Hi Dave,
Thanks for the post, for your interest in Argo Navis and your email of this
Sunday morning which I have already responded to earlier today.
Greetings to you up there in Toowoomba!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Davekyn
Can anyone confirm if the Argo Navis pointing system will correctly install n the newer GSO ASDX mounts?
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We do indeed have a kit for the new GSO mounts. These mounts have the brushed
aluminium tensioning trunnions on the altitude axis.
You can find a copy of the installation instructions here for the Alt axis -
http://www.wildcard-innovations.com..../gso16_alt.pdf
and here for the Az axis -
http://www.wildcard-innovations.com....s/gso16_az.pdf
The encoder kit is listed as Bintel xxxB which refers to the re-badged GSO mounts
that the Binocular & Telescope Shop stocks, which are exactly the same as those from
other suppliers and where xxx is 152 for the 6", 202 for the 8", 252 for the 10", 302 for the 12"
or 402 for the 16" (the 402 has no B suffix).
Note on the GSO Alt trunnion.
For the GSO 16" kits, we require that you ship one of the aluminium altitude bearing trunnions so that
we can modify it. To understand which part I mean, please refer to these installation
instructions for the altitude axis -
http://www.wildcard-innovations.com..../gso16_alt.pdf
Please see Fig. 1a and Fig. 1b in the Altitude instructions above.
Do not ship the screws that hold the trunnions on. Fasten them back onto the square nuts
that are inside the slots so you do not lose them. The encoder can be installed on either side
of the telescope, but I recommend the same side as the eyepiece holder.
Typically we can turn around the trunnion and ship it with the complete system within a working
day or two of receiving it. The installation of the encoder coupler into the trunnion does
not modify its function as a tensioning device.
Quote:
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In the product description, it talks more about learning about what your pointing at. I was surprised there was not much talk about locating? Can anyone describe how the system helps to locate other than telling you what you are pointing at?
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If you haven't done so already, you might want to grab and browse a copy of the
Argo Navis User's Manual -
http://www.wildcard-innovations.com..../argoman10.pdf
The first approx. 30 pages is all you need to get up and going and describes
from how to install the batteries, to performing the once-only initial setups,
to performing a star alignment right through to a tutorial on how to tour
galaxies in Fornax.
The rest of the manual exhaustively describes every mode of operation of the
unit by way of a complete reference manual. We are firm believers in providing
all the information that a user is likely to ever need, and more, at their fingertips
and then backing it up with the best possible support in the industry. For example,
we even provided full support on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day.
In a nutshell, once you align on any two objects you can recognize (say, for example,
a couple of bright stars or even a planet like Jupiter), the system 'knows' where your
telescope is then pointing from then on. You can then use it in a variety of ways.
For example, you can quickly and easily call up any of the objects in its 30,000
object database and the Argo Navis display will then guide you to it. In this mode,
the display shows two numbers on the bottom line which represent the
angular displacement to the object decomposed in terms of the Az and Alt axis
of your scope. These numbers update in real-time as you move the scope.
For example, the attached image below shows a user guiding to NGC 1097.
You can also point to an object and ask Argo Navis what it is, based on user definable
filtering criteria, such as magnitude, type of object, etc. You can also enter the RA & Dec
object co-ordinates of an object either through the front panel interface or via a PC
connected to the unit and Argo Navis will guide you to those co-ordinates.
The unit will also display the RA and Dec co-ordinates of where the scope is pointing, but
most users will tend to use the in-built catalogs or load their own user defined objects
to locate them, rather than use the RA/Dec menu readout. You can download the orbital elements
of comets, asteroids and artificial satellites. You can tour objects in selected ways.
For example, you can put queries to it such as "take me on a tour of
all globular clusters in Sagittarius of mag 13 or brighter, or "take me
on a tour of all Messier objects above the horizon" or take me on a tour of
all galaxy clusters within 30 degrees of here" and so on.
These queries and in fact all menu operation can be performed with just
one thumb even with mittens on and the names of objects, constellations,
etc. are entered with minimal input from the user courtesy of some
smart name completion functionality we refer to as the
Intelligent Editing
System.
There is a long list of capabilities and you will quickly see why the system is
so popular.
Quote:
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Just noticed the sticky...reading now...anyone know the NEW price on these things...still waiting for a reply from Wildcard-inovations.
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A full response including pricing details was sent by email in response to
your inquiry this morning. pricing details also appear on our web site here -
http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au/purchase.html
Be sure to use the Region pulldown and select your shipping region to be Australia (the default is USA).
Australian prices differ from overseas prices simply because they are inclusive of 10% Australian Govt Goods
and Services Tax which all of us pay in Australia but which is not applicable to those outside of Australia.
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
Phone +61-2-9457-9593
sales@wildcard-innovations.com.au
http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au