Sky Commander

Ratings:Top:Astronomy:Equipment Reviews:Misc Accessories:Sky Commander

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Brand and Model:Sky Commander
Price ($USD):$390
Type:digital setting circles
Description:The Sky Commander displays your scope's
R.A. & Dec. on a backlit LCD.
"Zero-in" mode guides you to any object.
9,000+ objects stored in the
Sky Commander's Catalogs of Celestial
Objects.
To find an object pushes and move the scope
in the indicated directions until the display "zeroes."
Mounts onto Dobsonians a German Equatorial mounts

Vote Highlights Vote
Sky Commander
I use the Sky Commander on a CG-5 mount, and it works very well. According to most sources, DSC's are trickier to operate with GEM mounts, but I have had no real problems. I would recommend using the Lymax brackets over the JMI if you plan on using it on a CG-5, because the Lymax brackets allow you to still use your polar scope, which REALLY helps in setting up accurately, and therefore, helps pointing accuracy.

Pointing accuracy is quite good, and setup is very simple. It does seem that pointing accuracy is better or worse depending on which stars are used for alignment. In general, the further apart the stars, the better the alignment. If you do have a poor alignment, the Sky Commander has a nice "sync on object" feature, that will restore it's accuracy without realigning. Also, you can move your scope quite quickly with the Sky Commander, and it won't skip.

Learning to navigate the menus is really simple and intuitive. I find that the Sky commander is easier to use than the NGC-max and similar LED units in this respect.

This is a very nicely designed product, and I find I prefer it over my GOTO scope for accuracy, and for speed of finding objects.

Overall Rating: 8
Performance:8 Value:8
Weight: 11 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=312174

Sky Commander
I have the unit on my AstroSystems 12.5" and works very well. It is very easy to use and the accuracy, in my experience, is very good. Usually, if I can't see the object, it is due to weather or seeing conditions, not the Sky Commander. I am installing encoders on my 10" Dob and will be using the computer unit with it. I would recommend it to any one. The Dob azimuth encoder mounting kit with bearing, etc is very good and easy to install; also has the alt bearing encoder adapter. Well worth the money. At star party, on the larger scopes, this is the unit that I see the most of.

Overall Rating: 9
Performance:9 Value:9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=255130

Sky Commander
good product

Overall Rating: 5
Performance:5 Value:5
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=164662

Sky Commander
Pointing accuracy is acceptable. Under cold weather, unless powered by external source, LCD display responds very slowly. Buttons are a tad too small, esp. with gloves on. However, it is a very easy to use and well-thought out DSC. Value is excellent, considering pointing accuracy and features. I highly recommend one with your dob if you are on a budget.

Overall Rating: 9
Performance:8 Value:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=81977

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