Im about to purchase my first tracker, and Ive chosen the SkyGuider Pro. The system only needs 4 stars to locate the pole, and can do so even if the pole location is obstructed by tree branches or clouds. Slew mode for quicker framing of celestial images without knocking the camera out of alignment. 4. Check on YouTube William Optics Vixen Style Base Mount Latitude Versions info from Orion2400. The polar axis does not move when you move the telescope. There are a number of tools you can use to help polar align your equatorial mount, such as: PolarFinder Mobile App SharpCap Software Polar Alignment Feature iOptron PoleMaster Electronic Polar Finder The Importance of Balance Speaking of balance, the actual balancing of the weight on top of the mount (the payload) is extremely important. Everybody tell ioptron to sort it out! What did you do with it? Call or email us today to let us know what you think. Yes exactly. In fact, I prefer the polar alignment procedure of the LighTrack II over the ones using the iOptron polar scopes. The app needs to be purchased separately at an extra cost, but alignment is a breeze once installed. I presume you are looking through a polar scope? Features Fast and easy to use High precision (30 arcsec) No need to see the Pole Star No need to rotate the mount during alignment Unique imaging enhancement technique Smart plate solving On screen instruction during alignment Capable under poor sky visibility condition Sky Map is a hand-held planetarium for your Android device. The NexStar series of SCTs have been around for over a decade, and I was finally able to experience this beginner-friendly telescope for myself. Accurate Polaris / Oct position calculation, including atmospheric refraction, stellar aberration, nutation. If your view of the Big Dipper or Polaris is completely obstructed, you may need to polar align using the Drift Align method I mentioned earlier. Polar scope chart on an iPhone Figure 13. The Polar-Aligner is a simple astronomical application for the northern hemisphere to help you to align your mount easily. Polar alignment of telescope iOptron Gem28 mount using - YouTube Because if the pole star and the other stars around it are obscured by trees, it would seem like it would not work. I want to buy one and be done rather than wish Id upgraded later. Since then Im looking into sturdier trackers (skyguider pro ipolar in particular). I found it could be hard to adjust the knob of the WO vixen base with heavy combo attached. Hi, It is very similar to the following models: The Sky-Watcher HEQ5 in this example features a built-in polar scope with an illuminated reticle. My one regret is that I havent given it a proper test drive yet. Your job is to align these two indicators with each other by making adjustments to the alt-az adjustments knobs on the mount wedge. Big fan thank you for all the information you share with us! There is a hole near the top of the body (for lining up if you don't have a polar scope) but I find this very difficult to use. This is a very popular telescope mount for beginner to intermediate astrophotography enthusiasts. Polar aligning an iOptron SkyGuider Pro with a QHY PoleMaster There is no menu button. This App controls most functions through Bluetooth from your Android cell phone or tablet. Thank you for the awesome, and very thorough, review of the iOptron SkyGuider Pro with iPolar! so you have said The lack of dithering was evident in the data. This will be magnetic north though so only an approximation. It Nightshift is the ideal free night sky app for the experienced amateur astronomer as well as the casual stargazer. Automatic Time/Location. Features include one touch night vision - touch the heading of any page to toggle night vision on and off. This is the coordinate we will use to adjust the position of the telescope mount to align with the North celestial pole. Think of a polar scope, the Ekos/Sharpcap routines, or the iPolar program as a quick and simple approximation. Best star tracker camera mounts for astrophotography in 2023 I rather not have to pay for an app but if the iOptron app is more precise, $2 isn't going to kill me. I rather not have to pay for an app but if the iOptron app is more precise, $2 isn't going to kill me. I use it for iOptron Skytracker pro. You write: remember that you have given up your ability to polar align the mount without software assistance.. This platform Natevia With this solution you can still use your polar scope when you are traveling. Almost any starcharting software will give the position of Polaris, and most will correct for atmospheric refraction. Great point Robin!! For those lucky enough to have a permanent home observatory, you can be sure that every measure was taken to ensure that the telescope mount and pier were precisely polar aligned. My biggest problem with my SkyGuider Pro is the alt-azi mount it came with. The polar alignment was really dialed-in, but a 40-minute exposure is a but much. Hello, Which cable do you use to connect the canon camera to the ipolar? Long story short, here are my questions: 1. Since 2017, Ive captured several deep sky images with the SkyGuider Pro, with a DSLR camera attached to a camera or small telescope. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. One of the reasons I made Polar Scope Align was because the iOptron app was way off back then - it took them a few years of mucking about to even match their hand controller, it was quite bizarre (maybe they had outsourced the app?). Polar Scope Align Pro 4+ - App Store Drift alignment in PHD2 is going to be better, but is still just a sample of the many possible measurements. This utility helps you solve this problem by graphically showing you the current position of the Polaris. iOptron Polar Scope This is an app to show the position of the Pole Star (Polaris in Northern Hemisphere, or Sigma Octantis in Southern Hemisphere) in the polar scope of all the iOptron. The Polar Scope Align app for iOS was designed to make polar alignment easier and provide an alternative method of aligning with polar scopes to improve their precision. Polar Scope Align Pro - Scope alignment & astro tools $2.99 App Genre: Utilities Latest Version: 6.2 Released: 04/03/15 Updated 31/10/21 Ratings: 4.96 Downloads: 108 Polar Scope Align Pro is a utility app developed by Dimitrios Kechagias and available on the iOS App Store and Android Play Store. On 03/05/2020 at 20:32, AstroRookie said: What's the best polar alignment app for Android? For Polar alignment you don't really need an app, however, there's an app for Android called 'Calibration' which will clibrte your phone's accelerometer then give you a compass so you can see where 'north' is. **Telescopes**https://www.firstlightoptics.com/telescopes/ref/astrolavista/ **Mounts**https://www.firstlightoptics.com/astronomy-mounts-by-type/ref/astrolavista/**Cameras/Astrophotography**https://www.firstlightoptics.com/astro-photography/ref/astrolavista/ **Eyepieces**https://www.firstlightoptics.com/eyepieces-barlows/ref/astrolavista/ **Filters**https://www.firstlightoptics.com/filters/ref/astrolavista/ **Accessories**https://www.firstlightoptics.com/accessories/ref/astrolavista/**Binoculars**https://www.firstlightoptics.com/binoculars/ref/astrolasvista/ Ever wondered what objects are up in the sky? The same process applies when using a small star tracker to take wide-angle nightscapes using a camera and lens. With the preview function (which is automatically visible A simple and easy to use application for determining the location of Polaris relative to the north celestial pole. The app is helpful to match orientation of the DSO Planner Free is an astronomy observation planning tool with excellent star charting capabilities made by active and experienced amateur observers with a passion for visual observations. Please Note: The database has recently been updated. Running, cycling, gym, walking, dancing Choose your favorite activity from 100+ sport profiles and start reaching your Light Pollution Map allows you to easily locate dark sites where the sky will not be affected by light pollution, allowing the best observance, star gazing, and photography of the night sky! 2) Tonight at a OnStep is a DIY computerized GoTo controller for Telescope mounts. Alternatively in theory you could do this: If I would use one of these which would you choose? Your email address will not be published. iEQ75 with 8406 Hand Controller. Overall good software, works as intended. It is now a matter of moving the mount left or right until Polaris comes into view. It provides in one screen all the information needed to do this task.It also provides a polar angle with two different reticles. It may also be used with other brand telescope/camera mounts with similar polar scope reticle. 2. It looks like this: PS Align Pro is the app I use. April 23, 2020 in Getting Started General Help and Advice. I take it that you think its a worthwhile upgrade? The only pre-requesite is to install the IOptron software from their website (3339_iOptron_iPolar.exe) on your laptop. You'll need to enter in the lat-long coordinates of your location, which you can easily find online or using the GPS on your phone. Thanks again! When Polaris rides consistently along that line, you know the polar-scope is set for subsequent alignment. I am not sure when should I stop rotating. The app uses your mobile devices GPS to automatically calculate theposition of Polaris for your latitude and longitude. The telescope mount should have a latitude scale posted on one side, with an indicator of what latitude your mount is currently in line with. However, would it not be possible to somehow side mount a polar scope for manual polar alignment? Am I correct in that assumption? The SkyGuider Pro has proved to be an incredibly reliable star tracker that only takes a few minutes to set up. The iPolar software is available to download on the iOptron website. Polar Scope Align Pro by Dimitrios Kechagias - AppAdvice We use cookies on our website, in accordance with our. iOptron Polar Scope App - Latest Version Troubles - Cloudy Nights During shooting? MySiderealTime is a useful Sidereal Clock utility to assist you while you use your telescope and mount during your astronomy viewing session or for your night of astrophotography. Just change the gain adjustment and exposure length until about 10 stars are detected. Set up is a breeze and can be done in 5-10mins tops and it can be carried out during those dusk hours thereby not wasting viewing/imaging time. That's a key advantage of mount modeling like TPoint or 10Micron. This application allows you to carry out a precise stationing of the mount also excellent for astrophotographers and works in both celestial poles. The free version simply called "Polar Scope Align" includes: Wizard to calculate your reticle centering offset and correct or compensate for it. Accurate polar alignment is essential for all types of long exposure astrophotography from wide-angle nightscapes, to high magnification deep-space imaging. Hit the connect button and the IPolar camera should connect to your laptop - the usb driver should auto download and install the first time you use it but might be a good idea to do this before being away from the internet, just in case! Its very easy to do it and also cheap. iOptron Technique for Telescope Polar Alignment - Cloudy Nights The best astronomy and stargazing apps for your mobile phone. The imaging camera in PoleMaster has a resolution of 30 arc second, so the best polar alignment that can be achieved by PoleMaster is also in the order of 30 arc seconds. And most of all, we hope you'll enjoy the products as much as we do. PolarScope is a polar-scope alignment app that runs on your Windows Desktop, Tablet and Phone. Im in Dallas at 32 degrees. I see you have what appears to be the William Optics wedge, rather than the OEM wedge from iOptron. Anyway, I digress. Hi! All of my images will be landscapes using a DSLR and wide angle lens. I enjoy the simple setup and dead simple software to polar align the mount however, Ive now lost some of the portability of this mount. Polar Scope Align App | Astronomy Technology Today Otherwise, youll have to rotate the tripod and possibly re-level.