SKY-WATCHER star adventurer mini User manual

Star Adventurer Mini User Guide
SAM
Quite Possibly The Most Compact and Versale Camera Tracking Plaorm in the Known Universe!
• Astrophotography
• Time-Lapse Photography
• DSLR Camera Control

Thank You For Purchasing This Sky-Watcher Product
The Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer Mini (SAM) is a compact high-precision
camera tracking plaorm that is ideal for long exposure astrophotography as
well as me-lapse photography in dayme and nighme sengs. SAM easily
ts in your backpack or camera bag, making it a convenient travel companion
that can venture with you into remote locaons. SAM comes with built-in WiFi
and the free Star Adventurer mini Console App for Android and iOS plaorms.
SAM is easy to set up and easy to operate in all of its modes. The more you use
it, the more you’ll love it!
For your Safety
To prevent damage to your Sky-Watcher product or injury to yourself or to
others, all users of this product should rst read the following safety precauons
enrely before using this equipment.
WARNING:
• Do not look at the sun through the polar scope. Viewing the sun or other
strong light sources through the polar scope could cause permanent
visual impairment.
• Do not use in the presence of ammable gas. Do not use electronic
equipment in the presence of ammable gas, as this could result in
explosion or re.
• Keep out of reach of children. Failure to do so could result in injury.
Moreover, note that small parts constute a choking hazard. Consult a
physician immediately if a child swallows any part of this equipment.
• Do not disassemble. Touching the product’s internal parts could result
in injury. In the event of malfuncon, remove the baery and take the
product to a Sky-Watcher authorized service center.
2

Features:
• High precision, portable and stable camera tracking system
• Built-in WiFi with free app for Android and iOS plaorms
• Mul-language support
• Solar, lunar and sidereal tracking rates for astrophotography
• Payloads up to 3kg
• Easy Polar Alignments with polar scope
• Supports Star-Scape photography
• Supports standard short exposure me-lapse photography
• Supports long exposure me-lapse photography
• Supports Star-Scape me-lapse photography
• Provides DSLR shuer control for mulitple brands
• Lifeme FREE rmware upgrades
• Built-in motor protecon and status indicators
• Power Opons: AAx2 Baeries or external USB supply
• Fits standard 3/8 and 1/4 inch tripod/quick release brackets
• Expandable with a range of oponal accessories
“ Take your photographic
creavity to new heights
with the most compact
and mul-featured
camera tracking plaorm
available in the galaxy! ”
3

Contents
Introducon and Safety Consideraons
SAM’s Main Features
SAM’s Parts Diagram
Oponal Accessories
Overview and Preliminary Setup
Installing the Star Adventurer mini Console
Power-up, WiFi and Status Indicators
Seng Up For Time-Lapse Photography
Aaching SAM To Your Tripod
Mounng Your Camera Gear to SAM
Star Adventurer mini Console for Time-Lapse
Time-Lapse Photography Parameters
Keep it Simple to Start
Time-Lapse Parameter Details
Time-Lapse Progress Screen
Astrophotography and Astro Time-Lapse
The Need For Long Exposures
The Need For Tracking
Astro Time-Lapse
Astrophotography Special Requirements
Polar Alignment
Polar Alignment in the Northern Hemisphere
Polar Alignment in the Southern Hemisphere
Star Adventurer mini Console for Astrophotog-
raphy
Astrophotography Progress Screen
Using SAM for Astro Time-Lapse Photography
Astro Time-Lapse Progress Screen
Manual Control of SAM
Sengs Menu
WiFi Network
Network Trouble-Shoong
APPENDICES
I Advanced Polar Alignment Procedures
II Calibrang the Polar Scope
III Using the Equatorial Wedge
IV Using the Fine-Tuning Mounng Assembly
V Firmware Upgrade Procedures
VI How to Restore Factory WiFi Sengs
VII SAM Specicaons
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SAM Parts Diagram
1: Power Buon
2: Power LED Indicator
3: WiFi LED Indicator
4: Polar View Finder
5: Knurled Tripod Connector
6: Tripod Connector Locking Knob
7: SNAP Port: DSLR Shuer Control
8: Micro USB Port
9: AA x 2 Baery Case
10: Saddle
11: Dovetail Locking Knob
12: Saddle Locking Knob
13: 1/4” to 3/8” Thread Adapter
14: 3/8” Threaded Side Socket
15: 3/8” Threaded Base Socket
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SAM Included and Oponal Accessories
Please Note: Included accessories may vary by dealer.
