1. Netbook Stalk II™ by Markless™ Astronomics

The

Netbook Stalk II™

You have a big Dob telescope with lots of aperture.   You have an Argo Navis and maybe a ServoCAT.   You are set up and ready to observe, but, you didn’t have time to prepare an observing plan.   Or, you have an observing plan, but you didn’t have time to get your sky charts printed, or study where the objects are on your Sky Atlas.   Or, you have a big stack of charts and books next to your scope and its hard to juggle them all.   Or, you have a plan, but the guys around you are tracking down some new comets and they are not loaded into your Argo Navis.   Does any of that that sound familiar?   Maybe some other variation of it?

You can circumvent those problems and solve them once and for all, if you use a planetarium program with your telescope.   To do that, of course, you are going to need a PC; i.e., a laptop or a netbook.

There are several excellent planetarium programs available to run on your laptop or Netbook.   The planetarium has almost unlimited objects from which to choose. Many have comets available to download real time.   The only limitations are the limiting magnitude of the night sky and your telescope’s aperture.   If you had a plan and had loaded it on to AstroPlanner or Sky Tools, you could observe from the plan and control your telescope with it, too.

You really owe it to yourself to try observing with a laptop or Netbook.   Even if you don’t owe it to yourself, you ought to try it.   It is like the step you took when you moved from starhopping to DSCs!

There’s a revolution occurring in the market of laptop PCs.  

Sales of the new Netbook laptop PC (introduced mid 2008) are expected to reach 50 million units within a couple of years.   Some astronomers who contacted me about it have started using netbooks in conjunction with their telescopes, ServoCATs, Argo Navis, and planetarium program software.   Although, I currently do not have one, it seems obvious that as netbooks are placed into use, the number of astronomers who will want to use it with their telescopes is going to skyrocket, if for no other reason than netbooks are useful for many other purposes.   There are about 10 brands of netbooks on the market from what I can gather, and they are all very similar.  

The Netbook PC today has basically three different configurations:

1. Windows XP O/S or Linux O/S
2. Solid State Drive or HDD
3. 8.9”display or 10.1” display (there’s even a 12, but that is getting a bit large)

If you decide that a Netbook is in you future and plan to use it with planetarium programs and other astronomy s/w, be sure to get a Windows based Netbook.   After that, it is a matter of personal choice.   Search the Net for more information on Netbooks to determine what you want in your unit.   The market changes almost daily, so be sure to notice the date of the review you read.   Reviews older than a month or two probably do not include the latest offerings by major players in the market, and you may miss a great new Netbook with improved features for the same money.

I cannot attest that a Netbook is perfect for use with every planetarium program, so "caveat emptor" applies, as always.   I have received reports that it has worked normally with Sky Tools and has been used to control a ServoCAT equipped UC with TheSky6 and Argo Navis.   A user wrote, "I can [and] easily do find, center, and slew to any object without having to use the scrolls, in fact no scrolls for the screen are present!"   He was using a Dell Netbook with a 9" screen.   Other Netbooks which have worked with astronomy s/w controlling their telesceopes according to emails from users are Asus Eee PC 1000HE, Samsung NC-10, and Acer Aspire One.   Here's a list of s/w that users reported they have loaded and used successfully on their Netbooks:   TheSky6, AstroPlanner, Sky Tools 3, Guide 8, Earth Centered Universe 5.0.

Just keep in mind that Netbooks and astronomy are still new together, so check around if you decide to get a one.   The Netbook's processor and video card are lower in performance and the display is smaller than full size laptops, so check the reviews and specs so that you are an informed buyer.  

Two of the better features of a Netbook are its medium size and very light weight, (usually around 2.5 to 3 lbs.)   The newer models have 6-cell batteries providing long battery lives (~5.5 to 9.5 hours).   All of that means it is well sized for use at the telescope and can be mounted on a light weight stand attached to the rocker box of almost any size Dobsonian reflector.

Enter the Markless Astronomics Netbook Stalk II

As is so often the case, this new product arose out of requests from customers who, this time, had acquired Netbooks and wanted something with which it could be affixed to their telescopes.   This new Markless Stalk is modeled after the Markless DSC Stalk II.  

The Netbook Stalk II is lightweight and comes with a black poly mounting block and Moonlite clamp and typically would be mounted a few inches to the left of and lower than an installed DSC Stalk II.   However, its aluminum tube is longer in order to permit its Netbook shelf to be above the DSC Stalk shelf.   In use, the Netbook shelf might be angled to the left while the DSC Stalk shelf might be angled to the right.   The Netbook shelf is sized for netbooks, and reinforced for additional strength to be able to hold a Netbook PC safely.   Industrial strength Velcro is the attachment method for the Netbook.

A single 4-conductor telecom cable connects the ServoCAT PC Port (serial port) to the Netbook (actually to the base connector of the Netbook Stalk II ).   Since Netbooks (like nearly all modern laptops) do not have serial ports, a Keyspan USB to serial port adapter is needed.   However, if you get a Bluetooth equipped Netbook, you could try using an AIRcable or other Bluetooth generating device at your ServoCAT for a Bluetooth connection.   This would not be required, but is possible.

An inherent advantage of a Netbook Stalk II and mounted Netbook PC is that by being attached to the telescope, a planetarium program and telescope control reside continuously at the observing position.   If you haven’t yet experienced telescope control by PC, planetarium, and ServoCAT, you are in for a real treat.   (Digital Setting Circles and encoders are needed to provide object offset data.)

However, telescope drive motors are not mandatory for Netbook and planetarium program use.   You can connect your Digital Setting Circles to your Netbook, operate your scope in "Push-To" mode, and watch the cross hairs on the planetarium screen move as you move your telescope. You can use other astronomy software in "Push-To" mode, also.

The Netbook Stalk II is suited for almost any size Dobsonian telescope.   It especially opens up telescope control by PC on the telescope for small to medium size big Dobs, which cannot handle the size and weight of a regular laptop and Markless PC Podium.

Netbook Stalk II contents (it does not include a Netbook!):

Fan Option for Netbook Stalk II price:  $35   (no additional S&H if ordered with the Netbook Stalk II ).   Subtract $6 from Fan kit price if you want the Fan kit without the fan.

North Carolina residents and North Carolina shipping addresses: please add 8.25% for NC sales tax.

Please contact me to order this product.   cs(at)marklessastronomics dot com   Available exclusively at Markless Astronomics.

People who purchase this product might also want to consider obtaining the following items:

Markless DSC Stalk II

p.s., why do we call it a Netbook Stalk II instead of a Netbook Stalk or Netbook Stalk I? That's because the "II" nomenclature is taken from the DSC Stalk II and refers to the Moonlite clamp type of attachment. Thanks for wondering!

Charles Starks, Charlotte, NC

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Great Astro Links to other fine products and ideas:

Astrocrumb Filter Slides - a "MUST HAVE" accessory for your Big Dob. Roger builds 'em RIGHT!

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Copyright 2003-2010, by Charles Starks, Charlotte, NC, All Rights Reserved

Last Updated: 4:35 PM 1/26/2010