Argo Navis

[ZOG]

With my birthday approaching, and SWMBO foolishly asking what I'd like, I've taken the plunge and ordered the Argo Navis system for the dob.

I spent a while tonight having a glance through the online user manual and it looks a wee bit complicated.

Has anyone used this system ? any comments on it would be appreciated.

[Roy]

Hi ya Zog,

The manual is as thick as a phone book which is a bit off putting if like me you struggle with wading through instruction manuals.

Enter all of your details into the Argo Navis controller first then start off by doing the Fix Alt Ref followed by a two star alignment taking care to align your chosen stars as accurately as possible then do a goto and you should get close enough to put your chosen target in the FOV of your EP.

This should keep you going until you can get your head around how the other functions all work.

To be honest I've only had a chance to use mine a couple of times but all I've ever done is the basic routine above so like you I've also got a lot to learn.

Good luck with it m8.

[ZOG]

Thanks Roy, it does look kind of "Degree in astro physics required" kind of stuff, but I'm sure I'll struggle through.

[ZOG]

Well, i'm going to find out all about it tomorrow Just got a letter from Parcelforce saying they have it..and asking me for £83.78 VAT and clearance fee.

Personally I think it's a disgrace that you are charged VAT on an item that you buy from another country, but I suppose that's the way it is.

First light report to follow.

[Doc]

Looking forward to a report on this.....

Hope it all goes well Zog

[ZOG]

It arrived this morning in two boxes, one containing the computer, and the other containing the mounting kit.

Fitting the encoders is the trickiest bit but not too hard. when ordering, you have to get the specific kit for your scope.

First job was to remove the Az bolt in the centre of the mount, this is replaced with a bolt with a flat head about the size of a 2p piece. This has 3 small holes drilled in it and you use 3 small screws to secure the bolt to the bottom of the baseboard. Flip the mount over, and a ball race, followed by a pulley go on the other end of the bolt, the whole lot is held together with a quarter inch washer and nut.

The azimuth encoder comes installed in it's bracket and also has a small pulley attached. A toothed timing belt is fitted between the two pulleys, and when it is snug, you mark the board through two slots, drill a couple of pilot holes, screw the bracket down, clip in the encoder cable, and fix a couple of self adhesive cable clips to the mount, job done.

The Alt encoder is a piece of cake to fit, again it comes in it's own bracket, along with a coupler and a locator. The coupler screws into the scope bearing in place of one of the handles, the encoder slots into the coupler and a grub screw locks it in place. The locator is positioned on the side of the rocker to locate a slot in the encoder bracket and is again held in place with 3 small screws, clip in the cable and thats it.

The cables plug into the main computer unit and you run through a short routine where you tell the unit what mount you have, do an encoder test, enter location time and date (which it remembers) and you're ready for the real thing, which won't happen tonight as I have wall to wall cloud here

First light report to follow when I get a chance to use it.

[Doc]

Sounds pretty simple to fit.

Do you mind me asking the price? Cannot wait for a first night report.

[ZOG]

It wasn't cheap Doc, £500 give or take a few coppers in exchange rates, then the £83 VAT and release fee at this end.

At that price it's going to have to be spot on to be worth the money, but if it is, I have a 12" OTA on a fairly portable mount, at around the price of a good reflector on an EQ6 goto...........but mine runs off 4 AA batteries.

[Doc]

Wow thats alot of money. As you say for that price you want accuracy of minutes. Puts my £60 effort to shame.

[ZOG]

Been looking at the user manual, actually this is my only complaint up to now, the manual is supplied on a cd rom rather than a hard copy so it can't be taken to a dark sky site.

If the Argo navis does half of what the manual claims, it's going to be an awesome piece of kit.

Too much to go through, but if anyone is interested, the manual can be downloaded here,

http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au/documentation.html

[Astronut]

How easy or inconvenient is it to separate the OTA and base (for transport) once the altitude encoder is fitted?

It's the only thing putting me off buying an Argo Navis, apart from the price and seemingly permanent cloud cover negating the chance to use it.

[ZOG]

Very easy, the Az encoder doesn't need to be removed, the Alt encoder takes a minute. it's a case of loosening a thumb screw, loosening a grub screw, and pulling the encoder out of the coupler.

Had mine out tonight and it worked for half an hour, then the unit decided not to "see" the encoders at all. I've emailed wildcard to see if they have an answer.

[Astronut]

Thanks for that. I had a feeling it'd be relatively simple having had a glance at the fitting instructions on the site. It'll be a while before I decide to invest.

[ZOG]

Well, after talking to Gary, the gaffer of Wildcard, the whole thing is on a plane back to Oz for "spares or repair"

I'm a bit gutted, especially as the forecast is for clear skys this week.

Ah well, if it's worth having, it's worth waiting for.

[Doc]

Well, after talking to Gary, the gaffer of Wildcard, the whole thing is on a plane back to Oz for "spares or repair"

I'm a bit gutted, especially as the forecast is for clear skys this week.

Ah well, if it's worth having, it's worth waiting for.

What a shame.

Not very good for an item that costs £500.

[ZOG]

Well, it's technology I suppose, software and hardware bugs do occur, even in PC's that I have had that cost a lot more. Add to the fact that it had to travel a long way to me. It's just disappointing when you've looked forward to using it for so long.

Mind, when it worked (for half an hour) it was very very good, putting every object in the FOV of a 32mm EP. And it will be better when I get to borrow a wixey and detemine the angle of the OTA when pushed against the backboard.

With any luck I'll get it back before the 27th so I may be able to take it to Kielder one night after all.

[Roy]

Sorry to hear you had problems ZOG.

Mine has never given me any trouble and it came from the USA (Obsession) having said that I haven't used it that much.

I'm sure Gary will sort it out for you.

[ZOG]

I'm sure he will Roy, he's a really nice guy and he was as disaspointed as me when it went wrong. He's even paying the return cost.

[Starjumper]

Hope all goes well for you Zog.

John

[Astronut]

What's the fault Zog?

[ZOG]

Not sure exactly. I had done a two star aline, and as you do was testing it out by telling it to find a few obvious targets.

M31, 42 45, and 36 were put right into the FOV of a 32mm EP, when I told it to find M37, it told me to move 89 degrees in Az which of course was way out. Every target I put in after that told me to move 89 degrees. When I put it into encoder mode, it didn't appear to be picking up the signals from either encoder as neither of the readouts changed when the scope was moved, so it seemed like a major software thing.

Surprising thing was, when I suggested to Gary that I reload the firmware, he didn't think it would help and recommended me to send the main unit, cable, and encoders back.

DHL tracking has it at the Sydney delivery depot as of now

[Astronut]

I'm betting they'll send a replacement and fix the faulty one at their leisure so you shouldn't have to wait too long.

[ZOG]

Gary did promise a same day turnaround and tracking is now saying it's with the delivery courier now.

If he keeps his promise and it comes back as quick as it got there, who knows ? I may just have it back in time for Kielder next weekend.

[ZOG]

Just had a Email from Gary to say it's repaired and on the way back

[AndyH]

Fingers crossed you get it back in double quick time.

IMO, the sign of a good a company is how they fix out problems should they happen.

I think they're due a 'Gold star and a tick' , methinks.

Cheers,

Andy.