TAKE YOUR OWN ODYSSEY

Operating Modes:

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

Tour all objects of specified types, in magnitude range, in constellation or within a specified radius

Manual entry of RA and Dec objects for PUSHTO operation

Alarm on event with audible option

Display local time

Display UTC (Greenwich time)

Display local apparent sidereal time

Display Julian date/time

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 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™ or Argo Navis™).

Download firmware or catalog upgrades

Load orbital elements for asteroids, comets & satellites

Catalogs:

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

Popular Deep Sky (cross reference by name)

Satellites (user loadable orbital elements)

User Objects (approx. 1100 user loadable)

Supported Mounts:

Alt/Az Dobsonian
Forks
German Equatorial
Equatorial Tables
ServoCAT™ servo controller support
Starmaster Star Tracker™ GOTO controller support
Sidereal Technology SiTech controller support

See our enormous range of encoder mount hardware kits

Technical Specifications:

Dual CPU's

Motorola 5206e ColdFire™ 40MHz with full 32-bit data paths and internal caches.

PIC16C505 4MHz 8-bit microcontroller.

Memory

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.

Power

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.

Front Panel

Two buttons and a rotary dial with detents for easy operation.

Display

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.

Encoder port

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.

Communications ports

Dual 4 pin RJ receptacles for two RS-232 channels supporting user definable speeds from 300 to 38400 Baud.

Can be interfaced with a PC and supports use with all known popular star charting, planning & ephemeris programs such as STAR Atlas:PRO™, Astroplanner™, The Sky™, SkyMap Pro™, Starry Night Pro™, Cartes du Ciel™, MegaStar™ or Xephem™, etc. for telescope cursor control. Meade™, Sky Commander™ & Tangent™ emulation modes. Argo Navis™ native command mode.

Communications cables and USB Serial Adapters available as options.

Clock

Real time clock with separate 3V coin cell backup battery.

Date, time valid to year 2100 AD.

Enclosure

Sturdy ABS with attractive styling.

Mounting cradle

Stylish, versatile mounting cradle.

Manufacturing

Manufactured in Australia under ISO9001 quality control standards. Fully RoHS compliant.

Approvals

FCC Class B, CE Class B, C-Tick Class B.

Warranty & disclaimer

Limited 1 year. Specifications subject to change.

User Manual

Comprehensive 228 page User Manual available for free download here.

Price & availability

Available now ! Please see our purchasing page for details.