eVscope Accessories

eVscope Accessories

The function and enjoyment of your eVscope can be enhanced by adding accessories. No manufacturers are making accessories specifically for eVscopes, but users have made them, adapted add-ons meant for other telescopes, and found useful items not meant for telescopes at all. Examples and suggestions for many of the accessories below and more may be found on the eVscope & eQuinox Users Global Facebook Group. Below are common categories for accessories, their purpose, description, and where they can be found.

Accessory Holders

• A hammock-like fabric sling that attaches to the tripod legs, useful for holding items that may be needed while observing (laser pointer, tool kit, etc.
• Available from shops that sell camera accessories.
• May be easily fabricated from heavy cloth or canvas cut into an appropriate triangle attached to the legs with zip ties or Velcro strips.

Artificial Star

• An intense light source with a pinhole aperture that simulates a star.
• Used to perform collimation anytime under controlled conditions.
• Available from telescope and telescope supply sellers.
• May be made using a bright LED flashlight and a home-made pinhole

Bubble Level

• A large-diameter precision bubble level to supplement the embedded tripod level and improve leveling ease and precision.
• Digital levels with LED or illuminated displays are also very useful and effective at night
• Available from hardware and home supply stores

Carrying Strap

• A flexible canvas handle that attaches to the telescope tube to allow easier carrying without the need for the backpack.
• Sturdy straps used to handle heavy scuba tanks are available and work well.

Dew/Glare Shield

• A opaque cylinder that fits over the open end of the eVscope tube and extends 7cm to 15cm (3 to 6 inches) to past the tube aperture.
• Needed to reduce the incidence of dew forming on the sensor and in the tube. Also reduces the amount of incidental light entering the tube and internal reflections that may reach the sensor
• Manufactured shields fitting 150mm (6 inch) diameter telescopes suitable for the eVscope are available from telescope suppliers. Heated dew shields are also available that are more effective in preventing dew.
• Shields may be easily made from household materials.

Filter Adapter

• Optical filters are placed before or in the telescope light path to prevent or allow specific wavelengths of light reaching the sensor. Filters come in a wide variety of formats, sizes, and filtering characteristics
• The housing for the eVscope sensor at the front of the tube is threaded to accept "C-mount" accessories with a 25.4mm (1.0 inch) diameter. Telescope optical filters are commonly 31.75mm (1.25 inches) to fit onto 1.25 inch oculars, so an C-mount to 1.25 inch adapter is needed to use these filters.
• C-mount to 1.25 inch adapters are commercially available in short or long formats. The short format is preferred for the eVscope.

Filters

• Optical filters are placed before or in the telescope light path to prevent or allow specific wavelengths (colors) of light reaching the sensor. This highlights different characteristics of observed objects, such as emissions caused by specific elements present in the object.
• Astronomical filters come in a wide variety of formats, sizes, and filtering characteristics. Most common for the eVscope are 1.25-inch diameter filters that are attached to the sensor housing. An C-mount-to-1.25-inch adapter (see above) is required use these filters with an eVscope.
• Two major categories of filters are broadband (allowing most wavelengths) and narrowband (allowing only few wavelengths). Solar filters are discussed in that section.
• Popular deep sky object filters for the eVscope are:
  • Broadband light pollution filters that reject only wavelengths emitted by city lights
  • Broadband neutral density filters that equally reduce all wavelengths to improve viewing of bright objects like to Moon
  • Narrowband ultra-high contrast filters that allow just a few wavelengths emitted by nebulae
  • Narrowband single wavelength filters to focus on the emissions of single elements in the stars and nebulae
• Filters of all types are available commercially from telescope supply companies.

Finder Scope

• A finder scope ("finder") is a low (or zero)-magnification wide-field device attached to a larger telescope to assist in manually pointing the large telescope to specific locations in the sky.
• A finder used with an eVscope is useful to confirm the general sky area, allow manual pointing to (or avoiding) terrestrial objects, and for solar observing (with the appropriate filter).
• Simplest and most common finder for an eVscope is an "iron sight", a simple tube or set of raised points mounted to and spaced along the optical tube axis to indicate the pointing direction.
• Finders can be created using common objects, 3-D printed from available designs, or purchased commercially. The "Telrad" is one example of a commercial finder suitable for eVscopes.