Polar Scope: Included
Enables very precise polar alignments
for long exposure astrophotography
yielding pinpoint stars over longer
exposures.
Counterweight Kit: Oponal
1 kg counterweight system to
balance and/or increase payload
capacity up to 1kg..
Polar Scope Illuminator: Included
Illuminates the polar scope to make
the polar scope recule easier to see
in darkness.
1/4” to 3/8” Thread Adapter:
Included. Converts the default socket
for 3/8” thread screw to 1/4” in order
to mount SAM to a standard quick
release plate or tripod with a 1/4”
threaded bolt.
Fine-Tuning Mounng Assembly
This oponal acccessory enables
coarse and ne poinng in two
direcons for precise aiming control.
See Appendix IV for details.
Equatorial Wedge: Oponal
Provides easy, high precision point-
ing of SAM for polar alignment with
more stability than a standard photo
tripod head.
3/8” Ball Head Adapter: Included
SAM INCLUDES a 3/8” Ball Head
Adapter to mount a standard cam-
era ball-head with a 3/8” thread
aachment.
DSLR Control Cable: Oponal
Refer to the table on the next page to
idenfy the correct cable for your DSLR.
6

DSLR Control Cable
Controls the shuer of your
DSLR. Available for Canon,
Nikon, Olympus and Sony
cameras. See the table below
to select the appropriate
cable for your camera model.
SAM Oponal and Included Accessories
Please Note: Included accessories may vary by dealer.
Part Number Camera Interface Style Controller Interface Compable Camera Models
AP-R1C Canon remote (E3 type) Canon RS-60E3 Canon EOS 100D, 300D/350D, 400D/450D,
500D/550D, 600D/650D, 700D, 60D/60Da, 70D
AP-R3C Canon remote (N3 type) Canon RS-80N3, TC-
80N3
Canon EOS 5D/6D/7D, 10D/20D/30D/40D/50D,
1V, 1D,
1Ds Mark III, 5D Mark III
AP-R1N Nikon 10-pin remote
terminal
Nikon MC-22, MC-30,
MC-36 Nikon D1/D2/D3/D4 D200/D300/D700/D800
AP-R2N Nikon remote cord
connector Nikon MC-DC1 Nikon D70S, D80
AP-R3N Nikon accessory terminal Nikon MC-DC2 Nikon D90, D600, D3000/D3100/D3200/D3300,
D5000/D5100/D5200/D5300, D7000/D7100
AP-R1S Sony remote terminal Sony RM-S1AM, RM-
L1AM
Sony a100, a200, a300, a350, a450, a550, a560
a700, a850, a900
AP-R3L Olympus multi-connector RM-UC1 Olympus E-P1/E-P2, E-PL2/E-PL3, E510/E520/
E550/E620, E400/E410/E420, SP-570UZ/SP-590UZ
7

Overview: Preliminary Set Up
SAM is a compact and versale camera tracking plaorm that lets you
make truly unique photographs and me-lapse videos. The high pre-
cision motor rotates your camera to pan across any angle you desire
giving you full creave control over your me-lapse composion.
For astrophotography, SAM’s precise sidereal tracking enables long
exposures to capture brilliant colour and detail in dim nebulae and
star clouds while maintaining pin point star images. Use SAM to
capture stunning starscapes, or to make portraits of your favourite
constellaons. You can even congure SAM’s astrophotography me-
lapse funcons to record the progress of a lunar eclipse!
SAM features full shuer control for many DSLR cameras along with
many other funcons by means of the free Star Adventurer mini
Console – available for your Android or iOS device. With its high
precision tracking and powerful free app, SAM gives you a new tool
with countless creave possibilies.
