Frequently Asked Questions

Payment and delivery questions

We ship to all countries. Shipment is done via Courier companies and is fully insured. Shipping cost is quoted if you make an order request (simply put the goods in the basket and send the order request – no order commitment).

Payment via Bank Transfer is the preferred option.  Contact us to discuss other solutions. Precise payment information is included with the offer.

Shipping cost depends on the articles you order and your address. You can see the approximate shipping cost here. To find the exact shipping price add the wished items to the cart and input the shipping address. Send the order request (don’t worry it is not an order) and you will receive an offer with precise shipping cost and delivery information.

All Track The Stars products come with a three-year guarantee against manufacturing and defects.

Mount Technical Questions

The TTS-160 Panther Mount is an Alt/azimuth mount. The alt/az mount has many advantages compared to the German Equatorial Mount: More compact stable design, only one axle to balance, no polar alignment needed, can view the entire sky while keeping eyepieces, cameras etc. placed at the same user-friendly angle (no meridian flip). The traditional alt/az mount has one problem when taking long-exposure astrophotos: Field rotation. With the TTS-160 Panther mount, this problem is eliminated using the unique telescope rOTAtor. So true equatorial tracking is provided in a compact, stable and fast package – just like the pros have done for years.

The mount head and pier are in two identical bags 600mm(24”) long and 180mm (7”) in diameter.

You don’t. Polar alignment is not needed even for long exposure astrophotography.

The slim and smooth design makes the transport bags compact compared to the bulky cases needed for German Equatorial Mounts (due to the nature of the axle crossing). The setup process is speeded up as no levelling or polar alignment is needed.

Yes. The basic mount tracks any celestial object. The optional telescope rOTATor rotates the entire telescope eliminating field rotation and providing perfect equatorial tracking.

The telescope rOTAtor installs between the mount dovetail saddle and the dovetail on the telescope. It rotates the entire telescope (OTA) – and any piggybacked guide telescope or telephoto lens – around the optical axis of the telescope. The rotation eliminates the effects of field rotation and provides perfect equatorial tracking.

1 to 3 hours depending on where in the sky the object is placed. More than enough time for any type of imaging.

The TTS-160 Panther mount has an ST4 compatible guide port and can be guided with off-axis guiders or separate guide telescopes. Pulse guiding via the ASCOM interface is also available.

Yes. The TTS-160 Panther Mount works via an ASCOM interface and can be controlled from all major astronomical software packages. Wifi control can easily be achieved via a Wifi adapter.

Yes. It is possible to install two extra dovetail saddles on the counterweight arms allowing for mounting three separate telescopes simultaneously. It is also possible to install two telescopes side by side without the need for counterweights.

The mount uses a specially designed drive combining a roller friction drive with a worm gear drive. This combination gives a precise drive with a very smooth running.

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