iOptron GoToNova 8401 manual

SmartStar ® CubePro TM Instruction Manual[...]

2 T able of Content Table of Content .............................................................................................................. 2 1. Introduc tion ............................................................................................................... .. 4 1.1. CubePro Features ............................................[...]

3 5.5.13. Set Language ............................................................................................. 15 5.6. A lign .................................................................................................................... 15 5.6.1. One St ar Alig n ..........................................................................[...]

4 1. Introduction 1.1. CubePro Features CubePro TM GOTO altazimuth (A/A) Mount is the ideal portable mount to go with your traveling OTAs, such as a 60mm or 80mm ED refractor, a 90mm or 100mm Maksutov-Cassegrain or a 114mm Newtonian reflector. It can also be used to mount solar scopes. It features a SmartStar ® computerized control system with 130[...]

5 1.2. CubePro TM Assembly Terms 1. Telescope (not included) 2. Dovetail Lock 3. Hand Controller 4. Altitude Lock 5. Mount 6. Tripod 7. Inner support/Tripod bolt 8. Tray 9. Tray lock 10. Counterweight (not shown) Figure 1. CubePro mount and tripod[...]

6 2. CubePro Assembly Step 1. Extend tripod legs to full extension. Step 2. Attach mount to tripod using the long bolt (#7). Slide tray on bottom of shaft. Then screw on round blac k knob (#9). Step 3. Installing Batteries Pull the batteries compartment cove r (shown) open. Gently pull the batteries holder out of the compartment to avoid breaking t[...]

7 Step 6. Connecting Hand Controller Plug hand controller into any one of the HBX (han dbox) ports on the mount. Plug in power plug if a AC adaptor is used. Turn on power. Now you ar e ready to observe. Use the 4 Arrow keys ( ▲▼◄► ) to rotate the scope Up, Down, Left, and Right. Use the Number key to change the slew sp eed from the slowest [...]

8 3. GOT ONOV A TM 8401 Hand Controller Figure 2. GOTONOVA 8401 Hand Controller GOTONOVA TM 8401 hand controller (HC) is the standard controller for a CubePro, as shown in Figure 2. 3.1. Key Description • MENU: Press “MENU” to enter the Main Menu. • BACK: Move back to the previous screen, or end/cancel current operation, such as slewing. ?[...]

Figure 3. 8401 HC LCD Information Screen 3.2. The LCD Screen The 8401 HC is designed to use for both iOptron’s equatorial (EQ) mount, such as the SmartStar ® -PR GOTO German Equatorial Mount and the GOTONOVA TM Equatorial Kit, and AltAzimuth (A/A) mount, which includes all SmartStar ® GOTO mounts and telescopes. It consists of a large 8-line LC[...]

10 • Level the Mount. Adjust the leg length to make sure the bubble on the side of the mount is centered. Turn the Mount around to make sure it is always leveled. It is also recommended to use additional levels to assure very precise leveling. Leveling is critical for a good GOTO and tracking accuracy. • Face the South. Align the Mount to south[...]

11 changed to N47º31'48”: 47.53º = 47º +0.53º, 0.53º=0.53x60'=31.8', 0.8'=0.8x60"=48". Therefore, 47.53º=47º31'48" or 47d31m48s. Same as N47º31.8’: 31.8’=31’+0.8’, 0.8’=0.8x60”=48”. Press ◄ or ► key, move the cursor to the bottom of the screen to set the time zone information (add [...]

12 Press Enter. Select Alt/Azi mount and press ENTER to go back the previous screen. 4.2.4. Set Anti-backlash For an Alt/Azi operation, both R.A. and DEC anti-backlash should be set to 0 step (factory default setting). Scroll down and select “Set anti-backlash” Press ENTER. A R.A. anti-backlash will display: To adjust steps, move the cursor to [...]

13 Select an object using ▲ or ▼ key. Then press ENTER. Next use the arrow keys to slew to the object until it is centered in your eyepiece. Then press ENTER. You may need using number keys to change the slewing speed to make the centering procedure easier. 4.3. Turn Off the Mount When you are finished observing it is recommended to return the [...]

14 5.2.4. Asteroids This catalog contains up to 4096 asteroids. This database is customer upgradeable. 5.2.5. Stars • Named Stars: consists of 191 stars with their common names. They are listed alphabetically. A list is attached in Appendix C. • Double Stars: consists of 40 double stars. A list is attached in Appendix C. • GCVS Variable Stars[...]

15 5.5.5. Set Eyepi ece Light If you have an illuminated-reticule eyepiece or illuminated polar scope, an d it is supported by GOTONOVA hand controller-- use this option to adjust the light intensity. 5.5.6. Set Backlight Adjust LCD and keypad backlight. 5.5.7. Set Anti-backlash Use Array Keys to move the cursor and Number Keys to change the number[...]

16 5.6.3. Three-Sta r Align It will increase the accuracy even higher and requires an even wider view of the sky. This basically asks you to choose a third star to align after two-star align. Three star alignment is not available for Alt/Azi mode. 5.6.4. Dis R.A axis error This only works for EQ mode. This displays the celestial pole point error. P[...]

17 6. Maintenance and Servicing 6.1. Maintenance The CubePro is designed to be maintenance free. Do not overload the mount. Do not drop the mount which will damage the mount or affect the GOTO tracking accuracy permanently. Use a wet cloth to clean the mount and hand controller. Do not use solvent. If your mount is not to be used for an extended pe[...]

18 4. Star Alignment accuracy; GOTO accuracy 1. Leveling (very important). 2. Site information (minutes ahead or behind UT, DST). 3. System balancing. 4. Use most updated firmware. 5. Select right mount type (A/A). 6. Set backlash to 0 in both DEC and RA. 7. Check the power supply, which include: • Using the battery? Is the battery fresh? How lon[...]

19 Appendix A. T echnical Specifications Mount AltAzimuth Mount Body Materials Die-cast Aluminum Motor Dual-Axis DC Servomotor, DC12V Speed Dual-Axis, 9-Gear, Electronic (1×,2×,8×,16×,64×,128×,256×,512×,MAX ） GPS 32-channel GPS GOTO System GOTONOVA TM 130,000+ objects database Tracking Automatic Payload 12 lb Counterweight 3.3 lbs (1.5kg)[...]

20 Appendix B. GOT ONOV A TM 8401 HC MENU STRUCTURE MENU Select and Sl ew Select and Sl ew Plane ts, Sun, Mo on Plane ts, Sun, Mo on Comets Comets Asteroids Asteroids Stars Stars Mercury Venus Mars Jupite r Saturn Uranu s Neptune Pluto Sun Moon Mercury Venus Mars Jupite r Saturn Uranu s Neptune Pluto Sun Moon Deep Sk y Obje cts Deep Sk y Obje cts N[...]

21 Set Up Controller Set Up Controller Set Up Local Time Set Up Site Set N/S Hemisphere Set Displa y Contrast Set Eyepiece Light Set Backlight Set Anti-backs lash Set Key Beep Set Mount Type Reset All Upgrad e Fir mw are Set Gear Ratio Set Language Set Up Local Time Set Up Site Set N/S Hemisphere Set Displa y Contrast Set Eyepiece Light Set Backlig[...]

22 Appendix C. GOT ONOV A TM S t ar List GotoNova Deep Sky Object List for 8401 ID No. OBJECT NGC # Messier # IC# A(Abell) U(UGC) 1 Andromeda Galaxy 224 31 2 Barnards Galaxy 6822 3 Beehive Cluster 2632 44 4 Blackeye Galaxy 4926 64 5 Blinking Planetary Nebula 6826 6 Blue Flash Nebula 6905 7 Blue Planetary 3918 8 Blue Snowball Nebula 7662 9 Box Nebul[...]

23 35 Keyhole Ne bula 3372 36 Lagoon Nebula 6523 8 37 Little Gem 6445 38 Little Gem Nebula 6818 39 Little Ghost Nebula 6369 40 North Ameri can Nebula 7000 41 Omega Nebula 6618 17 42 Orion Nebula 1976 42 43 Owl Nebula 3587 97 44 Pelican Nebula 5070 45 Phantom Streak Nebula 6741 46 Pinwheel Galaxy 598 33 47 Pleiades 45 48 Ring Nebula 6720 57 49 Ring [...]

24 Modern Constellations No. Constellation Abbreviation No. Constellation Abbreviation 1 A ndromeda A nd 45 Lacerta Lac 2 A ntlia A nt 46 Leo Leo 3 A pus A ps 47 Leo Minor LMi 4 A quarius A qr 48 Lepus Lep 5 A quila A ql 49 Libra Lib 6 A ra A ra 50 Lupus Lup 7 A ries A ri 51 Lynx Lyn 8 A uriga A ur 52 Lyra Lyr 9 Boötes Boo 53 Mensa Men 10 Caelum C[...]

25 GOTONOVA Named Star List for 8401 001 Acamar 049 Ascella 097 Kaus Australis 145 Rassalas 002 Achernar 050 Ase llus Australis 098 Kaus Borealis 146 Rasa gethi 003 Acrux 051 Asellus Borealis 099 Kaus Media 147 Rasalhague 004 Acubens 05 2 Aspidiske 100 Keid 148 Rastaba 005 Adhafera 053 Atik 101 Kitalpha 149 Regulus 006 Adhara 054 Atlas 102 Kochab 1[...]

26 GOTONOVA Double Star List for 8401 No. Object Const SAO Name 1 Eta Cas 21732 Achird 2 Alpha Psc 110291 Alrisha 3 Theta Per 38288 4 Alpha For 168373 Fornacis 5 Alpha Aur 40186 Capella 6 Sigma Ori 132406 7 Mu Ori 113389 8 Alpha CMa 151881 Sirius 9 Delta Gem 79294 Wasat 10 Alpha Gem 60198 Castor 11 Alpha CMi 115756 12 Epsilon Hya 117112 13 HR 3579 [...]

