New kid in town - NEXUS DSC

[PeterHA]

All,
Have not read much about it but there is a new Digital Setting Circle controller out there and the specs are very interesting.

Nexus DSC from Astro Devices has:

1.7 Million objects in its database
GPS
WiFi
Up to 6 scope setups in the memory
Up to 120 custom observing lists in Skysafari format possible
USB upgradable without special software
Multi line 100 step dimmable OLED display
Illuminated dimmable number keys
Build in LiIon battery
From an connection side it seems like a drop in fit with encoders using the same cables as Argo and others.

[glend]

Serge doesn't get enough credit for his excellent products, and seems to get far more positive comments on Cloudy Nights and other forums. I have used a couple of his wifi boxes and encoder solutions on my big dob and now on my NEQ6 to make it Sky Safari driven. Good innovative wireless products that interface with a range of planrtarium software apps to make scope driving much easier. I know Serge refuses to get into running advertising threads so consider this an endorsement. Well done Astro Devices.

[AG Hybrid]

Yep top product. Been working great for me.(The wireless DSC)

[Kunama]

Just placed my order today for the Nexus DSC, 10K encoders and custom cables (after discussions with Serge) ........ might be able to find some stuff other than the Moon and Jupiter from now on .... ;)

I will be sharing the DSC between the big Dobsonian and the 'other' mount currently being built for me in Japan.

Serge tells me the Nexus can be pre-programmed for up to 5 different mount/encoder combinations and then easily set for whichever mount it is fitted to. :thumbsup:

[Astro Devices]

Thank you for the lovely comments!

I am very happy to answer any questions you might have about Nexus DSC or our latest device - Nexus-II.

Best Regards,
Serge.

[Kunama]

The Nexus is indeed going very well Serge, I haven't needed the Wifi functionality yet. The extension lead I made works well using an inline coupler from Jaycar.

Just making up some personal viewing lists at the moment.

[Astro Devices]

Thank you very much for making this thread a sticky.

Best Regards,
Serge.

[ab1963]

Just had the Nexus DSC porta kit for the Vixen Porta ii mount fitted,Serge fitted it for me this evening ,absolutely amazed with the experience from watching it being fitted to seeing what it can do ,it fits so seamlessly to the mount unlike some of the other brands of encoders out there ,connects wirelessly to SkySafari as well which i thought was impressive ,can't wait to give it a go Friday night weather permitting and give Serge 10/10 for an amazing product,will post some pics later in the week

[ab1963]

pics now added

[Shano592]

That looks like a powerful setup. :thumbsup:

I use Serge's Nexus S, and it is streets ahead of the Autostar Handbox.

[glend]

Congratulations Serge on the Vixen Porta II device. It makes me sad that I sold my Porta II last year. Your really adding value and flexibility.

[ab1963]

Just needs something now to attach the DSC to the porta head and it will be perfect ,no good at stuff like that but if anyone out there has any good ideas on how to make something to fit it or could make something and pay them I would appreciate any input,it's the only thing that is really letting it down

[Kunama]

Andrew, here is my solution to fitting the Nexus to the TOA.
A piece of 3mm aluminium plate cut, drilled, bent, painted and attached to a Baader Quick Release finder bracket which is mounted to the tube counterweight ring......
( will also make a bracket to mount it to the T-Rex now that I have the TSA to cater for.. )

I also made a mount for the big scope on a pole attached to the rocker box...

Just a note on the Nexus DSC now that I have had some time to use it..... it is brilliant !!!!
I actually do my alignments using a Nagler 22mmT4 or a Delos 14mm,
I just locate the star, then defocus it till it fills about a third of the field of view and centre it ... 2 stars 90º apart,
from then on everything is pretty well spot on....

[FlashDrive]

Great Set Up there Pappy .... :thumbsup:

Real Nice....

[FlashDrive]

Brilliant Andrew :)

[ab1963]

Hi Matt

I have had something made by Alex (mental4astro) and looks perfect ,should not be long before i take delivery but the really cool thing about it is that it's the first production one he has made,I have pics of it and think Alex has nailed it IMO but being his intellectual property will not post them ,but if permission granted when i get it and set it up on the mount with scope etc will do.

