StellarCat and Argo Narvis

[adamsp123]

In conjunction with an earlier thread about the Mesu Mount which uses both these, does anyone have experience of these two products or any knowledge of them.

If you have what were your impressions of them?

thanks pete

[adamsp123]

so no one has knowledge of these?

oh dear:(

[johninderby]

I have StellarCat on my dob and it works brilliantly. Highly recommended. Contact Gary at StellarCAT and he'll be able to answer any questions.

I used to use an Argo Navis with it but have now changed it for a SkyCommander Flash 4 with the 10,000 click encoders. While everyone raves on about how good the Argo Navis is, it's interface is what I'd call clunky. Too much navigating of sub-menus to get to what you want. With the latest verson of SkyCommnder you can get directly to what features you want and I find it much quicker to use.

I would say though that while the ArgoNavis is technically a bit better with some more options, in real world use I find the SkyCommander does everything I want. Be careful about reading reviews of the AN and the SC as the earlier SC was a bit limited in it's features.

John

[adamsp123]

Excellent John and thanks, thats a big help.

[Demon Barber]

Hi Pete i`ve both fitted to my 15"Obsession i second John in comments about the A/N but its insides are technically very advanced and does not use any lead based solders,cntact Gary Myers at Wildcard innovations for any queries you have and you will get a very detailed reply,Gary at StellarCat is also a very pleasant guy to deal with,i took a while to get my head around using the set up , the StellarCat is near indestuctable,i know from my cack handed approach to technology.

The ArgoNavis`interface is slow in operation but again its does just about everything but wash the dishes,all in all great bits of kit,try and find somebody near you that will let you have a look before you comit yourself to a costly purchase,i`m sure you will be happy with either set up!

Regards

Mike

[adamsp123]

Thanks Mike, I am seriously thinking of going on a trip to Holland to have a good look at the Mesu mount, no way would I pay that much without a good demo first.

Good to know Stellarcat and AN are OK. I also need to suss out autoguiding with it.

Pete

[johninderby]

Yes, nobody is more helpful and accommodating or gives better service than Gary.

The best place I found to buy the SkyCommander is.

http://www.astrosystems.biz/index.htm

BTW the website has some very, very interesting dobs.

As mentioned in the previous post you can't really go wrong with whichever system you choose. My choice was based on personal preference but you might just prefer the AN, it is a great piece of kit.

John

[adamsp123]

Actually these are being used to control the Mesu mount I am considering as a imaging platform in the future. As I have no knowledge of these it has been very helpful you all sharing your experiences.

cheers Pete