And now it’s me to get to know SAM in more detail! Please read each
secon carefully to understand how to set SAM up for a parcular ap-
plicaon and how to control SAM using the free control app.
Installing the Star Adventurer mini Console
The Star Adventurer mini Console is available at the Android “Play
Store”for your Android device and at the “App Store” for your iOS
device. Go to your parcular store, search for “Star Adventurer mini
Console”, then download and install. The app performs the same way
for both operang systems. Detailed use of the app is provided in the
relevant secons.
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Basic Power Up, WiFi Connecon and Status In-
dicators
This secon describes the basic power up and WiFi connecon
for SAM. Details on how to physically set up SAM for specic uses
(e.g., astrophotography) is provided in the relevant secons. Please
familiarize yourself with the basic power up procedures and status
indicators before moving on to more advanced uses.
Power Sources: SAM can be operated with 2x AA type baeries or
via USB from a 5v AC/USB adapter or USB port of a computer. NOTE:
You will need to supply power to SAM by one or the other of these
methods in order to conrm the details you read in this secon.
Power On: Push and hold the power buon unl the red Power
LED lights up. The Polar View Finder LED will also light up, and the
green WiFi LED will start to blink indicang that the built-in WiFi is
acvated and ready for connecon.
Connect to WiFi: Once power is applied, go to the “Sengs > WiFi”
for your phone, then search for and join the WiFi access point
“SynScanWiFi_xxxxxx”.
Start the Star Adventurer mini Console: Once WiFi is connected
you can run the Star Adventurer mini Console to access its many
features. See specic details in the relevant secons.
Power O: Push and hold the Power Buon for about 5 seconds to
turn o the power.
Reconnecng the WiFi Aer a Timeout: In the absence of WiFi
trac the built-in WiFi will be turned o and the green WiFi indicator
light exnguished. The default me-out is 10 minutes but you can
set it to other values using the Star Adventurer mini Console. To
resume WiFi, press the power buon briey unl the green WiFi
LED comes back on, then release the power buon. Re-connect to
LED Status Indicators
Red LED O: e Power is O.
Red LED Solid On: Power is on and system is normal.
Red LED Slow Blink: Low Battery Level / Firmware
Update in Progress. e red LED blinks 2 times per
second when the battery level is lower than 2.3V, or
during rmware upgrades.
Red LED Fast Blink: e red LED blinks 3 times per
second to indicate motor speed errors exceeding 5%
and/or motor stalls that last over 5 seconds. Speed
errors can be caused by overloading the mount and by
low battery levels. To correct a speed error reduce the
load or supply new batteries. Motor stalls are usually
due to obstructions of the mount so that it cannot
rotate. In the case of motor stalls, remove the cause of
the block then restart your task.
Green LED O: WiFi is turned o.
Green LED Blinking: WiFi is activated and ready for
connection.
Green LED Solid On: WiFi is connected and Star
Adventurer mini Console is running.
View Finder LED Blinking: Current photography
process has nished. Cleared aer APP re-connects.
Green LED Red LED
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the WiFi as described above.
Refer to the sidebar for a detailed descripon of all status indicators.
Seng Up SAM
Before SAM can be used for a parcular applicaon (e.g., astrophotography)
it needs to be mounted on a tripod, have the camera gear aached, and then
be congured using the Star Adventurer mini Console. The following secons
explain how to do these things for regular-exposure me-lapse photography,
long-exposure me-lapse photography and astrophotography.
Seng Up SAM for Regular-Exposure Time-Lapse Photography
Aaching SAM To Your Tripod
Set up your tripod according to the direcons it came with. Ensure it is stable
and set at the height you wish to use it.
For regular-exposure me-lapse photography SAM is mounted directly to a
level tripod via the 3/8 inch tripod mounng bolt. Your tripod may have a ball
head or pan-lt head aached. We recommend you remove this and aach
SAM directly to the tripod using the 3/8 inch threaded base socket that is on
the side opposite the saddle (see top photo on this page).
Mounng Your Camera Gear
Now you can aach your camera gear (see boom photo). Note that an
oponal ball mount is shown. This is a highly recommended opon to give you
far more creave control when composing your shots.
