A highly portable and compact telescope that creates its own Wi-Fi network
VITAL STATS
• Price £549
• Design Maksutov- Cassegrain altaz Go-To Wi-Fi tabletop telescope
• Optics 127mm (5-inch) primary mirror
• Focal length 1,500mm, f/11.8
• Mount Wi-Fi, computerised, altaz and single-arm
• Ports Power connector, camera port, hand-controller port, integrated Wi-Fi adaptor, on-off switch
• Tracking rates Sidereal, lunar, and solar; alignment free
• Extras Red-dot finder, 25mm and 10mm 1.25-inch-fit eyepieces, spirit level
• Weight 10kg (total kit weight)
• Supplier Optical Vision Ltd
• Tel 01359 244200
• www.opticalvision.co.uk
Tabletop telescopes, such as the Sky-Watcher Skymax-127 Virtuoso GTi, have come to the fore because of their lightweight versatility. As a compact telescope combined with a single-arm, Wi-Fi-controllable Go-To mount it offers to make the night sky available at the touch of an on-screen button.
The Skymax-127’s optical tube has a Maksutov- Cassegrain design that folds a 1,500mm-long light path into a tube that’s just 370mm long (excluding the star diagonal). It has a 127mm-diameter primary mirror, and its long focal length (with a focal ratio of f/11.8) makes it ideal for lunar, planetary and doublestar viewing, although you can also observe brighter deep-sky targets with it as well.
A red-dot finder allows for initial alignment and along with a star diagonal, there are 25mm and 10mm eyepieces, which give magnifications of 60x and 150x respectively. The single-arm mount houses the electronics and includes a battery compartment for eight AA-size batteries, as well as ports for an optional power supply and camera, and an integrated Wi-Fi adaptor. There’s also a hand-controller port if you don’t want to use your smartphone (the handset for this is sold separately).
Versatile and portable
The telescope’s base has a built-in spirit level and both axes can be locked and unlocked via clutches for free movement. When combined with Sky-Watcher’s ‘Freedom-Find’ dual-encoder technology, this means you can do a star-alignment that will be retained after the clutches are unlocked. The telescope is attached via a Vixen-style bar and an adaptor, and it can be easily removed for travelling. The mount’s underside has a 3/8-inch thread so you can attach it to a tripod if that’s more convenient.
Being a tabletop-style mount you can use it manually, like a mini-Dobsonian mount, to enjoy the night sky without power. However, it’s the integrated Wi-Fi adaptor that enables this scope to be controlled with a smartphone or tablet (either an Android or iOS system), and this allows you to use it anywhere. >
It was easy to connect to the SynScan SSID to our iPhone XR (and iPad Pro) and, once the app has connected to the telescope, it lets you perform the star-alignment with either one, two or three stars, the brightest star, or north and level alignments. We found that two and three-star alignments gave the best tracking and Go-To results in this test.
In terms of the views, Saturn presented crisp detail through the 25mm eyepiece – the rings were well defined, there was a hint of a northern belt and a good view of Titan. The 10mm eyepiece revealed the Cassini Division in the rings, along with three more moons (Rhea, Tethys and Dione) and it gave a better view of the belt around the planet.
Sharp detail, even at distance
Jupiter was the next target and the views were gorgeous. The planet’s northern belt was clearly a brownish colour and much wider than the slimmer and fainter southern belt. It was possible to make out hints of plume features with the 10mm eyepiece, as well as subtle hints of more belts. All four Galilean moons were visible too. Our Moon was the target for the next test, a week later, and it almost filled the view through the 25mm eyepiece, presenting lots of detail to enjoy. Switching to the 10mm allowed us to explore the lunar southern hemisphere in detail, taking in Clavius, Tycho, Maginus and other craters.
Next, we tested some of the better-known and brightest deep-sky targets: M81 appeared as a pale oval and M82 as a dappled sliver of light. Both just fit in the field of view of the 25mm eyepiece, as did the Pleiades, M45. Meanwhile, Albireo (Beta (β) Cygni) was resplendent with gold and pale-blue components, and with the 10mm eyepiece it was possible to split the ‘double double’ star in Lyra into all four parts.
Overall, the Sky-Watcher Skymax-127 Virtuoso GTi was a delight to use on a wide range of targets, and can be highly recommended.
Flexible Wi-Fi control
The Virtuoso GTi single-arm tabletop mount houses a wireless network adaptor, so you can connect with a smartphone or tablet and control the mount. This control is achieved by using the SynScan Pro app that can be downloaded for both Android and iOS devices. Turn on the mount and it immediately broadcasts the wireless signal that you use to connect to your device. Open the SynScan app and select ‘Connect’, and it’ll pick up the scope’s signal and make the connection. You can then use the app to control the scope’s functions, such as performing star alignment and locating targets from the built-in lists available (note that Solar System objects are located under the ‘Stars’ menu). The app worked well during this test and once connected, it also allows you to open planetarium apps, such as SkySafari, and to select ‘SkyWatcher SynScanLink’ in the telescope setup page to transfer control to even more targets.
KIT TO ADD
1. Sky-Watcher 1.75-inch diameter stainless steel tripod
2. Sky-Watcher 7Ah power tank
3. Sky-Watcher 1.25-inch lunar and planetary filter set
VERDICT
