Telescope Reviews: Ioptron Mini Tower

Hi from Argentina:

I had a strange problem when I tried to align with two stars. The balance is correct, but after selecting the second star and pressing enter, the MiniTower moves randomly to any direction. The same happens when I GoTo to any object (Select And Slew), apparently the same amount in the same direction that after the aligment.

When I align with one star I don't have the same problem.

References (Test #1):

Counter Weight = End of the "Counter Balance Arm" (*)
Anti-backlash = 0 (all axis)
OTA = GSO RC8 (with diagonal, eyepiece & finderscope +/- 18 lbs)
Power = AC & External 12V battery

(*) The same happens when I put a second telescope (William Optics ZenithStar 66 SD APO with all +/- 5 lbs) and with/without the Counter Weight in any position (I tried all options)

Do you have any suggestion?

Thanks in advance.

UPDATE:

I want to share the following:

A few minutes ago I made an alignment, with one star. If after that, I make the alignment with 2 stars, it almost never fails (I notice only a slight movement).

The failure only appears if I try to align with 2 stars right after turning the equipment on.

The shift does not seem to be so random, after all. If I try to align with 2 stars right after turning on, whenever I press Enter on the second star, it will shift almost upto the start position (I mean, the position before the adjustments made to center the object).

Anyway, I am planning to have the equipment returned for a checkup, but I thought that those details could be of interest.

References (Test #2):

Counter Weight = No
Anti-backlash = 0 (all axis)
OTA = William Optics ZenithStar 66 SD APO with all +/- 5 lbs
Power = AC & External 12V battery

Edited by ACB (03/29/09 01:35 AM)