Conversion of Skywatcher AutoTracking to GoTo

[grantboxer]

Hi All, I have 10" Skywatcher Auto-Tracking Dob and I was wondering if anyone had converted one of these to a full GoTo?

[bmitchell82]

not that i know of grant.

Oh and welcome to IIS its good to see another perthite hanging around! there are a few of us here.

[mic_m]

I don't have a SW Autotracking dob but I have followed this subject.

It appears to be possible (http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showthreaded.php/Cat/0/Number/3265288/page/0/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all) to make the upgrade of the Autotracking dob to GOTO with a SynScan controller with v3.07 firmwear. On their website (http://www.skywatchertelescope.net/swtinc/product.php?id=158&class1=1&class2=106) Sky-Watcher also appears to indicate that GOTO is possible on the Autotracking dob with the addition of a SynScan controller.

However, some international SW retailers have stated that, while it is possible to achieve GOTO, this upgrade is not approved by SW and that undertaking such an upgrade might void any warranty. There is a discussion of this subject here (http://stargazerslounge.com/equipment-discussion/85173-goto-skywatcher-flextube-auto-dobs-reality-3.html). The reason cited for SW not recommending the GOTO upgrade was that they don’t consider the Autotracking setup as being reliable for accurate GOTO. Though this advice seems contradictory to the information on their website.

My advice: while it seems to be possible to achieve GOTO by buying a SynScan controller, you should first consider contacting the dealer that you purchased your Autotracking dob from (or any other SW dealer) and ask them about their recommendations on this issue, if they are not sure ask them to contact SW for you. In the meantime you could try to contact (http://www.skywatchertelescope.net/swtinc/contactus.php) SW yourself for guidance.

Michael.

[grantboxer]

I did call the SW agent in Sydney and the tech guy there had also tried to contact SW in ?Japan regarding conversion of AutoTracking to GoTo. Apparently he has not been able to get a reply about this issue. I will follow-up on your leads - thanks.