suggests that the nose of the camera is the same size as a conventional polar scope. Is that true, or am I talking a load of bull? If so, it may make the need for an adapter redundant for some mounts?

Ian

[Grant]

2 minutes ago, The Admiral said:

I've just read this on CN:

"I recently received an iPolar for my CEM25P but have not been able to test it out yet.

FYI, I paid the extra $20 when selecting the "CEM25P" but it turns out I didn't need it. If you install in the back, you don't need any adapter, the set screw that holds the polar scope holds the iPolar as well. The adapter is for a front install.  May be worth contacting iOptron to see if you need the bracket for your mount depending on where you install it."

This rather suggests that the nose of the camera is the same size as a conventional polar scope. Is that true, or am I talking a load of bull? If so, it may make the need for an adapter redundant for some mounts?

Ian

Will be interesting to see how he gets on using it - wouldn't having it mounted at the back restrict the FOV? 

[The Admiral]

9 minutes ago, Grant said:

Will be interesting to see how he gets on using it - wouldn't having it mounted at the back restrict the FOV? 

I can see that it would be a problem with through-axis scopes, but for mounts like the AZ-EQ5 and the Avalon M-ZERO it could be useful, especially if there isn't a ready-made adapter for the mount. Are you able to confirm that the dimensions of the iOptron is the same as a polarscope?

I got the info from this CN thread, which also reviews the CEM40.

Ian

[Grant]

I don't think it's as simple as that - polar scopes come in a variety of sizes and attachment methods. I will try to get a chance to do a proper drawing of the iPolar with the full dimensions on as there is a 30mm diameter 'step' part inbetween the main body and lens part as well.

It looks like the iPolar is intended for fitting to the rear of mounts like the CEM25 and IEQ45 as well as the front so perhaps the FOV isn't an issue:

When I get chance to fit the iPolar to my NEQ6 I will have a look at the polar scope at the same time but I think it screws in so you would still probably need an adapter for the iPolar.

[michaelmorris]

I'm a little confused.  When using with an HEQ5 Pro, does the iPolar replace the polarscope?  Does anyone have a picture of how it fits on an HEQ5Pro?

[Grant]

31 minutes ago, michaelmorris said:

I'm a little confused.  When using with an HEQ5 Pro, does the iPolar replace the polarscope?  Does anyone have a picture of how it fits on an HEQ5Pro?

With the official adapter, the HEQ5 one fits the same as the EQ6 version I have here, it uses grub screws to fix to the inside of the polarscope view hole at the top of the mount.

This is the same way the Polemaster affixes as well.