Hi Col

The Nexus is fantastic ,was just missing something to cradle the handset but looks like that's fixed now.

[Tinderboxsky]

Andrew, here is my solution for attaching a red dot finder that may also give you some ideas to work with.
My motivation for this bracket was the absence of any way of attaching the red dot finder to the Zeiss spotting scope. The set up gets a lot of terrestrial use during the day, then simply attach the red dot finder and I have a complete grab and go setup for night time cruising.
The bracket is a piece of 3mm aluminium bent with appropriate holes. A cradle similar to Kunama's elegantly executed one would sit happily where I have my red dot finder.
You can see I have incorporated a handle too, but from one of your photos it looks as though you already have this covered.

Cheers

Steve

Ps, having trouble loading multiple images, so hopefully this one tells the story well enough

[ab1963]

Alex (mental4astro) sent the finished article yesterday and said it was ok to post a few pics ,very happy with it

[FlashDrive]

Looking Good Andrew ....:thumbsup:
Great Setup...

[ab1963]

Thanks Col ,I think Alex has done a great job with this ,it is just what was needed ,don't have to sit it in the tray anymore ,it was a pain in the rear end

[Kunama]

Set up the 18" on Mt Stromlo earlier this week.....

Aligned on Rigel Kent and Altair using a Nagler 22T4 and just centred the defocused star image, alignment successful at 0.00 :eyepop: I doubt I will ever beat that :D

After that even the smallest objects at 319x were right in the centre of view...:thumbsup:

[LewisM]

Sounds like a certain Vixen GPD2 you used to own Matt :) Out of ALL the myriad of astro stuff I have had, it's the one constant - I tend to work my scope choices around the mount! ;) (I sold the mount twice - bought it back each time, as nothing came close to how precise that particular GPD2 is)

[mental4astro]

Extreme Resolution Encoders - Oh yeah, baby!

I've just put through its paces these new extreme res encoders on my scopes. My big dob has 311,296 step encoder on the az axis and 650,500 step encoder on the alt. I then went nuts finding object after object from one side of the sky to the other and landing each comfortably inside an 8' true field of view eyepiece.

Oh, and I didn't need to change the way/speed at which I moved my scope.

Awesome Serge! Truly AWESOME!

Alex.

[Allan]

That sounds great Alex, I'm pleased it's working so well for you.

I get my new SDM soon and it will have these new encoders fitted. Coupled with the Mpoint calibration and ServoCAT Autolock, the Nexus DSC provides professional grade performance. Especially as my dob will be permanently housed in a ROR obs. I also hear there's possibly a home function on its way for the Nexus DSC, so I will only have to do my 2 star alignment once, and never need do it again.

[The Mekon]

Allan,

Do you have any updates on Serge's EQ6 / nexus project? I emailed him some days ago and he has yet to reply to me. From what he told me at SPSP this will be a straight plug and play for the EQ6 using the existing hardware on the drive.
Did I understand him correctly?

John

[Allan]

Hi John. Serge has had my Atlas AZ/EQ-G for 11 weeks now, so I think it is a bigger job than he anticipated. That is to get the Nexus DSC to run the mount in Alt/Az mode only.

I'm not aware of what will be required to get the EQ6 to run via Nexus. I know it's not currently a plug and play as you mention. I haven't asked him about that because running my mount in EQ is not something I'm interested in. I suspect he will need an EQ6 mount on hand to get it configured and then release a new firmware update, which is the process we are going through at the moment with my mount.

I'm sure Serge will get to your email, or post here if he sees your question. I do know he is very busy, the price you pay for being so popular.

