Vixen Skypod User manual

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 Vixen’s 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 Starbook’s 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 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
Skypod’s internally geared motors run on 8
AA batteries. The Starbook controller relies
on its own set of 4 AA batteries.
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 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 just
ahead of the secondary mirror.
Because there’s no corrector plate, a
curved-vane spider mount supports the
VMC110L’s 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 Skypod’s
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 don’t need
charts thanks to the Starbook S, this is truly
grab-and-go astronomy.
Vixen’s computerized mount is lightweight, sturdy, and easy to use.
⁄⁄⁄ BY phil harrington
EQUIPMENT REVIEW
The Skypod mount
performs superbly
98 astronomy ⁄⁄⁄ December 07
ViXEn’S SKYpoD mount with its Star-
book controller provides full go-to capa-
bility in a lightweight package. There’s
nothing light about the Starbook’s data-
base, though — you’ll find 22,000 celestial
objects in it. ALL PHOTOS: ASTRONOMY: WILLIAM ZUBACK
thE SKYpoD’S 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.

Driving with the Starbook
The Starbook initializes unlike any other
go-to drive I’ve 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 mount’s
altitude axis aims north. An approximation
is good enough, because you’ll refine the
telescope’s aim during initialization.
When you first turn on the Starbook’s
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 intuitive
if 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 Vixen’s
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 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.
100 astronomy ⁄⁄⁄ December 07
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)
⁄⁄⁄ SPECIFICATIONS
COUPLE VIXEN’S
VMC110L tele-
scope and alumi-
num tripod with
the Skypod mount,
and you’ll have a
system light enough
for any observer to
transport.
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
mount’s pointing accuracy.
The Starbook’s 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 Vixen’s next update to correct this.
In actual use, the Starbook’s LCD backlit
display worked well until temperatures
dropped below freezing. Strapping a hand-
warmer to the back of the case with a rub-
Vixen Optics
1010 Calle Cordillera
Suite 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
Vixen’s dovetail assembly. This standard-
ized connection functions throughout
Vixen’s 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 it’s 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 time
through the supplied 25mm Plössl eyepiece
(which yielded 41x), whether it was the
Orion Nebula, any of winter’s 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 Saturn’s rings, for instance, it was not as
sharp as in my own 4-inch Vixen refractor
with the same eyepiece.
The bottom line
Vixen’s 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 don’t
push its magnification beyond about 100x.
Together, they make a great travel team if
you’re jetting off to a dark location and
want to keep everything together in a sin-
gle, neat package.