Nexus II review (Astro Devices DSC)

[Kanadalainen]

Hello all,

I was fortunate to be able to speak to Serge Antonov (Sydney, Australia) about upgrading my JMI NGC max to his Nexus II.

Astro Devices is a company run by Serge, wherein he designs and markets his digital setting circles (DCSs) worldwide. Serge's website lists his DSCs that are matched to various commercially available Dobsonian mounted reflector scopes including Meade Lightbridge, GSO, and Skywatcher line. He is currently working on putting together DSCs for the Orion Intelliscope lineup.

Serge took the trouble to call me and give him the information about the encoders on my 14.5" DIY dob. They are older US Digital units (S1) - which are of a resolution of about 4000 steps per revolution, which is pretty low by todays standards. I asked Serge whether it would be useful to order the newer s6 version - 10000 steps - and he replied, "No, lets see how this works first".

He sent me the Nexus II unit which plugs right into the encoder loom that I already had. The Nexus II is a wifi generator that links to my Apple device and feeds the raw DSC information to (in my case) SkySafari. For $200 USD this seemed too good to be true. I was already well-experienced with SkySafari and so the learning curve is nil.

Products:
Nexus DSC - is a standalone unit. You need encoders to take the info about where your scope is pointing.
Nexus II - wifi support box to coordinate the encoders input to your tablet, laptop or phone. I had encoders installed (used with a JMI unit). This is what I bought.

Serge phoned me up a couple of times, from Australia, to ask about the orthogonality of the scope, and confirmed a few measurements, and to allow me to ask questions - how great is that.

The order arrived in seven days from Canada Post.

The first time I had it in the field, I configured the phone to accept the wifi in about 5 minutes, Serge provides a Quickstart guide. The Nexus II linked flawlessly, and the beauty of the system is that you can align with 2, 3, 4... 10 stars (if you want to), so the accuracy is unbelievable. I ran a few tests to find small planetary nebula, using only the screen of the phone, and the target was exactly in the middle on 3/4 of the targets. This is amazing, and used an initial 4 star alignment (overkill). If I had modern encoders, I can't imagine the accuracy.

As long as you can rig encoders, this will work with any alt/az mount for refractors and reflectors.

In summary, the Nexus II is an excellent product, using an excellent design, sold by a guy who provides great customer service. I highly recommend it. Much better than other DSCs I have used including Intelliscope, JMI NGC max, and others.

http://www.astrodevices.com

Cheers all,

Ian

[Bigzmey]

Sound like a great product Ian! So, you basically push your scope and watch cross-hair move in SkySafari until you arrive at target?

[Kanadalainen]

Sound like a great product Ian! So, you basically push your scope and watch cross-hair move in SkySafari until you arrive at target?

Yes, I tried this - it allows one to do this. Very accurate - I am using an iPhone 7, but it would be even more fun with a small tablet. At the end of the night, I had it running on my 15" laptop so that was spectacular. I tried in several version of SS including barebones 5 as well as SS6 Pro.

If I was running 10000 step or 30000 step encoders, the smoothness of screen tracking would be better (as Serge predicted), but even with my encoders it works perfectly.

The reverse is also true, and is really helpful -> you can move through a given field using the EP and when you find something extraordinary, look at your phone, magnify the screen, and inquire by tapping just what it is that you are looking at.

[pakarinen]

I love my Nexus II and SS+. I have noticed the WiFI dropping out a couple times lately, but it could be my several-year-old iPhone.