With the Pictor 201XT in place on your telescope, tedious photographic guiding is a thing of the past. Now you can take long-exposure astrophotographs, knowing that the telescope will precisely track the object being photographed, even during the longest exposures.
The Pictor 201XT Autoguider can be used on any telescope equipped with a dual-axis drive corrector. On Meade LX50 and LX200 Schmidt-Cassegrains, #1697 CDS-equipped ED/APO Refractors, and on other telescopes that have a phone-jack "Autoguider" connector, the 201XT simply plugs into the telescope's control panel. On telescopes with retrofitted drive correctors (i.e., telescopes where the drive corrector is not integrated into the electronics of the telescope itself) the optional Meade #520 Electronic Relay permits interfacing between the 201XT unit and the drive corrector.
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"...Meade's 201XT offers autoguiding for the masses...The 201XT is a self-contained package measuring 5.5-by-2-by-1 inches. It weighs only a few ounces — not much more than some guiding eyepieces. Into this small box Meade has packed a lot of functions. All are cleverly accessed with a single button and displayed with a two-character light-emitting diode (LED) display...the Pictor [201XT] guided accurately, yielding photographs with pinpoint stars...[and] provides an affordable choice to weary astro imagers wanting the convenience of an autoguider." - from the review in Sky & Telescope, August, 1997
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The Pictor 201XT is an autoguider only and can not be used for imaging. No personal computer or separate control box is required. Used with an off-axis guider or auxiliary photo-guide telescope, the 201XT automatically locks-on to the brightest star, a star that can be as faint as magnitude 12. The 201XT is so sensitive that, under reasonably dark-sky conditions, it locks on to a guidestar in almost any randomly chosen star field. The 201XT is capable of using guidestars so faint they often can not be seen visually through the off-axis guider in the guiding field. With the guidestar locked-on the 201XT then sets the integration (exposure) time and actuates all required dual-axis corrections for perfectly guided astrophotographs. Use it once and you'll never guide manually again.
Specifications: Pictor 201XT Autoguider—Includes autoguider body with digital readout and with 1.25" barrel for insertion to standard eyepiece-holder; coil cord for connection between autoguider body and telescope's phone-jack autoguider inlet or to optional #520 Electronic Relay; operates from 12-volts DC; includes 25 ft. power cord for operation from 12v. DC auto cigarette lighter plug; instruction manual. #541 Adapter for operation from 115v. AC available optionally.
Howard C. Anderson used the Pictor 201XT Autoguider with his Meade 10" f/10 LX200 Schmidt-Cassegrain to obtain the photos below. (top-to-bottom): the Swan Nebula (M17), 60-minutes; the Trifid Nebula (M20), 90-minutes. Writes Mr. Anderson, "It was great to be able to take several long exposures in one night and actually be able to leave the telescope unattended during them, knowing that the guiding would be perfect."
http://www.meade.com/catalog/mea ... _ccd_94.jpgAdvanced 16-bit imaging capability at a reasonable price.
Identical in operating characteristics and in external dimensions to the Pictor 208XT, the Pictor 216XT is different in several important features: (a) For relatively modest additional cost the 216XT includes a 16-bit analog-to-digital converter (compared to the 208XT's 8-bit converter) permitting 65,536 gray-scale levels in the final image; and (b) the 216XT includes external connectors and onboard software that allow it to be used in conjunction with the Pictor 616 Color Filter System for color imaging. These are significant additional capabilities that the prospective 208XT or 216XT purchaser should weigh carefully before purchase.
The 16-bit converter of the 216XT produces images that are significantly smoother and more natural in appearance than is possible with the 208XT. Note that in situations calling for faster data transmission to the host PC or for reducing image file sizes, the 216XT may alternately be used in a 12-bit mode, with 4096 gray-scale levels. In either case the 216XT is an imager that allows the user to grow rapidly into sophisticated imaging techniques. The 216XT is also a precision autoguider during astrophotography, automatically locking on to guide stars as faint as 14th-magnitude.
The Pictor 216XT is perhaps the most advanced CCD autoguider/imager ever made available in its price class. For many, the 216XT is all the CCD imager ever required for a very wide range of serious applications and for extremely gratifying imaging results on the entire range of astronomical objects. With the same "point-and-shoot" simplicity of other Pictor models, the 216XT is a powerful imaging camera on any telescope. Used with a Meade LX200 Schmidt-Cassegrain, the capabilities of any Pictor system, including the 216XT, are greatly expanded, with features such as Autocentering, Autofocus, and Automosaic performed quickly and precisely.
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Specifications: Pictor 216XT Autoguider/Imager—Includes autoguider/imager body with digital readout of operating data; 1.25" barrel for insertion to standard eyepiece-holder; coil cord for connection between imager body and telescope's phone-jack CCD autoguider inlet or to optional #520 Electronic Relay; cord for connection between CCD head and PC; operates from 12-volts DC; includes 25 ft. power cord for operation from 12v.DC auto cigarette lighter plug; instruction manual. #541 Adapter for operation from 115v.AC available optionally. |
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