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  #341  
Old 02-09-2011, 06:12 PM
Alchemy (Clive)
Quietly watching

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Had mine for nearly a year now, and what a great gadget, its become the piece of gear I couldn't be without. Has performed flawlessy each and every time, sat out all night in the dewy weather never a problem.
So easy to use,.... I used to star hop..... which got me there eventually but to go first time to any object to be right there in the field of view

I'm going narrowband once the new camera arrives, which means shooting under a full moon...... Not much star hopping to be done there

Top product in every way, and I know I will get years and years of use from it.

Cant recommend it highly enough.
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  #342  
Old 02-09-2011, 09:06 PM
gary
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Thank you Clive

Quote:
Originally Posted by Alchemy View Post
Had mine for nearly a year now, and what a great gadget, its become the piece of gear I couldn't be without. Has performed flawlessy each and every time, sat out all night in the dewy weather never a problem.
So easy to use,.... I used to star hop..... which got me there eventually but to go first time to any object to be right there in the field of view

I'm going narrowband once the new camera arrives, which means shooting under a full moon...... Not much star hopping to be done there

Top product in every way, and I know I will get years and years of use from it.

Cant recommend it highly enough.
Hi Clive,

Thanks for those kind words of support which mean a lot to us and we really appreciate it.

The narrowband filter sounds interesting!

All the best.

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
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  #343  
Old 11-01-2012, 12:19 PM
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erick (Eric)
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Is 2012 the year for a firmware update?
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  #344  
Old 11-01-2012, 07:11 PM
gary
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Argo Navis planned firmware release

Quote:
Originally Posted by erick View Post
Is 2012 the year for a firmware update?
Hi Eric,

Thanks for the post.

We're hoping to provide a new general firmware release in 2012.

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
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  #345  
Old 11-01-2012, 09:10 PM
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erick (Eric)
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Thanks Gary. I look forward to some "teasers" of what might be in the update.
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  #346  
Old 11-01-2012, 09:41 PM
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Kevnool (Kev)
Fast Scope & Fast Engine

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Could there be anything in there that needs updating as the poor ole girl just dont miss a beat.

Cheers Kev.
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  #347  
Old 18-01-2012, 12:16 PM
gary
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Argo Navis and the Moon

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevnool View Post
Could there be anything in there that needs updating as the poor ole girl just dont miss a beat.

Cheers Kev.
Hi Kev,

You are absolutely right in that Argo Navis is already feature rich and the hallmark
of reliability in operation.

We have some additional enhancements in test at the moment including that the Moon
will appear as an object in the database. You will even be able to ascertain the
time and date of the next New Moon, First Quarter, Full Moon and Last Quarter.
For ServoCAT owners, they will be able to track the Moon. Though the Moon is
such an easy target to locate without an Argo Navis, the reality is that for people
who use their scopes at public observing nights, the ability to track the Moon
is a real convenience.

As usual, this Argo Navis firmware upgrade will be made available for free to
all our existing users.

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
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  #348  
Old 18-01-2012, 12:32 PM
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astroron (Ron)
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I am Happy with my 11 years of ownership of a great piece of astronomical observing aid
Thanks Gary
Cheers
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  #349  
Old 18-01-2012, 07:00 PM
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erick (Eric)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevnool View Post
Could there be anything in there that needs updating as the poor ole girl just dont miss a beat.

Cheers Kev.
A dozen scratch entries and a few more user catalog spaces would be handy.
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  #350  
Old 18-01-2012, 07:46 PM
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Kevnool (Kev)
Fast Scope & Fast Engine

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Quote:
Originally Posted by gary View Post
Hi Kev,

You are absolutely right in that Argo Navis is already feature rich and the hallmark
of reliability in operation.

We have some additional enhancements in test at the moment including that the Moon
will appear as an object in the database. You will even be able to ascertain the
time and date of the next New Moon, First Quarter, Full Moon and Last Quarter.
For ServoCAT owners, they will be able to track the Moon. Though the Moon is
such an easy target to locate without an Argo Navis, the reality is that for people
who use their scopes at public observing nights, the ability to track the Moon
is a real convenience.

As usual, this Argo Navis firmware upgrade will be made available for free to
all our existing users.

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
Hi Gary

Ive had mine for a couple of years now but inbetween this time has there been any other firmware updates that i should know about?

The firmware updates get posted on your website?

Alls great

Cheers Kev.
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  #351  
Old 18-01-2012, 07:49 PM
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Kevnool (Kev)
Fast Scope & Fast Engine

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Quote:
Originally Posted by erick View Post
A dozen scratch entries and a few more user catalog spaces would be handy.
Honestly Eric i cannot think of any way to make it better.
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  #352  
Old 18-01-2012, 09:18 PM
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erick (Eric)
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I've got two and am very happy with them. But a few enhancements would be great as well.
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  #353  
Old 19-01-2012, 04:17 PM
gary
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Where to look for Argo Navis firmware update annoucements

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevnool View Post
Hi Gary

Ive had mine for a couple of years now but inbetween this time has there been any other firmware updates that i should know about?

The firmware updates get posted on your website?

Alls great

Cheers Kev.
Hi Kev,

If you dial up MODE STATUS, STATUS VERSION and you have version 2.0.x
where 0 <= x <= 4, then you have the most current version applicable
to your unit.

I'd say you almost certainly have the most recent general release version.

The differences between the various 2.0.x versions are mostly related to changes
in device drivers to support some small changes in hardware components from
time to time.

The firmware updates get posted on our web site.

When the next firmware update is announced, you can learn about it in several
ways.

a) By registering here for an email notification -
http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au/register.html

b) My monitoring announcements on the Argo Navis User Group here -
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/argo_navis_dtc/

c) My monitoring announcements on this web page here -
http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au/firmware.html

d) Here in this IceInSpace sticky thread.