[Wilso]

👍👍👍
For nexus Dsc, only had it since Christmas and love it, makes life easy to find any object you want.
I use a fixed pier and to have a home function would be great, no more star alignments again! :eyepop::

[The Mekon]

Thanks Allan,

In fact Serge contacted me a short time after your post! He is still working on it and hoping to complete by the end of the month. I will leave him to do his good work. I am keen to get the Nexus. The SynScan has room for only 25 user objects and I have filled it with obscure double stars. Been outside the past hour and a half checking them out (seeing not good). Am keen to get a controller/database with a bit more capability.

John

[astronut]

I've had my Nexus DSC since February.

My 12" Lightbridge was used as "patient zero" to produce a kit for these scopes. (All sizes)

I couldn't be happier with Serge's excellent service & advice.

The Nexus is simply brilliant, and talk about encoder resolution!!

AZ: 311,296.

Alt: 952,000.

Simply, the best! :D

[astronut]

I bought my Nexus DSC from Serge in Feb 17.
My 12" Lightbridge was the "development model" for the "Lightbridge kit"

The encoders are just the start, AZ 311296 steps, Alt 952000 steps.
Serge had to design and then produce all the hardware to fit my scope.

With my personal setup of control box (dew heaters & fan), I couldn't have the post with the dsc on the side of the mount (toward the rear)
I had to mount it on the side (front end)

Whilst this worked out, ok. I did tend to lean into it, especially with a lot of clothes on for winter.
I have now moved it to the upper tube assembly (with mount and cable relocations), this is infinitely better to read and use.

[Outcast]

I received my Nexus DSC recently as part of my Gondwana 12" Marana package.

I've only had the scope out twice thus far (thanks FNQ weather) & only connected up the Nexus the second time around.

An awesome product, so simple & intuitive; I am really impressed with it.

Serge worked with Alex to upgrade my Marana to 311,296 step magnetic encoders on both Az & Alt & the resolution for finding targets is phenomenal.

Additionally, Serge & Alex worked out where to attach a bracket to the Marana without impeding the ease of use which is one of the major design features of the Marana.

Congratulations Serge, outstanding product that is a joy to use.

[Rainmaker]

Just an update to the Nexus DSC thread..... and thanks to Serge :thanx:

I now have the Nexus running my SW AZ-EQ6GT and am retiring the Synscan V5 to run the AZ-GTi .

After a lengthy chat with Serge to sort out some issues I was having, Serge sent me the latest firmware ( 1.3.9e ) and guided me through a few setting changes, the end result being that the AZ-EQ6GT now runs perfectly in Alt-Az mode with my TMB-LZOS 152/1200 on the right side of the mount !!!

This is the end result of the work Serge did with Allan's Orion mount and brings to the AZ-EQ6GT the benefits of the Nexus instead of the frustrations of Synscan......

I still have to work out how to mount the DSC to the scope/mount...
pictures later... :hi:

[croweater]

Good one Matt. Serge sure does provide great service for a great product. I banged my nexus on a counterweight and cracked the screen. Serge had it repaired and back to me in no time and he replaced the rubber feet and put on latest updates on his own accord. The little he charged was almost laughable. Excellent service! Cheers, Richard :)

[astronut]

NEW Nexus DSC Pro. https://www.astrodevices.com/shop/index.php?product/page/259/Nexus+DSC+Pro

[mental4astro]

I have been privileged to see the Nexus DSC Pro go through its design and development. Many hours of conversations about the many new features and improvements to the features that have come across from the original Nexus DSC.

Serge's attention to detail extends to improvements that have not been mentioned. Subtle improvements that go a long way to making the Nexus DSC Pro an easier unit to use. One of these is the work that has gone into the OLED display where many hours went into finding ways to improve readability in the dark.

A huge amount of work has gone into producing this new product. And this has come about not from one person’s own input, but from the input of customers who talk to Serge. Customers being a major source of inspiration.

Congratulations Serge :thumbsup:

Alex.

[AG Hybrid]

Just receive my new encoder last week. Time to modernize my 12".

[glend]

I installed a Nexus system on my 16" f5 Dob when they first came out, and it was a fantastic product then. Glad to see Serge is continuing to improve this essential accessory. Highly recommended.
Glen