Touring with Argo Navis

[koputai]

This may be a basic question, but I can't see it in the (very comprehensive) users manual.
I want to make up some observing lists and add them as user catalogues, easy enough so far. But, I want to then go through the list (catalogue) in a predetermined order, just like the 'tours' that Sue French does in AS&T.
I know how to put a list of objects in to the AN as a User Catalogue, but as far as I can see there's no way of going through the list in order, the AN wants to start at the closest object to where it's pointing, then proceed through the list in a distance order, not the list (catalogue) order.

Also, is there a way of looking up objects from existing catalogues and adding them as objects to your user catalogues? It seems if you have to look up an object, type all the info in to your PC, then transfer them as user objects into the AN, even though they probably already exist in the AN catalogues.

Can anyone with decent AN experience have any hints?

Cheers,
Jason.

[gary]

Hi Jason,

Gary Kopff here from Wildcard Innovations.

Rather than use MODE TOUR, I would recommend you consider using
a special feature of MODE CATALOG to view your USER OBJECTS
in some user-defined order.

Objects are accessed by the same way from the USER OBJECTS catalog
as any other catalog, namely by use of the Intelligent Editing System,
whereby one uses both the DIAL and ENTER button to spell out the
name of the object a letter at a time and the Intelligent
Editing System performs "word completion" as you progress.

As an special feature, when you are in GUIDE mode, you
can spin the DIAL one click anti-clockwise and Argo
Navis allows you to retrieve the previous object in that
catalog or you can spin it one click clockwise to
retrieve the next object.

Argo Navis stores objects in lexicographic (dictionary)
rather than numerical order. For example, consider the
Messier objects. Rather than being stored in numerical order
as M1, M2, M3, etc. Argo Navis internally stores them in
dictionary order as M1, M10, M100, M101, M102, .... M2, M20,
M21, .... etc.

If you would like to view the objects in some other order,
you might consider creating your own User Catalog with the
names prefixed with a designation according to the order you
want to observe them in.

For example, say you want them sorted in RA order, here would
be the first couple of possible entries in a User Catalog file -

001 M110 | 00:40.4 | +41:41 | GALAXY | 8.5 | COMPANION OF M31
002 M31 | 00:42.7 | +41:16 | GALAXY | 3.4 | ANDROMEDA GALAXY

etc.

To access the catalog in the order you specified, do the following -
Enter MODE CATALOG, DIAL up the USER CATALOG and then
use the DIAL and ENTER button to access "001 M110".
Argo Navis will then GUIDE you to it. To access the next object,
just spin the DIAL one detent click clockwise and you will then
be guided to "002 M31" and so on.

You might want to consider the third party software product
called Astroplanner that allows you to create and download Argo
Navis user catalog entries directly into the unit, drawing upon
its database of millions of objects. This includes objects
such as the NGC database so you don't need to manually
re-enter them again. See http://www.ilangainc.com/astroplanner/

The popular SkyTools program also supports Argo Navis. See
http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html

Both programs are very affordable and Astroplanner has name
prefix support so you can create lists in some pre-defined
order. Argo Navis owner, Jean-Paul Richard, describes this
procedure using Astroplanner -





Thanks again for the post.

Best Regards

Gary Kopff
Managing Director
Wildcard Innovations Pty. Ltd.
20 Kilmory Place, Mount Kuring-Gai
NSW. 2080. Australia
Phone +61-2-9457-9049
Fax +61-2-9457-9593
sales@wildcard-innovations.com.au
http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au