Unistellar eVscope

[saac]

That is cool - don't think I have ever seen Pluto through a telescope.  Nice report about the eVscope. 

Jim 

[HWStar]

Well, I finally received my scope and backpack 3 weeks ago. The box weighed about 45 lbs. and I had to move it into the house with a cart...ugh. So far the weather has been lousy. The first week, we had a full moon and hazy skies almost every night. The second week I went on vacation and couldn't play with it. This week the sky have been overcast every night and now the smoke from the fires out west (I live in Michigan) has finally reached us and is creating haze as well.  Scope is still in the box...based on the weight of the scope and backpack, this is not something you would go hiking with, I think.

[Buzzard75]

3 hours ago, HWStar said:

Well, I finally received my scope and backpack 3 weeks ago. The box weighed about 45 lbs. and I had to move it into the house with a cart...ugh. So far the weather has been lousy. The first week, we had a full moon and hazy skies almost every night. The second week I went on vacation and couldn't play with it. This week the sky have been overcast every night and now the smoke from the fires out west (I live in Michigan) has finally reached us and is creating haze as well.  Scope is still in the box...based on the weight of the scope and backpack, this is not something you would go hiking with, I think.

If you haven't even taken it out of the box, I would recommend you do so. Charge it up and update the firmware using the app that way you're prepared the first time you go out. I will say the box is quite big and cumbersome. Once it's in the bag, it's much more manageable. Would I go hiking with it though? Probably not, at least not very far. I put mine in a Pelican 1615 Air case and it only weighs 45 lbs total. The case alone is almost 14, but it does have wheels which are convenient on hard surfaces.

[tooth_dr]

On 06/06/2020 at 05:48, Kathie said:

So here are a few images. the Eagle Nebula through the basic telescope then again with the enhanced viewing turned on.

 

 

 

Wow, I'm really impressed, both good, but the second one really is something else!

[Xsubmariner]

I have enjoyed reading this thread and whilst opinion is decided as to the value for money aspects of this scope, it is clearly a new and exciting development in the evolution of the telescope.  It’s easy to criticise its capability against a dedicated imaging setup but that is missing the point. This product with its ability to visualise an enhanced image through the eyepiece bridges the gap between an observers and imagers toolset.

I remember paying £5000 for my first plasma TV, if it wasn’t for early adopters in the technology development funding would have dried up and we would all be the poorer today, where a cracking large screen TV can be acquired for a fraction of the money.

I hope this technology continues its development and look forward to seeing one at a future star event. 

[saac]

On 14/09/2020 at 22:07, tooth_dr said:

Wow, I'm really impressed, both good, but the second one really is something else!

Agreed that second image is outstanding . 

Jim 

[bryand]

As far as Value for Money is concerned, don't forget you are buying the scope, the mount, the tripod, the camera and the software all at once, all in one package.  

I don't want coffee-table photographs, I just want to see what's out there.

With the eVscope, I can get a decent image of a DSO within 15 minutes of arriving at a deep-sky site - 10  minutes to set up and 5 minutes' exposure. 

Compared to the hours I've spent assembling my kit, polar aligning, setting up guiding etc, I consider the time saved to be worth quite a bit.

'The best scope is the one that gets used the most' and the eVscope is so easy and quick to set up that it will get used a lot.

 

Edited October 11, 2020 by bryand

[PeterW]

For a low complexity grab and go it probably works, but there are quite a few objects that won’t fit in the field of view. Field of view will always be a compromise in these Systems. Wonder if the makers would add a “stitching” function where you can define an area of sky to measure.

Peter

[Buzzard75]

3 hours ago, PeterW said:

For a low complexity grab and go it probably works, but there are quite a few objects that won’t fit in the field of view. Field of view will always be a compromise in these Systems. Wonder if the makers would add a “stitching” function where you can define an area of sky to measure.

Peter

Funny you should mention that. Not incorporated into the Unistellar software, but it is possible to do with the right skills and software.

