Align on any object
Align on bright alignment star
Align on mount position
Display right ascension/declination
Display azimuth/altitude
Display constellation
Display optical encoder values
Display star chart cross reference
Display detailed object description
Guide to object
Search for object by name in catalog
Identify objects of specified types, in magnitude range, in constellation or within a specified radius, with horizon filter
Tour all objects of specified types, in magnitude range, in constellation or within a specified radius, with horizon filter
Manual entry of RA and Dec objects for PUSHTO operation ("From Planetarium")
Alarm on event with audible option
Display local time
Display UTC (Greenwich time)
Display local apparent sidereal time
Display Julian date/time
Current lunar phase and local date and time of next forthcoming phases
Stopwatch start/stop/reset
Stopwatch synodic (normal) or sidereal rate
Setup location (name, latitude, longitude - up to 10 locations)
TPAS™ - Telescope Pointing Analysis System™.
Measure, model, compute, analyse and store the values
of various types of systematic fabrication errors in the mount,
including geometric errors, flexure errors, harmonic errors.
Can assist with improving the pointing accuracy performance of the system.
Works with all mount types and for equatorial mounts can assist
with polar alignment.
Refraction compensation
Equatorial table tracking start/stop control with elapsed and remaining time display. Programmable audible reminder alarm to indicate when to reset table.
GOTO controller altitude and horizon limit control and audible limit alarm.
Co-ordinate download from planetarium program or input from front panel for manual PUSHTO or automated GOTO operation.
Report enclosure internal temperature
Setup RS-232 communications ports for Baud rate and emulation mode (Meade™, Sky Commander™, Tangent™, ServoCAT™, Sitech™ or Argo Navis™).
Download firmware or catalog upgrades
Load orbital elements for asteroids, comets & satellites
Save, label and restore four different sets of setup parameters within the unit. This allows the unit to be easily shared between multiple mounts.
Over 29,000 in-built objects with up to 1,100 user defined objects.
Asteroids (user loadable orbital elements)
Bright Star Catalog
Comets (user loadable orbital elements)
IC
Messier
Misc. Bright Nebulae
Misc. Dark Nebulae
Misc. Double Stars
Misc. Galaxies
Misc. Galaxy Clusters (e.g. Abell & Hickson)
Misc. Globulars
Misc. Open Clusters
Misc. Planetary Nebulae
Misc. Variable Stars
NGC (including 'A', 'B', 'C', etc. suffixed additions)
Planets/Sun/Moon
Popular Deep Sky (cross reference by name)
Satellites (user loadable orbital elements)
User Objects (approx. 1100 user loadable)
Alt/Az Dobsonian
Forks
German Equatorial
Equatorial Tables
ServoCAT™ servo controller support
Starmaster Star Tracker™ GOTO controller support
Sidereal Technology SiTech controller support
Motorola 5206e ColdFire™ 40MHz with full 32-bit data paths and internal caches.
PIC16C505 4MHz 8-bit microcontroller.
2MB 70ns re-programmable FLASH.
Firmware including all catalogs is user upgradeable via serial port using Argonaut™ utility for Windows™ or equivalent Linux™ & Mac OS-X™ utilities supplied on CDROM.
Firmware and catalog upgrades can be downloaded from Wildcard Innovations web site for free.
512KB 50ns static RAM.
8Kb non-volatile RAM.
4 x AA alkaline cells (approximately 40 hours of continuous operation).
DC power jack for external power 8V to 16V. Also provides LCD heating function. External power cable optional.
Two buttons and a rotary dial with detents for easy operation even whilst wearing gloves in cold weather. Intelligent word completion during object name entry.
2 lines of 16 characters each with extended back & forth scrolling by dial.
Backlit red characters on dark background to preserve night vision.
Digitally dimmable with 100 settings.
Digitally adjustable contrast control.
Dew heater.
8 pin RJ receptacle to interface with standard optical encoders.
Electrically and mechanically compatible with older, legacy DSC encoders & cables for easy 'plug & play' upgrade.
Adjustable encoder sampling rates.
Encoders, encoder cables and encoder mount hardware kits can be purchased as an option.
Dual 4 pin RJ receptacles for two RS-232 channels supporting user definable speeds from 300 to 57600 Baud.
Can be interfaced with a PC/notebook/Android tablet or smartphone/iPhone™ or iPad™ and supports use with all known popular star charting, planning & ephemeris programs such as STAR Atlas:PRO™, Astroplanner™, Deepsky™, KStars™, The Sky™, SkyMap Pro™, Starry Night Pro™, Cartes du Ciel™, SkyTools™, MegaStar™, SkySafari™, Stellarium™ or Xephem™, etc. for telescope cursor control. Also works with all ASCOM compliant planetarium programs. Meade™, Sky Commander™ & Tangent™ emulation modes. Argo Navis™ native command mode. Can also be interfaced to ServoCAT™ servo controllers, Starmaster Star Tracker™ GOTO controllers and Sidereal Technology SiTech™ GOTO controllers. User catalogs can be downloaded into the unit from the supplied Argonaut™ utility or third party utilities such as Astroplanner™ and SkyTools™.
Communications cables and USB Serial Adapters available as options. Can be interfaced to third party serial to WiFi adapters such as the Simulation Curriculum SkyFI Wireless Telescope Controller or the Roving Networks RN-340 and RN-370. Can be interfaced to third party serial to Bluetooth adapters such as the Simulation Curriculum SkyBT Bluetooth Telescope Controller or the Roving Networks RN-270M.
Real time clock with separate 3V coin cell backup battery.
Date, time valid to year 2100 AD.
Sturdy ABS with attractive styling.
Stylish, versatile mounting cradle.
Manufactured in Australia under ISO9001 quality control standards. Fully RoHS compliant.
FCC Class B, CE Class B, C-Tick Class B. Tested and certified by NATA accredited laboratory.
Limited 1 year. Specifications subject to change.
Comprehensive 261 page User Manual available for free download here.
Available now! Please see our purchasing page for details.
Argo Navis™, TPAS™ and the Eye Motif are trademarks of Wildcard Innovations Pty. Ltd. All other trademarks belong to their respective owners.
© Copyright 2019 Wildcard Innovations Pty. Ltd.
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