This high-performing tracking is particularly useful if you want to indulge in detailed sketching and long observing sessions.My name is Malcolm Bird and I have been in and around the Astronomical community for the last 15 years. We were equally impressed with its tracking performance – the iOptron CubePro was able to hold targets perfectly central in the eyepiece for very long periods, even at higher magnifications. Once we had sorted out the levelling and alignment, this diminutive performer was able to successfully locate and place any of the chosen database objects within our low- and medium-power eyepieces.Ī ‘sync to target’ feature allows small adjustments to be made using the controller buttons to centralise subsequent targets in the eyepiece, which further refines the accuracy of future slews. Tracking perfectionĪs well as its compact size, the most outstanding aspect of this mount was its Go-To and tracking performance. That said, if you want an easy-to-assemble, simple-to-operate, reliable and portable system for a small telescope, then the iOptron CubePro mount is a great choice. The mount seemed to slew clockwise more often than anti-clockwise between targets and the cable wrapped round the mount, so care needs to be taken to prevent this.Īt full height, the tripod was a little flexible damping of vibrations at higher powers and with larger loads could have been better. Integration with hardware such as electric focusers and support for ASCOM software drivers means that you can control your scope with planetarium software packages.įor some of our tests, we used the supplied AC adaptor and power cable. Some – such as periodic error correction – only function with equatorial mounts, however. There are nine different slew speeds to choose from for precise alignment and numerous fine-tuning features on the handset menu. The illuminated rubber buttons are quite soft and we found some of them stuck slightly once pushed, which meant it wasn’t always easy to finely adjust the position of a target in the eyepiece. The menus, with their up, down, enter, back options are intuitive, but a lack of specifically named shortcut buttons did make some of the operations a touch long-winded. There are plenty of objects to explore in the database but, unfortunately, no tours or information about the targets. The input buttons also glow red, but all illumination switches off to preserve power and darkness when no input has been made for a while. Selecting our next quarry was no trouble with the GoToNova’s handset – it has a large and clear LCD screen that is easy to read. We’re pretty convinced that it would have carried on like this for hours, but we had other tests to carry out and it was time to choose another target. We were unable to notice any movement after several minutes so we left the mount to see how long it would hold its position.Īfter 50 minutes Saturn was still right on the crosshairs – an impressive achievement. Having centred Saturn on the crosshairs of our eyepiece, we watched closely to see if there was any drifting. The Moon and Saturn were both placed nicely inside the field of our higher power 12mm eyepiece. Our first slew using the Go-To took us straight to Castor’s companion Pollux.Īfter further successful slews around the sky, we selected several non-stellar targets. Once we’d corrected the problem, we carried out a two-star alignment with a low-power 40mm eyepiece, choosing the stars Castor in the west and Vega in the east from the controller’s suggested list. We initially found that the Go-To function was frustratingly inaccurate, so we decided to double-check the orientation and levelling of the mount.Ī spirit level revealed that our test mount had a badly-fitted bubble level, which had thrown out the levelling by a few degrees. You select the time zone and adjustment for daylight-saving using the menu system and the settings are stored in the memory for future sessions. Once aligned and levelled, it only takes a few seconds for the GPS system to pinpoint your location. The brace, which doubles up as an eyepiece holder, is tightened by a threaded shaft that also centres and secures the head on top.įor our tests we attached an ST-80 refractor using the Vixen-style dovetail clamp.Īt just over 2kg, this setup didn’t require the counterweight or shaft provided. The tripod legs are easy to extend and clamp.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |