While the aim wasn’t perfect, the Moon was well within the field of view.
The entire process took less than three minutes.įor my initial test run, the mount chose the Moon, which was a thin crescent hanging low in the western sky at the time. The hand controller’s dim red readout then asked me to confirm that the bright object matches the name on the LCD screen and that it is centered in the field of view. Then the mount moves to a bright sky object of its own selection. Using an integrated 32-channel GPS, it calculates its precise location along with the date, time, and heading, spinning slowly and silently until the scope aims at the zenith, the mount’s “zero position.” Step 4: Once level and powered on, the mount will take it from there. If the battery becomes depleted, the mount can run off the included AC adapter. That’s much better than older mounts that used sets of alkaline batteries. For me, one charge tracked the sky for just under nine hours. The battery should last up to 10 hours on a single charge, iOptron says.
Step 3: Plug the hand controller into the mount and turn on the power. After attaching the telescope, you can align it with the primary scope by loosening two setscrews and rotating the secondary saddle’s base. The secondary saddle accepts Vixen dovetail plates only. The counterweight shaft also can hold a second scope by using the optional secondary saddle (iOptron part number 8953). Then, slide the telescope fore and aft until it balances, and finger-tighten both dovetail saddle locking screws to hold it securely. The instructions mention it, but you could miss the arrow setting up in the dark. It’s important to attach the telescope so that the front aims in the direction of the small arrow on the dovetail plate. The telescope sidesaddle dovetail plate is dual purpose, accepting both industry-standard Losmandy- and Vixen-style mounting bars. My scope weighs less than 12 pounds, but I followed iOptron’s advice to use the single counterweight to improve go-to accuracy. Add a second (sold separately) if it exceeds 24 pounds (11kg). If the scope weighs more than 12 pounds (5.4kg), using the supplied 10-pound counterweight is recommended. Before attaching the scope, slide out the stainless steel counterweight shaft, which remains neatly hidden inside the mount when not in use. Step 2: Attach the telescope and counterweight. Step 1: Level the mount on the tripod by adjusting the three bolts until the bubble level built into the base reads level, and then tighten the central bolt. In the field, I discovered that setup is a simple, four-step process. Three equidistant ball-tipped bolts protrude from the top of the tripod and line up with matching holes on the underside of the mount’s base. The mount attaches to the tripod with a central bolt. While I would not trust checking it as baggage on a flight, it’s certainly small enough to come aboard as carry-on luggage.Īssembly out of the box proved to be easy. The mount came in a custom-fit aluminum carrying case for secure storage and transport. The mount and tripod arrived well packed in separate boxes. I recently had a chance to put an AZ Mount Pro and matching tripod to the test using my 6-inch (15cm) catadioptric telescope. The matching tripod features 2-inch (5cm) stainless steel legs that you can adjust from 33 inches (84cm) to 55 inches (140cm) in length.
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Instructions are not however, you can view and download both a quick-start guide and full instructions from iOptron’s website as PDF files. The AZ Mount Pro also features built-in Wi-Fi, letting you control the mount using the popular Sky Safari app from your smartphone or tablet.Ī dedicated AC charger, cables, a 6-inch (15-centimeter) dual dovetail base that accepts both Losmandy- and Vixen-style mounting plates, and a 10-pound (4.5kg) counterweight are also included.
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In addition, full ASCOM (short for AStronomy Common Object Model) using iOptron Commander lets you control the mount using planetarium software such as Cartes du Ciel.
The mount also comes with a cabled Go2Nova 8407 hand controller.
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