Astronomy SKYPOD Review 07

7/31/2019 Astronomy SKYPOD Review 07

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Vixen Optical has come close todesigning the perfect grab-and-go telescope mount the

Skypod run by the innovative Starbook computerizedcontrol system. The Starbook debuted to rave reviews as part

of Vixens state-of-the-art Sphinx German equatorial mount

a couple of years ago. More recently, Vixen

coupled a downsized version called the

Starbook S to an alt-azimuth mount to cre-

ate the Skypod. Once set up and initialized,

the Skypod mount will aim a telescope

toward any of more than 22,000 objects in

the Starbooks memory and then track that

object across the sky.

Two sets of five buttons work all of thefunctions. The Starbook control box and its

46-inch connecting cable slide neatly into

the mount for storage and transport. You

can also detach the Starbook from the Sky-

pod mount and use it as a pocket planetar-

ium. Rather than a small display with text

crawling along a readout, like most go-to

telescopes, the Starbook includes an LCD

screen that displays the night sky for the

exact day and hour the user chooses.

Setting up the Skypod is simple: Attach

the fully assembled mount to the aluminum

tripod using a captive thumbscrew. The

Skypods internally geared motors run on 8

AA batteries. The Starbook controller relies

on its own set of 4 AA batteries.

Addg ocsVixen offers the Skypod/Starbook combo

with a choice of 70mm or 80mm refractors,

a 130mm Newtonian reflector, or the

unique 4.3-inch f/9.4 VMC110L telescope

reviewed here. Vixen bills the VMC110L as

a modified Cassegrain. A better descrip-

tion may be a takeoff on the Klevtsov-

Cassegrain catadioptric design. Most

traditional catadioptrics rely on a front cor-

rector plate to pre-bend light entering the

optical system so it comes to a sharp focus

by the time it bounces off the internal mir-

rors and through the eyepiece. The

VMC110L eliminates the corrector plate,

using instead a small corrector lens justahead of the secondary mirror.

Because theres no corrector plate, a

curved-vane spider mount supports the

VMC110Ls secondary mirror. The

vanes are thick, however, and lower

image contrast. The 39-percent cen-

tral obstruction introduced by the

secondary mirror also decreases

image contrast.

The VMC110L includes a built-in

flip mirror, which eliminates the

need for a separate star diagonal. Flip

the integrated lever up, and the light

pops straight out the back of the tele-

scope (great for imaging). Flip the

lever down, and it comes out a top-

mounted eyepiece port, which works

better for visual use. One image is flipped

left-to-right compared to the other.

The VMC110L attaches to the Skypods

side-mounted cradle with a standard Vixen

Optics dovetail plate. The entire setup

weighs only 19 pounds (8.6 kg) an easy

one-hand carry. Because you dont need

charts thanks to the Starbook S, this is truly

grab-and-go astronomy.

Vxens coerzed on s lghegh, srdy, and easy o se. BY phil harrington

equipment reView

The Skypod mountperforms superbly

9 8 a st ro no my December07

ViXEnS SKYpoD mount with its Star-

book controller provides full go-to capa-

bility in a lightweight package. Theres

nothing light about the Starbooks data-

base, though youll find 22,000 celestial

objects in it. ALL pHOtOS: ASTRONOMY: wiLLiAm ZuBACK

thE SKYpoDS Starbook control-

ler detaches from the mount for

corded-remote operation. Its

46-long (1.17 meters) cable

allows you to control the Sky-

pod comfortably whether

seated or standing.


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Driving with the StarbookThe Starbook initializes unlike any other

go-to drive Ive worked with, and, as such,

it took a little getting used to. The instruc-

tions say to set up the telescope and tripod

so the scope faces west and the mounts

altitude axis aims north. An approximation

is good enough, because youll refine the

telescopes aim during initialization.

When you first turn on the Starbooks

power, it displays the company logo and

then asks what language you prefer. Japa-

nese (default), English, French, German,

Italian, and Spanish all come factory-

installed. Toggle between the choices and

then press the SELECT button to confirm.

The Starbook also asks for the local time,

date, and location. Input these using the

same menu buttons.

I had two problems using the buttons

for these and other tasks. Although Vixen

designed the buttons to be large enough to

press while wearing gloves, they are not

backlit. Instead, I had to use a flashlight to

see which button I was pushing.

The second problem was more ergo-

nomic. The 2" by 2" monochromatic-blue

LCD screen displays the two sets of buttons

with small prompts inside, each telling

what that button is configured to do. But

while the buttons are oriented vertically on

the Starbook S panel, they are displayed

side-by-side on the screen. The left set on

the screen corresponds with the top set on

the box, while the right set on the screen

matches the bottom set on the box. It

would have made operation more intuitiveif the button placement matched the dis-

play, and vice versa.

