equipment reView

Vixens computerized mount is lightweight, sturdy, and easy to use.

BY phil harrington

The Skypod mount performs superbly

Vixen Optical has come close to
designing the perfect grab-and-go telescope mount the Skypod run by the innovative Starbook computerized control 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 create 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 the functions. 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 Skypod mount and use it as a pocket planetarium. 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. tion may be a takeoff on the KlevtsovCassegrain catadioptric design. Most traditional catadioptrics rely on a front corrector plate to pre-bend light entering the optical system so it comes to a sharp focus by the time it bounces off the internal mirrors and through the eyepiece. The VMC110L eliminates the corrector plate, using instead a small corrector lens just ahead 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 central 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 telescope (great for imaging). Flip the lever down, and it comes out a topmounted eyepiece port, which works
thE SKYpoDS Starbook controller detaches from the mount for corded-remote operation. Its 46-long (1.17 meters) cable allows you to control the Skypod comfortably whether seated or standing.

ViXEnS SKYpoD mount with its Starbook controller provides full go-to capability in a lightweight package. Theres nothing light about the Starbooks database, though youll find 22,000 celestial objects in it. ALL pHOtOS: ASTRONOMY: wiLLiAm ZuBACK

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.

Adding optics

Vixen 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 descrip98 astronomy December 07

S p e C i f i C At i o n S

VIXEN SKYPOD + VMC100L

Type: Computerized, alt-azimuth mount Aperture: 4.33 inches (110mm) Focal ratio: f/9.4 Focal length: 1,035mm Starbook controller: Attaches with 46" (1.17m) cable; detachable for use as pocket planetarium Display: 2" by 2" (51mm by 51mm) monochromatic, backlit LCD Database: 22,000 objects Power: 12 volts DC (8 AA batteries or optional external power supply) Price: $799 (Skypod only); $899 (Skypod with tripod); $999 (Skypod, tripod, and the VMC110L scope)

COUPLE VIXENS VMC110L telescope and aluminum tripod with the Skypod mount, and youll have a system light enough for any observer to transport.

Driving with the Starbook

The Starbook initializes unlike any other go-to drive Ive worked with, and, as such, it took a little getting used to. The instructions 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. Japanese (default), English, French, German,
100 astronomy December 07

Italian, and Spanish all come factoryinstalled. 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 ergonomic. 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 intuitive if the button placement matched the display, and vice versa. I hope Vixen corrects this second issue with a future update to the Starbook S software. 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. Use Chart Mode when searching for objects on the LCD screen without moving the telescope, 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 eyepiece. You can adjust the slewing rate by zooming the LCD chart in and out, which narrows or expands the sky coverage displayed. Although the initialization process was a little confusing the first time I tried it, it soon became almost second nature.
Phil Harrington is a contributing editor of Astronomy. Check out the fourth edition of his book Star Ware (Wiley, 2007).

Targeting the sky

After 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 temperatures dropped below freezing. Strapping a handwarmer to the back of the case with a rub-

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 spherical aberration. As magnification increased, the impact spherical aberration had on image quality became more apparent. I was pleased with what I saw every time through 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 line

Vixens 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 Starbook includes more than enough target objects to entertain its owner for years. And the compact VMC110L catadioptric telescope 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 and want to keep everything together in a single, neat package.

contact information
Vixen Optics 1010 Calle Cordillera Suite 106 San Clemente, CA 92673 [t] 949.429.6363 [w] www.vixenoptics.com

tHE Vmc110L modified-Cassegrain telescope attaches to the Skypod mount with Vixens dovetail assembly. This standardized connection functions throughout Vixens telescope line.