argo navis + 12" gso dob = win?

[monoxide]

hi guys,
its been a while since my last post on here :)
anyway ive been eyeing off an AN for my 12" gso and would be very interested on some feedback on them. i've had a quick search through the forums and looks good so far.
does anyone with a 12" gso on here have an AN? if so could i possibly see some pics of the setup and what 'mods' you might have done to get it all sweet.
thanks

btw, the instruction manual kinda blew me away. looks like it will take me a week just to get it all setup lol

[Dave47tuc]

Yes a big win;) look at this thread which I'm sure you have.

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=20511

The manual is big but you don't have to wrorry about much of it first up.
The AN is easy to put on the scope half hour or hour at most.

Go for it and enjoy:thumbsup:

[Gargoyle_Steve]

Yes I've got an Argo navis on my 12" GSO dob (as per my tagline below) and yes it is a winner!

I have had some probs occasional with various grub screws, locknuts, etc, slowly working lose so that in the middle of a nights observing such that I'll suddenly find alt or az tracking "skipping" but I've sowly been gwtting all of these undder control as they occurr. I want to add that none of these issues are probs with the Argo Navis itself but rather poor maintenance (by me) of things that need to be kept "tight".

(I bought this as a 2nd hand package with the AN pre-installed, I didn't install it as such so I'm still coming to grips with these things. I've said this before but I think I have it all by the agates now. ;) )

I'm at work at present, but will post some images when I can. I have the AN unit itself mounted up near the focusser using nothing more elaborate than good old velcro.

I've also found that the azimuth encoder cable which runs down past the eyepiece rack can get itself tangled up and caught tight under the edge of the rack - by running it literally through the fabric loop on the end of the tensioner spring and then over the right hand end of the ep rack it remains in place and does not foul up at all even when moving the scope through the entire altitude range repeatedly.

:thumbsup:

[monoxide]

thanks for the replies, looking forward to some photos :)
i have emailed wildcard just to see what i need exactly and how much of a pounding my wallet will take.
but by the sound of it, certainly beats starhopping and when you dont have a whole lot of time to spend at the scope AN looks very handy.

also, once the encoders are installed does it make it much more of a hassle to take the ota off the base for storage?

[gbeal]

You will love the AN. If you factor in an easy to remove and install encoder for the alt, you will have an easy time removing the tube etc from the base. I can shoot a pic or two if you need.
Gary

[iceman]

As a rough guide, budget around $1000 for the unit and encoders. Well worth every cent. A brilliant piece of kit.

[monoxide]

id love to see some photos of how the encoders are installed if possible,
i had a quick price check on the site mike but i wasnt too sure of what bits and pieces i needed, im expecting it to be around $1k but i thought it would be better to let them tell me what i need rather than just guess or order 2 sets of encoders or something silly :)
the only thing i dont really like the sound of is going through masses of batteries, is there a mains adaptor avaliable? going by their site i can only see one that runs off a cigarette lighter plug or battery

[Dave47tuc]

Here you go:D

On my altitude bearing side where the encoder is attached ( see pic) I slip the brass coloured arm of the unplug the cable at the phone socket arrows point to these,
then lift off the tube.
The Azimuth stays as is just carry the base to where needed.

Hope that helps. Should be same with 10 and 12” scopes.

[Dave47tuc]

I power my An with a small 12 v rechargeable battery. This is how I wired it.
All with the help from Gary at Wildcard.:thumbsup:

[monoxide]

looks good, thanks for the pics

[ausastronomer]

Gary Kopff the owner of Wildcard, Andrew Murrell and myself have just been in the USA attending the Texas Star Party. Gary continued on to Riverside in California. Normally Gary would reply to you within a day, but I know he will be travelling home over the next two days, so allow him a couple of days to reply in this instance.

I have an Argo Navis on my 10" GSO dob and on the 18" Obsession. It is worth every cent of the purchase price. As others have mentioned allow about $1,000 including 10,000 step encoders and the hardware mounting kit. You can do the mount hardware yourself but its not worth the effort for the GSO dobs IMO. The kits for the GSO dobs work very well, are easy to install and aren't expensive.

CS-John B

[Gargoyle_Steve]

This link will take you directly to the specific hardware/encoder/mounting kit to suit a GSO 12" dob....

http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au/kits/pn-gs-12-spec_describe.html

[monoxide]

thanks guys,
hopefully i can have a chat with Gary soon and get one on the way :)

[monoxide]

argo navis ordered and on its way :)
i guess i better stay away from the stellarcat website lol

[Phil]

I just got my AN today for the 16" Meade lightbridge still reading about what this thing can do. I am amazed a what this can do. Have not use it yet but looks good.
Phil