I hope Vixen corrects this second issue

with a future update to the Starbook S soft-

ware. Upgrades give this mount a huge

advantage over manual mounts or those

with non-updatable software. Check Vixens

web site, www.vixenoptics.com, and click

Support then Downloads. Follow the

instructions to get the latest version.

The Starbook runs in two different

modes, Chart Mode and Scope Mode. UseChart Mode when searching for objects on

the LCD screen without moving the tele-

scope, such as during the initial alignment

process. Scope Mode moves the telescope

in step with the displayed sky chart.

To align the Skypod, select two different

reference objects either by centering an

object in the crosshairs on the LCD screen

in Chart Mode or from a menu that appears

after pressing the Object button. Pressing

Goto slews the telescope to the chosen

object. Once there, use the up-down and

left-right buttons to center the target, first

in the red-dot finder, and then in the eye-

piece. You can adjust the slewing rate by

zooming the LCD chart in and out, which

narrows or expands the sky coverage dis-

played. Although the initialization process

was a little confusing the first time I tried it,

it soon became almost second nature.

100astronomy December07

VIXEN SKYPOD + VMC100L

Type: Cmurzd, al-azmuh mu

Aperture: 4.33 chs (110mm)

Focal ratio: /9.4

Focal length: 1,035mm

Starbook controller: Aachs wh 46"

(1.17m) cabl; dachabl r us asck laarum

Display: 2" by 2" (51mm by 51mm)

mchrmac, backl LCD

Database: 22,000 bjcs

Power: 12 vls DC (8 AA bars r

al xral wr suly)

Price: $799 (Skyd ly); $899 (Skyd

wh rd); $999 (Skyd, rd,

ad h VMC110L sc)

S p e C i f i C A t i o n S

COUPLE VIXENS

VMC110L tele-

scope and alumi-

num tripod with

the Skypod mount,

and youll have a

system light enough

for any observer to

transport.

Phil Harrington is a contributing editor of

Asrmy. Check out the fourth edition of his

bookSar War (Wiley, 2007).


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Targeting the skyAfter I aligned the Skypod and Starbook

with two known stars, it was time to put the

telescope through its paces. Each time,

pointing accuracy was good enough to get

the target in or near the field of the 25mm

eyepiece. After centering each subsequent

object in the view, I found that pressing the

Align button further improved the

mounts pointing accuracy.

The Starbooks built-in library includes

some 14,000 stars down to 7th magnitude,

all of the Messier objects, nearly 5,000 NGC

and IC objects down to 14th magnitude, as

well as the Sun, Moon, and planets all

organized into several categories. The

Famous Object list sorts deep-sky objects

by their popular names, although it lists the

Crab Nebula (M1) as the Club Nebula. I

expect Vixens next update to correct this.

In actual use, the Starbooks LCD backlit

display worked well until temperaturesdropped below freezing. Strapping a hand-

warmer to the back of the case with a rub-

Vixen Optics

1010 Calle CordilleraSuite 106

San Clemente, CA 92673

[t] 949.429.6363

[w] www.vixenoptics.com

contact information

tHE Vmc110L modified-Cassegrain tele-

scope attaches to the Skypod mount with

Vixens dovetail assembly. This standard-

ized connection functions throughout

Vixens telescope line.

ber band, however, helped restore the

image. The motors inside the Skypod also

performed sluggishly at temperatures below

about 20 F (7 C).

Speaking of power, the mount cannot be

used in manual mode. So its best to bring

along an extra set of batteries just in case.

Better still, plug the Skypod into a 12-volt

rechargeable car battery jump-starter.

With the Starbook and Skypod both

operational, it was time to put the

VMC110L through its paces. I began star

testing the telescope at 205x using a 5mm

eyepiece. In a perfect scope, out-of-focus

should appear perfectly round and identical

on both sides of focus. Defocusing star

images through the scope revealed circular,

but disparate, patterns indicative of spheri-

cal aberration. As magnification increased,

the impact spherical aberration had on

image quality became more apparent.

I was pleased with what I saw every timethrough the supplied 25mm Plssl eyepiece

(which yielded 41x), whether it was the

Orion Nebula, any of winters bright open

star clusters, or the Moon.

Focusing was smooth with little image

shift, but images began to soften when I

switched to a 10mm eyepiece (102x).

Although I could see the Cassini Division

in Saturns rings, for instance, it was not as

sharp as in my own 4-inch Vixen refractor

with the same eyepiece.

The bottom lineVixens Skypod is an innovative design that

takes grab-and-go astronomy to a new

level, thanks to the Starbook. Although a

couple of ergonomic issues exist, the Star-

book includes more than enough target

objects to entertain its owner for years. And

the compact VMC110L catadioptric tele-

scope performs fine as long as you dont

push its magnification beyond about 100x.

Together, they make a great travel team if

youre jetting off to a dark location andwant to keep everything together in a sin-

gle, neat package.

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Astronomy SKYPOD Review 07