27 Appendix D. Set Up USB-PC Connection 1. Download USB2COM driver (cp2102.zip file for 8401) from iOptron Website 2. Install cp2101(usb2com) driver Choose the appropriate driver for your OS. In this case is a Windows XP operation system. Double click on it, and you will see: Click “Next”.[...]

28 Select “I accept the terms of license agreement”, and click “Next” Using the default installation path, c:SiLabsMCUCP210x, or specify your own path by click “Change”. Click “Next”. Then click “Install”.[...]

29 When finished installation, click “Finish” 3. Plug the USB cable to the USB port on your PC, plug the other end of the USB cable to hand controller. Turn on the power on the mount. 4. Install the Hardware The computer will find a new hardware and show the following screen Select “No, not this time” and click “Next”.[...]

30 Select “Install from a list or specific location” and click “Next”. Select “Search for the best driver in these locations,” and che ck “Include this location in the search.” Click on “Browse” and select the cp210x driver from directory c:SiLabsMCUCP210xWin2K_XP, click OK.[...]

31 Click “Next”. The computer will start to install the driver for the USB2COM. When the installa tion is done, click “Finish”. If the computer shows “find a new hardware” screen again, just repeat the steps in this section again.[...]

32 Now you computer should be ready for Firmware Upgrading, computer communication with the mount via ASCOM platform and planetarium software applications. However, you need to find assigned COM port number for the USB connection. To do so, right click “My Computer”, and click “Properties” Click “Hardware”, click “Device Manager”[...]

33 Double click on “Ports(COM & LPT)”, find out the COM number and write it down (in the following figure, it is COM4)[...]

34 Appendix E. Firmware Upgrade 1. Download and install Firmware Downloader from iOptron Website 2. Double click and open “iOptron Downloader” On the interface, select appropriate port using pull-down menu (in this case, COM4):[...]

35 Click “Open Data File”, and select appropriate “.bin” file that matches your hand cont roller. and click “Open”. Select “Main Program” in Update Type. Click “Start Download” It shows “Please reset GOTONOVA[GOT OSTAR], waiting for connection…” On the hand controller, press “MENU”, and using ▼▲ scroll to select ?[...]

36 Now the upgrade is finished. Typical Errors: 1. Invalid Port Number: in Device Manager, make sure you have the correct COM port number for CP210x. 2. Wrong “.bin” file: make sure you have the correct “.bin” file for firmware upgrade. 3. Wrong downloader, you should use iOptron Downloader instead of the Flash Downloader. 4. Use cp210x dri[...]

37 Appendix F . Use a PC to Control an iOptron Mount In general you need the followings to use a PC to control the mount, 1. Download USB2COM driver (cp2102, zip file for 8401 and 8402A) http://www.ioptron.com/manuals/USB_2COM_Driver.zip; 2. Install USB2COM and establish the connection between the mount and the PC (see instruction); 3. ASCOM platfo[...]

38 Appendix G . RS-232 Command Set Abbreviations used: DD or DDD degrees or day of t he month depending on the context HH hours MM minutes or month depending on the context MM.M minutes and tenths of minutes s + or – sign, assumed to be + if omitted SS seconds SS.S seconds and tenths of seconds YY last two digits of the year General Telescope Inf[...]

39 Get the current latitude. Command: :GL# Response: HH:MM:SS.S# Get the current local time in 24 hour format. Overflows from 23:59:59 to 00:00:00. Command: :GS# Response: HH:MM:SS.S# Get the current local sidereal time in 24 hr. format. Command: :GR# Response: HH:MM:SS.S# Get the current Right Ascension of mount. Command: :GD# Response: sDD*MM:SS#[...]

40 Stop motion in the specified axis. Note that :Qn# is identical to :Qs#, and :Qe# is identical to :Qw#. Motion is terminated only if it was not started by a slew (:MS#) command. Command: :Q# Response: (none) Motion in both axes is stopped, regardl ess of how the motion was invoked. Command: :RG# Response: (none) Selects guide. If tracking is stop[...]

41 Command: :Sr HH:MM:SS.S# Response: “1” Define the commanded Right Ascension, RA. Command: :Sd sDD*MM:SS# Response: “1” Define the commanded Declination. Miscellaneous Command: :F+# :F-# :FF# :FS# :FQ# Response: (none) Advances (F+) or retracts (F-) focus adjus t motor on the eyepiece. F+ or F- commands commence adjustment and :FQ# st ops[...]

42 Response: (none) This command sets the guide rate. 0 – 1.0X of sidereal 1 – 0.8X of sidereal 2 – 0.6X of sidereal 3 – 0.4X of sidereal Command: :GGS# Response: ‘0’,’1’,2,’3’ This command gets the current guide rate. 0 – 1.0X of sidereal 1 – 0.8X of sidereal 2 – 0.6X of sidereal 3 – 0.4X of sidereal Command: :SE?# Resp[...]

43 IOPTRON TWO YEAR TELESCOPE, MOUNT, AND CONTROLLER WARRANTY A. iOptron warrants your telescope, mount, or cont roller to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for two years. iO ptron will repair or replace such product or part which, upon inspection by iOptron, is found to be defective in materials or workman ship. As a condition to t[...]