The whole setup can be easily carried outdoors in one piece without any heavy breathing.Īfter deliberating on the wisdom of trying to use the iOptron tripod without a spreader, I decided to mount the ‘Cube’ on the tripod from my aforementioned CG1 mount, which by comparison, is quite substantial. Spread the tripod, plunk the ‘Cube’ on top, thread the center hold down bolt up through the base, and install the spreader on the lower half of the bolt, plug in the controller and you’re done. The larger upper part of the tripod legs are only 1” and they reduce down from that on the lower half.Īfter testing the tripod without the spreader, I decided it was hopeless and adapted a tripod from an old CG1 mount I had lying around. Even allowing for the fact that the spreader was missing, I cannot say that it would have dramatically improved matters. There is an optional AC adapter available to provide 12Vdc from household current. There is a battery access door which reveals a tray which takes 8 x ‘AA” batteries. The user manual hints at this possibility, but doesn’t explain it, and the firmware version (8402) on my mount did not match the manual’s menu structure. These all turn with the upper part of the mount, so cord wrap is a potential issue if you are not using the batteries. Below the altitude friction lock knob there are ports for the std hand controller, a remote controller, 12Vdc in and an on-off switch. The base is marked in one position with ‘South’. The Azimuth axis is similar to other GOTOs in as much as it rotates on its base. The ‘Cube’ has its altitude axis passing horizontally though the upper 1/4 of the cube, with a Vixen style dovetail receptacle on one side and a clutch/lock knob on the other. Fit and finish are on par with any piece of Chinese consumer electronic gear these days – which is to say, very good! The basic ‘kit’ includes the ‘Cube’, hand controller, tripod and spreader/tray (which I unfortunately managed to discard with the packaging…) and operating manual. However, it has more heft to it than its shape and pastel color scheme suggests. When you are first presented with the cube, it looks pretty much like its pictures in the ads. It did not arrive in factory packaging, so I cannot comment on this aspect of the product. So I decided to take the plunge and bought a nearly new Ioptron GPS ‘Cube’ off Astromart. What I really wanted was a light, GOTO grab-and-go set up. I had a C5 OTA that needed a mount, and an old CG1 mount from my Astrojunk just wasn’t up to the task. And like many people I was also frustrated by the lack of any real information or reviews on this product. Like many people, I was intrigued by the iOptron ‘Cube’ when it debuted a while back. The opinions expressed in this article are mine alone. I am not affiliated with any Astronomical company. (providing they didn’t cost more than my car…). I formed and ran Talscopes in N.America for a couple of years, and have owned and used many of the commercially available telescopes. Standard 1.25 inch heavy-duty stainless steel tripod (5.My name is Malcolm Bird and I have been in and around the Astronomical community for the last 15 years.Tracking without hand controller connected.Serial port for firmware upgrade and computer controller.AccuAlign TM bright field illuminated polar scope.Low power consumption (8 AA batteries for 16 hours consecutive tracking).Over 59,000 celestial objects for easy surfing.Go2Nova TM 8408 controller with Advanced GOTONOVA® GoTo Technology.Drive motor with 9-speed setting for precise tracking.Dual-axis servomotor with optical encoder.Payload: 11 lb (5 kg) (excluding counterweight).Portable, compact, and sturdy German equatorial mount that is easy to travel with.Specialized Grab N’ Go mount ideal for visual observer and wide field astro-photographer.The SmartEQ TM Pro is universally compatible with any tubes using a Vixen-style dovetail connection, making it useful for beginners as well as hobbyists with multiple tubes. Read this SkyTracker Test Report by Dennis Di Cicco of Sky & Telescope magazine. The Go2Nova® Hand Controller is intuitive with a large LCD screen, with which you can easily set up your telescope and select where you want to navigate. It offers the next generation GOTO technology from iOptron. The SmartEQ TM Pro is a fully computerized mount with a database of 59,000 objects. The compact design and light weight make travelling with the mount easy. It is ideal for visual observation and wide field astrophotography. Born out of the popular iOptron Cube TM and iEQ TM mounts, the SmartEQ TM Pro mount is the ultimate Grab N’ Go German equatorial GOTO mount fitting into almost everyone’s budget.
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