Tele Vue Sky Tour Computer

Tele Vue Sky Tour Computer

The Sky Tour Computer & Observing System. Works With Tele Vue Gibraltar, Panoramic & Tele-Pod Mounts.

Concept: The goal of all Tele Vue products is to enrich your observing experience. We view our products as a success if they cultivate your enthusiasm for amateur astronomy.

The Sky Tour Computer & Observing System, Your Magic Carpet to the Universe. One sentiment that many Gibraltar owners have expressed is their delight in owning a telescope package that is quick to set-up. So, even when there isn't the time for an extended observing session, they can still easily "just take a peek" at the sky. In other words, the equipment itself doesn't become a rationale NOT to observe.

This recurrent theme weighed strongly in shaping a computer locator for the Gibraltar Mount. The compact size and simplicity of our Sky Tour computer belie its power and elegant functionality. It creates a unified system with the Gibraltar Mount that is easy for every family member to carry, set-up and use successfully. We paid special attention to making Sky Tour easy to learn and giving it a sensible database. We felt it was important to include a field guide with star charts and a full listing of the objects in the computer database. With this information and the exceptional performance range of Tele Vue telescopes, both novice and advanced amateurs can stretch their observing experience with every session. - Al Nagler

Sky Tour The Sky Tour object locator adds "brains" to the Gibraltar Mount's brawn. With its exclusive Lorenzin 2000+ database and refinements such as backlit button names, 10 character smooth scrolling display and advanced "identify" capability, Sky Tour brings the hand-held computer to a new feature/ performance level - a Tele Vue level of convenience and ease of use.

The Sky Tour Observing System When Sky Tour is added to Tele Vue mounts, the total system is simple enough to encourage beginners, yet deep enough for experts to maintain a lifetime of observing enthusiasm .

There is a synergy to the Sky Tour Observing System that is expressed in its set-up and in the natural feel of each component. These qualities are not immediately apparent merely looking at a picture or reading a few words. Most importantly, these are the qualities that create and sustain a satisfying, long-enduring observing lifestyle.

The System begins with the Sky Tour computer. Its library of over 2000 objects and their locations are fed to the rock-solid Gibraltar Mount which similarly transmits information back to the Sky Tour.

Cradled by the Gibraltar, the telescope firmly sits, waiting to be guided to your selected object. Once you have found your object, the Starbeam or optional Qwik Point sighting instrument shows you exactly where your telescope is pointed in the sky. For referencing an object's position or for "star-hopping" without the Sky Tour, Qwik Point or Starbeam's red "star" points the way.

The Sky Tour Observing System is complete with easy to follow set-up, operating and database guides.

Locate 2000 Objects More than just a star chart Iisting, Tom Lorenzin's 2000+ database is a collection of interesting and observable double and triple stars, bright & dark nebulae, galaxies, star clusters and colored stars most suited to Tele Vue telescopes.

The 2000+ objects are organized into six catalogs: NGC (New General Cat.), M (Messier), IC (lndex Cat.), ST Star), NS (Non-Standard), and PL (Planets). For quick reference, an additional FAV catalog is available to store 25 of your favorite objects.

Sky Tour Fun Tele Vue believes that the fun of astronomy is in the observing. Set-up and equipment operation is kept to a minimum. Sky Tour instructions are easy to follow and include step-by-step diagrams. A simple phone plug connects the computer to the Gibraltar Mount. Turn Sky Tour on, align the marks on the Gibraltar Mount head, sight two known stars from a choice of 31 and Sky Tour is ready to lead you on your evening's journey. A little familiarity with the stars, and the alignment will take slightly longer than it did to read this paragraph!

SkyTour's functions are organized into nine "modes. " They are: Star Fix, RA DEC, Catalog, Guide, Align, Identify, Timer, Install, and Encoder. Once Sky Tour is aligned, you'll enter the Catalog mode and choose an object to view. The Guide mode shows you the direction to move the scope in order to find the selected object. Finding over 2000 objects is as simple as that!

Sky Tour also gives you digital setting circles by converting Alt/Az positioning into Right Ascension and declination. The RA DEC mode lets you hunt for any object in the sky just by looking up its RA and DEC position.

Sky Tour the Teacher The Identify mode will point you to the nearest object of your choosing. For example, say you wanted to know if there was a galaxy nearby. Enter the Identify mode, choose "Find GX" from the nine object types. If There is a galaxy nearby, Sky Tour will identify it and guide the way. It's a wonderful way to learn about unfamiliar regions of the sky.

The Identify mode is fun for explorers who like to scan the sky just to see what they can find. When you think you've found something just ask Sky Tour's Identify mode to "Find Any"

Sky Tour Kit The Gibraltar Mount as well as our Panoramic and Tele-Pod mounts can be ordered with Sky Tour encoders pre-installed. Sky Tour Kits have all the hardware needed to do the simple installation.

User Report: "...I was so impressed by everything I bought (Genesis-sdf & Solar kits) I decided to get your Gibraltar Mount and your Sky Tour System . This was the best money I ever spent. Living in an extremely light polluted area of the country almost anything except bright open clusters are difficult to find. This system makes it easy.

This system is so easy to use that after I learned it, I taught my ten year old godson to use it in about 15 minutes.

In closing, I would like to say that the Genesis-sdf is an excellent telescope and the Gibraltar Mount and Sky Tour make this one truly great package that I would recommend to anyone."

-Al Sherkness, NY Sky Tour Specifications: Display: Red L.E.D., 10 Character Display Dimming: 5 levels Display Resolution: 1 minute right ascension, 0.1 degree declination Display Modes: STAR FIX - alignment mode using conventional star list RA DEC - current right ascension and declination CATALOG - complete database of celestial objects GUIDE - shows direction and distance to object ALIGN - uses full database to fine-tune alignment IDENTIFY - identifies object by type Database: Tom Lorenzin 2000+ catalog includes: 110 Messier objects selected NGC objects selected IC objects selected Non-Standard objects selected Stars, colored, double, multiple 31 alignment stars 8 Planets Coordinate Epoch: AD 2000 Telescope Mounting Types Gibraltar Alt/Az, Panoramic Alt/Az, Tele-Pod, Dobsonian Alt/Az, Custom Alt/Az Alt/Azimuth Setup: Requires 2 star alignment - no input for latitude, longitude, date or time required. Encoder Resolution: 2160 step, 0.09 degree encoders Sampling Rate: 0.5 millisecond Maximum Slew Rate: 160 degree per second Sidereal Clock Accuracy: 0.01% Dimensions: 2.8 x 4.6 x 1.1 inches Weight: 6 ounces including 9v battery Power Requirements: 5.1 to 14 Volts DC, Reverse polarity protected Battery Life: 20 hours with display fully dimmed

Specifications may change without notice.