Once SAM is aached to your tripod, and your camera gear is aached to SAM,
you are ready to start making videos with the Star Adventurer mini Console.
The last step is to aach SAM to your camera using the SNAP cable. One end
plugs into the port for a wired shuer remote on your camera and the other
into the SNAP port on SAM.
Aach to
tripod via
3/8 inch base
socket.
Gear mounted
using oponal
ball mount.
10

Time-Lapse Photography with the Star Adventurer mini Console
Now that you have SAM set up with your camera gear aached it’s me to
learn how to use the Star Adventurer mini Console. This secon assumes
that you installed the app on your device. If you have not, please refer back
to the secon tled Installing the Star Adventurer mini Console.
The main screen of the control app divides SAM’s funcons into separate
secons. To select a funcon just tap on it. There are separate secons
for astrophotography and for dierent types of me-lapse photography.
The app also provides for Manual Control of SAM, assists you with Polar
Alignment (see astrophotography secon), and lets you alter Sengs, such
as making a WiFi connecon with SAM.
For now, select Regular-Exposure Time-Lapse by tapping on it. This is the
simplest mode for SAM and a good one for helping you understand how to
set the control opons. Regular-Exposure Time-Lapse mode is for capturing
me-lapse videos under daylight or well-lit condions where long exposure
mes are not necessary. In this mode, exposure sengs are set on your
camera. The Star Adventurer mini Console pans your camera and sends
signals to trigger the shuer as it creates your me-lapse video.
In the Long-Exposure Time-Lapse mode SAM controls the exposure me
instead of your camera. This way you can use exposures that exceed 30
seconds, which are oen needed in low light condions, especially with
small aperture sengs on your lens. Whenever you use Long-Exposure
Time-Lapse mode set your shuer to BULB mode. If it is not set on BULB
mode the camera shuer speed seng will be used instead.
You can make me-lapse videos using SAM to control the shuer only (no
panning), or to pan connuously while ring the shuer of your camera at
intervals set by you. Use the rst of these techniques to produce a me-
lapse video from a xed perspecve and the second to create a me-lapse
video in which the perspecve changes as the video is recorded.
11

Regular and Long-Exposure Time-Lapse Parameters
The major dierence between Regular-Exposure Time-
Lapse mode and Long-Exposure Time-Lapse mode
is that, in the laer case, rotaon stops during the
exposure. This enables the sensor to capture more of
the available light resulng in a beer image.
The parameters for Regular-Exposure Time-Lapse
and Long-Exposure Time-Lapse are exactly the same
except for the Exposure parameter. In the Regular-
Exposure Time-Lapse screen you cannot change the
value for Exposure. It is xed at 0.5 seconds, which is a
requirement in order for SAM to provide an adequate
signal to control the shuer of your camera. Note:
This 0.5 second period is automacally taken into
consideraon when the App calculates the Video Time
Span parameter.
In the Long-Exposure Time-Lapse mode the Exposure
parameter controls the TV (exposure me) seng of
your camera and can be set to suit your needs. For night
scenes where a small aperture and low ISO value is used,
individual exposures may range from a second or two to
several minutes. Take some test shots to establish the
best sengs and exposure for your needs, then enter
that value into the Exposure parameter eld. Again, you
must set your shuer to BULB mode, otherwise the TV
seng on your camera will take precedence over the
value in the Exposure eld.
The screen shot on Page 13 shows the various
parameters that you can set to create your me-lapse
video, with a few more that can be seen by scrolling
down (see page 14). All of the parameters are explained
in detail below. To start the me-lapse sequence just
press Run once all of your parameters have been set.
If you are parcularly happy with a set of parameters
you can save them in a prole and recall them again
whenever you like.
Keep it Simple to Start
The simplest way to get started is to set SAM up on
a tripod and take a stac Time-Lapse Video (one that
doesn’t involve panning). To do this, all you need to
know is the me span over which your video will be
taken and the length of your nal video.