Photo Editing Software

• Using software to enhance astronomical images has both esthetic and scientific value.
• The images saved by eVscope in Portable Network Graphic (.png) format may be edited individually or may be combined (stacked) to improve brightness, color, and resolution. In addition, raw data stored in the eVscope may be uploaded to Unistellar servers and converted to other popular astrophotography formats. These converted images may then be retrieved for stacking and editing.
• free general purpose photoediting software comes with both iOS and Android devices. Many other free programs may be installed on devices or downloaded to iOS and Windows personal computers. These include:
  • Photoshop Express Photo Editor
  • Snapseed
  • Adobe Lightroom Mobile
  • Apple Photos
  • GIMP
  • Paint.NET
• Editing programs that are tailored for astrophoto use and are powerful and versatile than general-purpose programs are available commercially. These include:
  • Adobe Lightroom CC
  • SiriL (free)
  • Affinity
  • Nebulosity
  • PixInsight
  • Astro Pixel Processor

Solar Filter

• A solar filter allows observing and imaging the Sun by reducing the harmful intensity of unfiltered sunlight. It may also select specific wavelengths or bands of sunlight to enhance different aspects of solar physics
• A removable solar filter is generally a thin film or glass in an appropriately-sized carrier that fits over and completely covers the aperture of the telescope.
• Solar filters for the eVscope may be purchased or home-made.

Thermal Cover/Heater

• Thermal covers are insulting blankets that cover parts of a telescope that are sensitive to cold temperature. Batteries and mechanical parts are common telescope parts that benefit from insulation. Thermal blankets may also include active heaters to maintain operational temperatures in extreme conditions.
• The effective charge provided by eVscope batteries is reduced as the battery temperature is lowered. In addition, charging the batteries in not recommended when battery temperature is below 10°C (50°F).
• Thermal covers that cover the eVscope mount (batteries and electronics) are generally home-made from material with poor heat conductivity such as bubble wrap and padded insulating fabric

Travel Case

• As the eVScope with tripod is too large to be carryon luggage, it must be checked when traveling by air. In addition, there are other circumstance where more protection against damage is needed than can be provided by the custom backpack. A well-padded, rigid container is recommended to protect the eVscope and withstand the rigors of rough handling.
• The original shipping/product boxes are one answer, but are not rugged themselves, are not waterproof, and will deteriorate with frequent use.
• Cases made by Pelican (Models 1615 and 1650) have been demonstrated as suitable travel cases for an eVscope and tripod when fitted with custom foam padding.

Tripod Weights

• Weights attached to the eVscope tripod serve to lower the telescope center of gravity, which improves stability and reduces vibration.
• An accessory holder or hammock can also serve as a weight holder
• Commercial tripod weight bags are available from camera suppliers.

USB-C Magnetic Adapter

• A USB-C Magnetic Adapter prevents excessive wear and accidental damage to the eVscope USB-C power connector. The adapter has two parts, one that fits semi-permanently into the eVscope USB-C port and one that connects to the end of the power cable. The two parts join together magnetically when charging the telescope. The adapter disconnects without stress if the power cord is stretched or pulled, preventing the connector from being damaged or the scope from tipping.

WiFi Extender

• WiFi Extenders are electronic devices that receive and rebroadcast WiFi signals, increasing the effective range and power of an access point. They are primarily used to fill the gaps and dead spots associated with operating an single access point in large or complex environments.
• eVscopes benefit from the use of a WiFi Extender even over short distances due to the low power and short range of the internal telescope WiFi system. In addition, devices connected to the eVscope through an Extender do not drop the connection when the eVscope is powered off and will reconnect automatically when the telescope reconnects with the Extender.
• WiFi Extenders operate from AC power, so their use in the field may be limited
• Popular WiFi Extenders are made by TP-Link, Netgear, and Linksys (to name a few) and are widely available.