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Old 10-11-2008, 09:35 AM
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asterisk (Geoff)
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Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Ruse, Australia
Posts: 232
I too read jjjnettie's post on the iOptron Cube and thought I would get one. Sirius Optics http://www.sirius-optics.com.au/index11.htm sells these locally and I found Ron to be very helpful.

The only one he had in stock when I made my purchase in August was the SmartStar-G GOTO Alt Az Mount. I had no luck with it at all - would not talk to my laptop, the GPS continually put it in the Northern Hemisphere 2 time zones east, would not track or GoTo. Manual setup was needed always.

I put a little 80mm refractor on top. I could either balance the tube or setup in the start up position (tube vertical), but not both. The GoTos were very interesting - most objects were either "not available" (I was looking at them) or below the ground.

I investigated the iOptron group and found that these SmartStars had many problems (unlike the earlier model which jjjnettie may have). I contacted iOptron support in the US, had a reply that my problems would be looked into and nothing since.

I contacted Sirius and Ron offered to refund the purchase price, an offer I accepted.

My problems were not unique. Check out the Yahoo group. http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/i...ec=group&slk=1

Based on my experiences, I would not recommend the iOptron Cube unless they have vastly improved their current offering.

Cheers
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