For instance, if you want to get a me-lapse video of the
last hour leading to sunset, enter a value of 1 for Video
Time Span. If you want to compress that hour into a
45-second long video, set your Video Length to 45. It’s
that easy. SAM’s powerful app will calculate the other
necessary parameters for you.
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Time-Lapse Parameter Details
Following is a complete list of the parameters you can set. Note that because
several of the parameters are interrelated some may be unavailable at
certain mes. For instance, when Frame Rate and Video Length are set you
cannot manually choose the number of Photos as it is calculated for you
based on the other two parameters. However, if you deselect Video Length
and set Photos directly, the app will calculate a new value for Video Length.
Exposure (Sec): Fixed at 0.5 seconds for Regular-Exposure Time-Lapse.
For Long-Exposure Time-Lapse set this value to suit your exposure
requirements. Be sure to set your camera shuer to BULB mode.
Video Time Span (Hr): Set this parameter to the total Video Time Span
me for your video. For example, if you want your video to cover a span of
three hours, set Video Time Span to 3. Note that Video Time Span does not
refer to the the length of your video, it refers to the me span over which
it is created. You set the desired length of your video in the Video Length
parameter.
Video Length (Sec): Set Video Length equal to the desired length of your
video in seconds. For a one-minute long video, set Video Length to 60.
Frame Rate (fps): Select NTSC (30 fps) or PAL (25 fps) according to the video
standards for your locaon. You can further adjust the playback speed of
your video in your video eding soware.
Photos: This parameter is automacally set by seng Video Length and
Frame Rate using the formula: Photos = Video Length x Frame Rate
Frame Period (Sec): You can set the Frame Period to select a desired
interval between photos taken rather than have it calculated for you
based on other parameters. Note that if you set Photo Interval and
Video Length the app will re-calculate Video Time Span. Anyme you
are changing a parameter it is a good idea to check its eects on the
other ones.
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Swing Range (Deg): Use Swing Range to create an interesng
swing or pendulum eect for your me-lapse video. When used,
SAM will pan to the limit of the Swing Range that you set, then
pan back to your starng point as many mes as specied in the
Swing Count parameter. For instance, say you have two interesng
subjects that you want to feature in your video. Set Swing Range
to the angle between them and Swing Count to 1, then point
your camera at the rst subject. As the me-lapse video is being
recorded, SAM will pan from the rst subject to the second subject
then stop. By seng Swing Count to 2, it will pan to your second
object, then back to your rst object, then stop. By using Swing
Range values greater than 1 you can have SAM pan back and
forth mulple mes during the video. Set Swing Range to 0 for
no panning and to an even number to always end up where you
started.
Speed (Deg/Hr): Speed determines how quickly SAM will pan.
In most cases, you do not need to set this parameter unless you
want to control the panning speed but are not concerned with the
actual video me span. If you do not want SAM to pan in your
me-lapse video then set Speed to 0.
Clockwise: ON will cause SAM to rotate le to right (viewing down
with the saddle on top). OFF will cause SAM to rotate right to le.
WiFi O on Run: When enabled, SAM will automacally turn o
WiFi at the start of a task to save power. WiFi can be restored at any
me by pressing and holding the power buon unl the green LED
WiFi indicator light comes on.
Proles Save / Edit: To save a prole tap Save. To edit or delete a
prole tap Edit. You can store mulple proles of your favourite
sengs for recall at future sessions.
ON OFF
SAM will rotate
le to right if
Clockwise is set
to ON, or right to
le if Clockwise is
set to OFF.
14

Time-Lapse Progress Screen
Once your tripod, SAM and camera gear are set up and all of
your task parameters are set, just press Run to iniate the task.
Your parameter sengs will remain in view and Status will
appear at the boom of the screen. To view the task progress
tap on Status.
Pressing Stop brings up a
conrmaon screen. You can
cancel the Stop request and
resume the task or proceed to
end the task at that point.
The Long-Exposure Time-Lapse
progress screen shows the
same informaon and works in
the same manner.
15

Astrophotography and Astro Time-Lapse
Astrophotography
Astrophotography refers to photography of the night me sky. It has
become far more familiar to us due to the incredible images recorded
by the Hubble Space Telescope and shared by NASA with the public
over the past two decades. But astrophotography didn’t start with
the Hubble Space Telescope. In fact, it started more than 100 years
ago and has been done in large part since that me by amateur
astronomers.
