Orion SkyView Pro 150 GoTo Mak-Cass Telescope opens up new vistas of the celestial landscape for your viewing pleasure. And now it's available with full GoTo motorized computer control! The GoTo system automatically points the telescope to any of 13,400+ celestial objects in its database.

The GoTo system consists of a computerized hand controller and two stepper motors that attach to the SkyView Pro 150 mount. With intuitive menus and easy-to-use pushbutton controls, the GoTo system allows you to locate and track any object in its database of 42,900 celestial objects including the entire Messier and NGC catalogs. You can use the GoTo controller to take a guided tour of the night sky or to pinpoint celestial highlights for the month.

Using the GoTo controller couldn't be easier. Just select an object to view from the user-friendly menus on the hand controller and the stepper motors power the telescope to the object at a brisk 3.4° per second, putting it right in your eyepiece's field of view. You will enjoy more productive viewing sessions, seeing way more wonders in a single evening than you ever thought possible. Just do an easy initial alignment, and then let GoTo do the rest!

The 150mm-diameter Maksutov-Cassegrain optics take in 40% more light than their 127mm counterpart, which means this big Mak will resolve finer detail in lunar and planetary subjects and permit exploration of a wider array of deep-sky objects. The optical tube measures just 17" long for excellent portability. The long 1800mm focal length belies the telescope's compact size, yet provides serious magnifying power. The meniscus lens is fully multi-coated for maximum light transmission. This package comes with an 8x40 finder scope, 90° prism diagonal, and a 26mm (69x) Sirius Plossl eyepiece (1.25").

The GoTo system requires an external 12-volt power source such as the Orion Dynamo Pro (#2307). One-year limited warranty.

For owners of the SkyView Pro EQ GoTo Mount whose version of the GoTo hand controller is 3.0 or greater, the GoTo hand controller's firmware can be updated over the internet.

Updating the GoTo Hand Controller's Firmware
From version 3.0 and up, the GoTo hand controller's firmware can be updated over the internet.

System Requirements

• GoTo hand controller version 3.0 or greater
• Windows95 or later
• An available RS-232 COM port on the PC
• Computer interface cable (supplied)
• DC power supply (7.5V to 15V @ 100mA or greater output with 2.1mm tip positive plug)

Preparing the Computer for the Update

1. Create a folder where you will store the files necessary for the update.
2. Click on the Download Firmware Files link below and save the Firmware Loader program to the folder you have created on your computer. You will need to download this program only once; after it is saved on your computer, only the firmware data file is needed for future updates.
3. Download and save the firmware update date file to the folder you created. The file will be named OrionVxxxxEQ.ssf, where xxxx indicates the version number of the firmware.

Updating the GoTo Hand Controller

1. Plug the modular plug end of the computer interface cable into the middle jack in the hand controller. Plug the serial connector end of the cable to the COM port on your PC.
2. Press and hold down the 0 and 8 numerical buttons simultaneously, then plug the power supply into the hand controller's DC power jack. The hand controller will beep and display "SynScan Update Ver. x.x" on the LCD screen.
3. Run the Firmware Loader program on your computer.
4. Click on the "Browse" box and select the OrionVxxxx.ssf file location where it was saved previously on your computer.
5. Click on the "Update" button, and the new firmware will begin loading into the hand controller. The Firmware Loader will show the progress of the update on your computer screen. It will usually take approximately 5 minutes for the new firmware to load into the hand controller. It may take significantly longer if a serial-to-USB adapter is employed on your computer.
6. When the download is complete, the Firmware Loader will display "Update Complete".

The firmware in the GoTo hand controller has now been updated. You can click on the "HC. Version" button to confirm the new version number of the firmware (and possibly the database, but the hardware version will not change with internet updates).

Note: If the error message "Can not connect to a SynScan hand control" appears on your computer, check all cable connections. Also, try closing all other computer programs that might be attempting to use the COM port.

Note: If the error message "Firmware update failed..." appears on your computer, remove the power plug from the hand controller, and then reconnect it. Now, repeat the firmware update procedure.

By default, the data communication rate between the GoTo hand controller and the computer is 115kbps. The RS-232 port on some PCs may not support this high data transfer rate. If the firmware update procedure fails after a few tries, try reducing the data transfer rate by pressing the SETUP button on the hand controller. This will reduce the data transfer rate to 9.6kbps. The controller's LCD screen will show "Lo" in the lower right hand corner to indicate the lower transfer rate setting. The firmware update procedure remains the same except it will take much longer for the firmware to load into the hand controller.

Download Firmware Files