Born out of the popular iOptron Cube and iEQ mounts, the SmartEQ mount is the ultimate Grab N’ Go German equatorial GoTo mount fitting into almost everyone’s budget. It is ideal for visual observation and wide field astrophotography. The compact design and light weight make travelling with the mount easy.
SmartEQ is a fully computerized mount with a database of 59,000 objects. It offers the next generation GoTo technology from iOptron. The Go2NovaTM Hand Controller is intuitive with a large LCD screen, with which you can easily set up your telescope and select where you want to navigate.
SmartEQ is universally compatible with any tubes using a Vixen-style dovetail connection, making it useful for beginners as well as hobbyists with multiple tubes.
The Pro version of the SmartEQ has all the gear parts made of metal. An illuminated polar finder is also included in delivery The Pro version is available with or without a carrying case (hard case) for the mount. A bag for the tripod can be found under 'Recommended Accessories'. The case and tripod bag make the SmartEQ Pro a portable equatorial mount with GoTo functionality!
Our expert comment:
iOptron now supplies this mount with a new tripod WITHOUT a storage plate, as shown in Figure 2.
Other iOptron storage plates do not fit the tripod.
(Jan Ströher)
Stellarium does not necessarily require ASCOM drivers. The plugin provided is also capable of controlling mounts via its own servers.
If you choose to use the ASCOM driver, here are the points to check to make sure you have the right driver.
Your mount's hand controller should have the identification number 8408. The most recent versions of Smart EQ are equipped with this hand controller. Resources related to older versions of this mount are available here: https://www.ioptron.com/Articles.asp?ID=297
In this case, the ASCOM driver you need is the same as for the CEM 25 or other models.
It can be downloaded here:
https://www.ioptron.com/Articles.asp?ID=295
This video illustrates an important point about the connection: selecting the correct COM port:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUdYv311HFw
Open the device manager.
Look in the COM Ports category to find the COM port number that the cable connection to the PC has created.
Make a note of it.
Select this COM port from the drop-down menu in the Stellarium telescope control plugin.
Leave the other settings as they are.
Save this profile.
Click on "Connect".
Please note that you need to take control of a mount that has already been aligned using the hand controller.
You can also test the quality of the connection using the Cartes du ciel planetarium software, which will automatically call on the driver and the ASCOM platform:
https://www.ap-i.net/skychart/fr/start
You must install the ASCOM platform to be able to use this ASCOM driver.
The platform itself may ask you to enable .NET Framework in the optional Windows components.
Sandra Eguay