With SAM, astrophotography is now something you can do, too. You
won’t be able to produce photographs that have the same image
scale as those taken by the Hubble, but you will be able to make
beauful portraits of constellaons and large regions of the Milkyway
galaxy showing star clouds, star clusters, and light and dark nebulae.
You’ll be able to record me-lapse videos of auroras, and the stages
of a lunar eclipse.
First, however, there are two challenges to overcome that you don’t
encounter in typical, terrestrial types of photography. One is the need
to use long exposures (e.g., greater than 30 seconds) to record dim
night sky objects. The second is the need to have the camera follow
the sky as the exposure is taking place.
The Need For Long Exposures
Unfortunately, you can’t just set your camera to AUTO, aim it at
the night sky and take a picture. The night sky is far too dim for
that to work, and any aempts you make will produce seriously
underexposed results. But, you can overcome this challenge by
selecng BULB mode on your camera and using SAM’s SNAP cable
The MilkyWay Galaxy revealed through a
long exposure astrophoto with precision
tracking.
16

connecon to create much longer exposures – like a minute or two – or
ten! With a suciently long exposure, your camera will collect enough
light to reveal hidden details that are much too faint for our eyes to see.
But then, quite literally, you’ll see the second problem!
The Need For Tracking
In your now, nicely exposed photo, the stars don’t look like stars anymore
– they look like lile lines and arcs of variable lengths! The problem here
is called trailing, and it becomes more noceable as the focal length of
your lens and/or your exposure me increases.
You might think that trailing is due to the movement of the stars, but
it’s not. It’s due to the movement of your camera as it records those
distant stars over the course of that exposure. Your camera is moving
because it is sing on a tripod that is sing on the Earth, and the Earth
is rotang. This moon causes the stars, which appear to be xed in
space from our perspecve, to appear to move relave to us, and more
importantly, to our camera.
SAM overcomes this challenge by moving your camera to precisely
oset the eects of Earth’s rotaon while a suciently long exposure
of the night sky is being made. SAM’s tracking capability keeps a specic
area of the sky impinging upon the same part of the camera sensor
throughout the exposure. So a star will fall on the same set of pixels
from the beginning through the end of the exposure. The result is a
well-exposed photo of the night sky with pin point star images.
With SAM, two of the biggest challenges in doing astrophotography
are simplied and automated for you. SAM’s camera control features
enable you to take exposures in excess of 30s each. SAM’s tracking
ability keeps your camera on target to produce pin point star images.
As your skill level in astrophotography progresses you can set SAM up
to take mulple images of your subject, then use advanced processing
techniques like stacking to make truly remarkable celesal portraits.
An equatorial mount rotates
to prevent star trailing in
your photo by precisely
countering Earth’s Rotaon.
17

Astro Time-Lapse
Astro Time-Lapse photography faces the same challenges as astrophotography
in general. Namely, due to the dimness of the subject (the night sky), longer
exposures are required to record sucient detail, and tracking is needed to
prevent star trailing during those exposures. But there are some dierences
as well.
For astrophotography, the region of sky that is being photographed moves
over the course of the exposure sequence. We generally repeat the process
to obtain a sequence of images, all of the same subject, and all framed
idencally. This means that our camera is poinng in a dierent direcon at
the end of the sequence compared to where it was poinng at the beginning.
This occurs because our subject has moved and the camera has moved along
with it.
In Astro Time-Lapse we take mulple images as well, and the camera moves
with each exposure. But, unlike in astrophotography, SAM returns the camera
to the starng point aer each exposure is completed.
Now, when the frames are sequenced into a video, you see the night sky
moving about a xed terrestrial reference point. By nding locaons with
beauful foreground sengs you can produce breathtaking videos of the sky
moving over your locaon. [Visit our YouTube channel to see some examples].