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
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  #354  
Old 20-01-2012, 02:30 PM
Kevnool's Avatar
Kevnool (Kev)
Fast Scope & Fast Engine

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Location: Broken Hill N.S.W
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gary View Post
Hi Kev,

If you dial up MODE STATUS, STATUS VERSION and you have version 2.0.x
where 0 <= x <= 4, then you have the most current version applicable
to your unit.

I'd say you almost certainly have the most recent general release version.

The differences between the various 2.0.x versions are mostly related to changes
in device drivers to support some small changes in hardware components from
time to time.

The firmware updates get posted on our web site.

When the next firmware update is announced, you can learn about it in several
ways.

a) By registering here for an email notification -
http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au/register.html

b) My monitoring announcements on the Argo Navis User Group here -
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/argo_navis_dtc/

c) My monitoring announcements on this web page here -
http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au/firmware.html

d) Here in this IceInSpace sticky thread.

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
Thanks Gary for the info.

I see that i,m running 2.0.1

Cheers Kev.
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  #355  
Old 30-01-2012, 11:42 AM
gary
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Wildcard Innovations web site may be temporarily inaccessible

Please note that due to a Telstra copper line fault, access to the Wildcard Innovations
web site may be intermittent at best for the next few days.

Telstra reports that it is unlikely the copper line fault will be repaired until Thurs 2 Feb.

Until the line fault is cleared, customers may not be able to access our
web site and our email response times may be longer than normal.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

If you need to contact us, you can call us 09:00 - 17:00 AEDT on
the Wildcard Innovations phone line which is operational on 02-9457-9049.

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
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  #356  
Old 29-03-2012, 07:42 AM
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erick (Eric)
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I'm impressed with the Argo's performance. My scope is set up just inside the garage door so I can check out mechanical changes I made. I can only see some of the sky through the door. I decided to try aligning and picked Regulus and Spica as my alignment stars, even though, at the time, they were only about 3 deg different in elevation. That alignment was more than enough to then tour the brighter galaxies from Leo through to Virgo. I was amazed.
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  #357  
Old 29-03-2012, 02:17 PM
gary
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Quote:
Originally Posted by erick View Post
I'm impressed with the Argo's performance. My scope is set up just inside the garage door so I can check out mechanical changes I made. I can only see some of the sky through the door. I decided to try aligning and picked Regulus and Spica as my alignment stars, even though, at the time, they were only about 3 deg different in elevation. That alignment was more than enough to then tour the brighter galaxies from Leo through to Virgo. I was amazed.
Hi Eric,

Thanks for the report.

Though observing from inside the garage door may have denied you views
of the southern half of the sky, there is plenty on offer in the north and the
appeal to some may be that they are just that little bit closer to their beer fridge.

Great to hear the Argo Navis did its magic.

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
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  #358  
Old 06-07-2012, 04:06 PM
gary
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Cool Argo Navis Manuel Utilisateur Édition en langue française

IceInSpace is predominantly an English language forum but I do
know we have some customers here in Australia that also speak French.

In any case, the following story may be of interest to all readers
who enjoy stories involving people's dedication toward reaching some goal.

It also gives me an opportunity to thank that person in public.

A French language version of the Argo Navis User's Manual is
available from the Wildcard Innovations' web site by following the
link available on this page -
http://www.wildcard-innovations.com....mentation.html

The Manual was kindly translated by Argo Navis user, Michel Perdrix.

On May 30th, Michel kindly forwarded us a French translation of
the "TPAS Approach" section of the User Manual which he had
done for his own personal use but was happy for us to make widely
available.

On June 1st, I had noted that on one of the French astronomy forums
that Michel participates in that users were looking for a version of
the Manual that would allow them to pass it through Google translate.

I emailed Michel and asked him that if we were to make available the
source document whether there might be French speaking customers who
might be willing to translate small sections of it.

Michel, a retired Engineer living near Nice, replied that he would
give it a try himself!

He translated by hand and by 4th June had already reached page 30.
By the 15th June he had reached page 150!
By 30th June he had reached page 206!
And by 1 July he had translated the entire document!
He then went and proof read the document two more times and on 4th
July 2012 we received a copy of the translated version of the Manual.

I asked Michel whether he ever took time to rest. He assured me
he also spent time to observe and to go to restaurants and the
cinema.

I am sure everyone will agree that this is a fantastic effort
and I know our French speaking customers will be very grateful for
his very hard work.

As Michel says, "I hope the translation will be useful to French
speaking "astrams" (French contraction of astro + amateur used on
our forums)".

Merci Michel!

If French speaking readers should find any errors in the Manual,
please let us know and we will work with Michel to correct them.

Once again, thank you Michel.

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
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  #359  
Old 06-07-2012, 06:24 PM
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erick (Eric)
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Tres bon, Michel! Merci beaucoup!

But that is about the limit of my school French, sorry.
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  #360  
Old 08-07-2012, 08:45 AM
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stephenb (Stephen)
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Between some of the typical Melbourne weather lately, I've been trying out my new Argo Navis on my 10" BinTel Dob. It literally took less that 40 minutes to install and 10 minutes to setup! Out of 4 x 30 minute sessions the pointing accuracy has been 90-95% successful. I've been able to locate many DSOs within the bounds of my light pollution. Occasionally the object will fall just outside the FOV with a TV 27mm Pan.

I built my own stalk and placed it on the far-side of the rocker box which was more ergonomic than on the 'near side'.

I'm extremely impressed with it's operation and simplicity and most of all the outstanding service and advice I've received from Gary (but with an AN, that's a given).

Edit: Gary, sorry for the lack of email. I've fixed my extension cable dilemma and I'll post some pics today to describe how I achieved it.

Stephen
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