Explore Scientific iEXOS-100 HD PMC-Eight Equatorial Tracker System

Before you can track an object you have to find it, and that can be daunting against a vast black sky or a bright city sky. Explore Scientific's iEXOS-100 HD kit finds and follows it for you: a German equatorial GoTo tracker with the PMC-Eight system built in, packaged with an illuminated polar finder scope, an azimuth adjuster and the Twilight Medium Duty Tripod, the accessories Explore Scientific chose for imaging.

Key Features

• PMC-Eight GoTo. An 8-core microcontroller with eight CPUs that work independently on defined functions, in place of the industry-standard single processor.
• Wi-Fi or wired control. The free ExploreStars app runs on Windows, Android, Amazon and Apple tablets, and the free PMC-Eight ASCOM driver and POTH client connect the mount to virtually any sky software that supports ASCOM. The app's database covers tens of thousands of celestial objects.
• German equatorial design. It follows objects as they rise in the east and set in the west, which helps imagers avoid field rotation.
• Alignment from the app or by hand. A virtual 2-star or 3-star alignment in ExploreStars, or a traditional manual alignment.
• Illuminated polar finder scope. Its reticle carries markings for both the northern and southern hemispheres, and the illuminator's brightness adjusts.
• Azimuth adjuster. Fine azimuth adjustments for precise polar alignment.
• Twilight Medium Duty Tripod. 1.5-inch stainless legs with a die-cast aluminum spreader tray and threaded T-bar, to keep vibrations to a minimum.
• Capacity. About 19 lb for visual use and 15 lb for imaging, telescope or camera, accessories and counterweights together; about 9 lb of equipment alone.
• Camera dovetail plate for attaching a camera to the mount.
• Set-up details. Locking clutches, an altitude knob, a polar alignment tunnel for rough alignment on Polaris, a bubble level, two 1 kg counterweights and glow-in-the-dark markers on the mount and tripod.

Ideal For

• Astrophotographers who need precise polar alignment: the polar finder scope and azimuth adjuster are in the box.
• Observers who want GoTo, to spend less time searching for objects and more time observing and imaging.
• Remote imagers: the mount can be run from a few feet away or, computer to computer over the Internet, from virtually anywhere in the world.

Accessories & Compatibility

A tablet or computer and 8 C batteries are sold separately; a bracket on the tripod leg holds the battery pack. Explore Scientific measured about 8 hours of running time on its iEXOS 100 from its USB Power Bank. Wired ASCOM control or a firmware update needs a Mini-USB cable, not included.