Special Requirements For Astrophotography and Astro Time-Lapse
In order to track the movement of the night sky the camera has to be
connuously moved to oset the rotaon of the Earth in order to hold the
subject perfectly steady on the sensor. The rotaon of the camera needs to
take place about an axis that is parallel to Earth’s rotaonal axis, and therefore,
the two axes must be aligned in order for tracking to work correctly.
A me-lapse video consists
of hundreds to thousands
of individual photos taken
over a long span of me
then replayed in a short
video, revealing natural
dynamics that occur much
to slowly for us to perceive
otherwise.
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Polar Alignment
Polar Alignment refers to the procedure for aligning SAM’s rotaonal axis
with the Earth’s rotaonal axis. If we extend Earth’s rotaonal axis out
into space it intersects an imaginary point called the Celesal Pole. In the
Northern hemisphere we refer to that point as the North Celesal Pole,
or NCP for short. In the Southern hemisphere it is the South Celesal
Pole or SCP.
Because the celesal poles are imaginary points, there is nothing to see
at their locaons. This can make poinng at them a bit of a challenge!
However, there are a couple of celesal land marks nearby the poles that
help us along. In the north it is Polaris, the North Star. In the south it is
the star Sigma Octanis.
Polar Alignment in the Northern Hemisphere
To polar align SAM with the NCP follow this procedure. It is best to do this
at dusk when you can just see Polaris, but before it is completely dark so
that you can more easily see what you are doing. Also, it’s always good
pracce to save the dark for taking your pictures, not for seng up your
equipment. The following steps assume you have a lt/pan head or ball
mount aached to your tripod:
1. Set up your tripod and be sure that it is secure.
2. Aach SAM to the lt/pan or ball head. The Polar View Finder
should be on top and the saddle facing north.
3. Now, angle the lt/head or ball mount up and rotate so that you
can see Polaris in the eld of view of the Polar View Finder. This is
all you will need to do when using short focal length lenses and/or
exposures that are only a few seconds long. If you are using longer
focal length lenses (e.g., greater than 100 mm or so) or exposures
exceeding 30 – 60s then you may get beer results by following the
steps outlined in Appendix I: Advanced Polar Alignment Procedures.
Polaris.
Look through
the Polar View
Finder and align
on Polaris, making
adjustments with
your lt/pan head
or ball mount.
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If you are using the oponal Equatorial Wedge aached to your tripod,
follow this procedure:
1. Set up your tripod and ensure it is stable.
2. If you have a lt/pan head or ball mount it is best to remove it from
your tripod. Aach the Equatorial Wedge directly to your tripod via
the 3/8-inch threaded mounng hole.
3. Once the wedge is securely aached align the tripod so that the
Altude Adjustment Knob is facing north.
4. Now, level your tripod using the built-in Bubble Level. A level
equatorial wedge is not a requirement for astrophotography, but it
makes subsequent adjustments easier to make.
5. Once level, rotate the Altude Adjustment Knob unl the Altude
Indicator points at your latude on the Altude Scale. (The altude
of Polaris above the horizon at your locaon matches your latude).
If you don’t know your latude you can look it up in the Star
Adventurer mini Console under Sengs: Locaon.
6. Next, aach SAM to the Accessory Mounng Plate using the 3/8-
inch dovetail adapter included with the wedge. The saddle on SAM
should be facing north with the Polar View Finder on top aimed
toward Polaris. You can illuminate the Polar View Finder by pressing
the power switch on SAM, or by seng it to ON inside the Star
Adventurer mini Console. While looking through the Polar View
Finder port, use the Altude and Azimuth Adjustment Knobs to
make ner adjustments unl you can see Polaris in the eld of view
of the Polar View Finder.
7. Now aach your camera gear being careful not to move the tripod
out of its polar aligned posion. Connect the SNAP camera control
cable between SAM and your camera. Point your camera at your
subject, then proceed to set up SAM via the Star Adventurer mini
Console.
Looking through the Polar View
Finder align SAM unl you can see
the star Polaris in the eld of view.
This simple polar alignment will be
adequate for most purposes.
Polaris.
Look through
the Polar View
Finder and align
on Polaris.
Azimuth
adjusters
Accessory mount-
ing plate inserted
into saddle.
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