How could you improve upon the refractor of your dreams? Would adding a computerized guidance system do the trick? That's what the GoTo system brings to this venerable refractor. Now, pushing a button or two on the convenient hand controller activates two stepper motors to power the "big gun" to any one of 42,900 celestial gems at a quick 3.4° per second. The GoTo system can even take you on a guided tour of the celestial highlights for any month of the year. A simple alignment is all it takes to get started. What a great addition to a great telescope!

The GoTo system provides computerized electronic control that can pinpoint the location of any celestial target in the hand controller's 13,436-object databank. Backlash compensation and programmable periodic error correction (PEC) provide the responsiveness for guiding and the tracking accuracy needed for astrophotography. The drive base is equipped with a charge coupled device (CCD) autoguider port. The hand controller has a two-line, backlit LCD screen and a red-illuminated keypad. Navigating the menu buttons is very intuitive and takes little time to master. The database includes the complete Messier, NGC, and IC catalogs; eight planets; 100 named stars; and 25 user-defined objects.

With all that convenience you'll have more time to enjoy the sights revealed by an outstanding optical system. With 120mm of clear aperture and 1000mm focal length, the Orion SkyView Pro 120 GoTo Achromatic Refractor can split 2-arcscond double stars and reveal subtle lunar and planetary details. With less chromatic aberration than short-focal-length achromatic refractor telescopes, the SVP 120 provides crisp, pleasing star astrophotography with a minimum of color fringing. Attach an Orion Solar System or Planetary Imaging Camera to capture spectacularly detailed shots of Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and lunar landscapes galore!

This telescope features a fully multi-coated 120mm (4.7") achromatic objective lens in an adjustable cell. The 2" aluminum focuser (with 1.25" adapter) allows use of optional 2" eyepieces. The optical tube rides on the sturdy SkyView Pro equatorial mount with stainless steel tripod.

The SkyView Pro 120mm GoTo Achromataic Refractor will take you to more amazing places than you ever dreamed possible! The GoTo system requires an external 12-volt power source such as the Orion Dynamo Pro. 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