Mount Sphinx AXJ Starbook Ten GoTo

The new AXJ is one of Vixen’s range of Atlux giant mounts and has considerably more reserves than the smaller Sphinx SXD2: at 22kg the AXJ can carry significantly more weight.

With the AXJ you get a mount without limitations which nevertheless is still portable and, thanks to the superb build quality, will be your life-long friend. The bottom line is that it’s worth paying the extra for a Vixen mount because of its superior quality.

Special features of the AXJ mount:

• +/-4.0 arcseconds with V-PEC: In general, periodic error in mounts are measured and corrected by the user. The old Star Book did not permanently store this error, in the Star Book Ten control this issue has been resolved. The periodic error of the mount is measured in the factory (in total 12 points per 30 degrees worm gear) and corrected before dispatch. This is called V-PEC and works automatically as soon as you put the mount into operation. You can achieve an accuracy of +/- 4.0 arcseconds. You can also further increase the tracking accuracy by saving your own recorded periodic error.
• The drive system prevents play and reduces noise levels. Vixen uses a belt-drive system in the AXJ mount ensuring it achieves a fast response time and very little play (backlash). The noise level is especially low.
• 14 bearings: the moving parts of the AXJ mount have in total of 14 bearings. These bearings are effectively in use both for the right ascension and declination axes as well as for the bearing shaft for the worm gear.
• Polar elevation setting (Variable fork fix type): the AXJ mount latitude adjustment can be set to between 0� and 70�, divided into three zones (high, middle and low altitude), and adjustable +/- 15� per zone. The altitude scale is divided into 5� increments. There are two large clamping screws for fine adjustments. (Approximately 0.7� per revolution).
• Polar finder scope with reference star setting: the 6�20 polar finder comes pre-installed. With this you can set up the polar alignment in both the northern and the southern hemispheres: 8� field of view, 3-star alignment system, positioning accuracy within 3 arcminutes. This polar finder has a variable illuminated reticle with automatic shut-off function. The brightness is adjustable in eight steps so that the user can select their preferred brightness. By pressing the button the dark field illumination (red LED) is activated. The illumination is switched off automatically after a few minutes to conserve battery life.
• The mount head: the AXJ mount head consists of a scratch-resistant anodized aluminum plate. There are threaded holes (M8 x8, 5/16" x4) on the mounting head to enable prism clamps even from other manufacturers to be attached. In the accessories section you can find suitable installation options from Vixen: use Vixen Prism clamp for a simple telescope connection or Vixen AXD attachment plate, if you want to mount two optics (e.g. a guiding scope) in parallel.
• Carrying capacity up to 22 kg: two sets of bearing are used for the right ascension axis shaft. With the newly developed EQ design the AXJ mount load capacity has been increased in order to withstand a payload of 22kg. Since the motors, worm shaft and worm gear are arranged in the lower part of the mount, it requires less counterweight than other mounts.
• Retractable counterweight shaft: The 25 millimetre thick retractable counterweight shaft is made of stainless steel (compatible with the counterweight of the AXD II mount). This counterweight shaft is tucked inside the declination axis body to ensure ease of transportation
• Accessory shoe for a compass: for a simple and fast polar alignment the Vixen Pole finder QPL polar compass can be slipped onto this shoe.

The Starbook Ten is much more than a hand controller with GoTo functionality!

Here are a few features of this extraordinary astronomy computer

• Large colour LCD monitor: The Starbook Ten's monitor has a 5-inch TFT colour liquid crystal display with high WVGA (800×480 pixels, 65,535 colours) resolution. During astronomical observations at night, the observer's eyes adapt to the darkness. For this reason, the display can be switched to red backlighting. The red light does not interfere with this adaptation to darkness as much as white light. All command and direction buttons can be illuminated in red so that you can keep track of them even in the dark. The illuminated buttons can be switched on or off.
• Moon map: You can view a map of the visible part of the moon on the screen. All important landmarks on the moon's surface are highlighted and can be selected for the GoTo function.
• Fast CPU: The Starbook Ten has a CPU with a clock speed of 324 MHz, which is about 5 times faster than the CPU of the old Starbook. This means that the star chart loads faster and makes the screen more vivid.
• Simple menu: With the Starbook Ten, you can call up your celestial bodies in both scope and chart mode. You can also select your objects by scrolling through the star chart in chart mode. Frequently used menus can be found on each of the ten buttons. This allows you to quickly and easily access the most important functions directly at the touch of a button.
• Large database: The Starbook Ten contains more than 270,000 celestial objects, including 258,977 stars from the SAO star catalogue, 109 Messier objects, 7,840 objects and NGC 5386 IC objects, the Sun, the Moon and the planets of our solar system. Simply call up objects using their common names.
• P-PEC function: You can store a periodic error correction to improve the tracking accuracy of the mount. This is stored and retained even when you switch off the instrument and start it up again the next time.
• Hunting for satellites and comets: You can enter the orbital elements of a satellite or comet directly into the Starbook via a PC's LAN connection. You can store up to 10 satellites or comets in your Starbook.
• User-defined objects: The Starbook Ten is capable of storing user-defined objects. This allows you to store other interesting celestial objects that you would like to observe or photograph. You can enter the position data of up to 10 objects directly or via the LAN connection of a PC.
• Different tracking speeds: It is possible to change the tracking rate according to the type of object you are observing. The movement of the sun, moon, planets or comets can be tracked at different speeds.
• Advanced alignment algorithm: You can achieve precise alignment of the mount by simply moving to two stars at least ten degrees apart and saving them. You can enter the position data of up to twenty stars on the control. If you save additional stars for alignment within ten degrees, the control will notify you in the dialogue box, as this would not result in more accurate positioning.
• Starbook Ten has a large backup memory where your information can be stored. This allows you to switch off the instrument and save the batteries. When the mount resumes operation, the data remains stored.
• Atmospheric refraction: This option allows you to compensate for or reduce atmospheric refraction on celestial objects near the horizon.
• Cross Over Meridian: The mount has a safety feature that rotates the optical tube in the opposite direction when the observation object reaches its highest position to prevent the optics from hitting the mount. However, you can freely select or disable this feature if you want to take pictures with your equipment.

The Starbook Ten also has an expansion slot where you can add an additional module. With the optional module, you can operate an autoguider for automatic object tracking during photography.