 

https://www.facebook.com/unistellaroptics/posts/1267211226971741

Edited October 12, 2020 by Buzzard75

[PeterW]

As long as you can plan what the centre of the field should be then you can do your own. Microsoft ICE will stitch anything you throw at it, starfields are probably easy for it’s they have lots of tight points to overlap. Great to see people using it for bigger objects. 
 

Peter

[laban77]

I have seen some amazing stitches from the eVscope lately in one of the Facebook groups, don't remember which one. Also, really long exposures (~1 hour) seems to bring stunning, sharp images.

That said, I don't get to use mine much these days. If it's not freezing cold it's either bright summer nights or clouds. I don't think I have seen a patch of clear sky for more than 1½ months now, neither day or night. I'm actually thinking of selling mine. Not that I don't like it, but it's just too expensive to sit in a box 90% of the year. Let me know if you're interested, and I'm sure we can agree on a fair price.

[Buzzard75]

About two months ago I took out my eVscope while my imaging rig was working away. I don't always get it out, but it seemed like a good opportunity. While using it, I noted some issues with image stacking. It would regularly fail to integrate the image. It appeared to be caused by a backlash issue causing the target to drift and not allow proper registration of the star field. While adjusting to recenter the object, it wouldn't appear to move at first and then would all of a sudden jump across the field of view or out of frame. I contacted Unistellar and within a few days I had a return label to send the unit back to them for inspection. About a week after they received the unit, I received an email notification that they were sending it back to me. When I received the unit, I discovered it was a completely different unit than the one I had sent based on the serial number. The original unit I had was a beta testing unit that I had for over a year. This new unit was recently constructed by all indications. It did not appear to have seen any previous use or have any visible signs of wear. It seemed much more solidly constructed than my previous unit. The beta unit had a bit of free play in the altitude adjustment. Every time I would pick it up, the whole thing had a bit of a "plasticky" creak to it as well. This new unit had none of that. Everything was tight and very well put together.

Hats off to Unistellar for exceptional customer care and service.

[acreutz]

Having seen an eVScope at a star party in Borrego Springs, we were very taken with it.

Asked a bunch of questions of Unistellar Support and they were very responsive.

So, ordered my eVSCope on April 8, 2021, and it arrived very quickly -- I had it in my hands on April 15.  That was a surprise!

Charged it up, turned it on, and, well, no joy.  "Your version of this application is too old. Please, update your application to communicate with your eVscope."

OK, went through Google Play (I use android) and assured my self that I had the very latest version of the app (released in December, 2021).  Contacted Unistellar support and they were quick to respond that this was a known issue and that the issue was with the software on the microSD card; and sent me a replacement.  That took a week.  New card arrives, and the eVScope will not boot.

Contact support again and very quick to respond, and told me that they have had issues with cards not actually having been flashed (i.e., the card was likely empty).  They would rush me another replacement.  That was a week ago.

Very friendly and responsive in support; not so much in the technical group (located here in California).  The technical group is not even repsonding to support on the issue.

I offered to flash my own card if they would make the microSD card image available, but they refused (not really unreasonable on their part).

Still waiting, and they don't work on weekends -- strictly a 9-to-5, 5-day-a-week outfit.   At the price of the scope, I guess I would hope for more capacity in the company to work issues.

It is a startup and has been crowd-funded.  Reading this forum is actually sort of comforting since I have worked with alpha and beta companies a lot as a consultant and as an angel investor.

I just wish they had been more upfront about the ability of the company to deliver stable product.  I am OK at being in the beta program.

BUT, I did pay about $5,000 for the scope; and THAT bothers me if I am in the beta program.

"Patiently" waiting for a response on getting an updated card.  And, then, hopefully, the scope will be fine (I see issues with a variety of things here, but hopefully that is a matter of those few problem-situations rise to the top in a forum like this and, hopefully, are not indicative of a wide-spread lack of quality control or serious design/manufacturing issues.

 

[saac]

That is not good, notwithstanding that this is a small company, at that price they need to get on top of these quality issues. They can't be shipping a large volume of units so each scope should be hand checked before shipping.  I've been a fan of the Uinistellar concept since its start but they cannot keep trading on good will of their customers.  

 

Jim