WandererAstro ROT-LITE Wanderer Rotator Lite Instruction Manual
- June 12, 2024
- WandererAstro
Table of Contents
WandererAstro ROT-LITE Wanderer Rotator Lite
Product Information
The WandererRotator Lite is a device designed for use with telescopes to provide de-rotation functionality. It is made of M68 aluminum alloy and has a clear aperture. The rotator has a DC 5.5*2.1mm female power jack and consumes 12V 1A power. It has a Type-C USB2.0 cable for connectivity and weighs 700g. The rotator has a rotation rate of 1155 steps per degree and a thickness of 12mm. The package includes an adapter that can be removed, and users can customize it according to their needs.
Product Usage Instructions
- Connect the rotator to the telescope with the protruding side facing the sky.
- Connect the rotator to the PC using the included Type-C cable and connect the 12V power supply.
- Install the ASCOM drivers from the official website www.wandererastro.com.
- In N.I.N.A., select the device driver without Phd2 in the name and click connect directly.
- In the configuration window that pops up, set the backlash and home of the rotator.
- In PHD2, click More Equipment to see the option to connect the rotator. Select the corresponding ASCOM driver of PHD2 and click to connect directly.
- Perform a calibration for the first time in PHD2 after connecting the rotator.
- If necessary, adjust the backlash compensation.
Introduction
The Wanderer Rotator Lite is a groundbreaking rotator ideal for rotating
camera and de-rotation. The most outstanding feature of the WandererRotator
Lite is the excellent rigidity based on the patented rotating structure.
Within the maximum payload, the rotator guarantees absolutely zero flexure at
any angle. The WandererRotator Lite is the most low profile rotator in its
class and rotates at up to 8 degrees per second. In addition, Wanderer Rotator
Lite has very high positioning accuracy. With 1155 steps per degree, its
resolution can reach up to 0.005 degrees, which provides the possibility of
accurate de-rotation.
The specifications of the rotator are shown in the table below.
| Power jack | DC 5.5*2.1mm female |
|---|---|
| Power consumption | 12V 1A |
| Connectivity | Type-C USB2.0 cable (included) |
| Weight | 700g |
| Payload | 5kg（Note 1） |
| Rotation rate | 8°/s |
| Thickness | 12mm |
| Steps per degree | 1155 steps |
| Clear aperture | M68 |
| Material | Aluminum alloy |
| Threaded interface | Both sides M68 female threaded |
Figure 1 Dimension of WandererRotator Lite
Installation and usage
Connect the rotator to the telescope and the protruding side (the side containing the DC input port and the Type-C socket) should face the sky. The rotator is M68 female threaded on both sides as standard, and the adapter on the side with the protrusion is fixed by 8 M2.5 screws and can be removed (see Figure 1). Users with special needs can customize the adapter. Connect the rotator and the PC through the Type-C cable, and connect the 12V power supply , everything’s ready.
ASCOM drivers installation
Visit the official website
www.wandererastro.com to download two ASCOM
drivers with the suffix “.exe” (Figure 2) and install them all.
Figure 2
Connect the Rotator (take N.I.N.A. as an example)
After the ASCOM driver is installed, the device driver can be found in
N.I.N.A. Please note that in N.I.N.A. , S.G.P. or Voyager please select the
driver without “Phd2” in the name! (Figure 3)
Figure 3
Click connect directly, and the ASCOM driver will automatically search for the port of the rotator. After the connection is successful, a configuration window (Figure 4) will pop up. Here you can set the backlash and home of the rotator.
Figure 4
Configure Phd2
If an OAG is installed behind the rotator, the rotation will also change the
angle of the guide camera, invalidating the calibration data in Phd2. So, you
have to also connect the rotator in Phd2, so that Phd2 can correct the
calibration data according to the angle of the rotator, then you do not need a
re-calibration after rotation.
In the connection interface of the PHD2, click “More Equipment” (Figure 5) to
see the option to connect the rotator. Select the corresponding ASCOM driver
of PHD2 (Figure 6, especially emphasized, this is DIFFERENT from the driver
selected in the shooting software), and click to connect directly.
Figure 5
Figure 6
After connecting the rotator, perform a calibration for the first time. Then , even after the rotator is rotated by a certain angle, the guiding should still be fine. If it doesn’t work , try checking “reverse sign of angle” under “Other devices” in “Advanced Settings”. (Figure 7)
Figure 7
Set backlash compensation
The default backlash compensation is 0.5 degrees, and no adjustment is
required under normal circumstances. However, if it is found that the rotator
rotates several times but the angle solved does not change during imaging, the
backlash compensation needs to be increased.
The method of measuring the backlash of the rotator is to rotate a certain
angle (more than 5 degrees) clockwise and get the current sky angle A, and
then rotate 2 degrees Set backlash compensation
The default backlash compensation is 0.5 degrees, and no adjustment is
required under normal circumstances. However, if it is found that the rotator
rotates several times but the angle solved does not change during imaging, the
backlash compensation needs to be increased.
The method of measuring the backlash of the rotator is to rotate a certain
angle (more than 5 degrees) clockwise and get the current sky angle A, and
then rotate 2 degrees counterclockwise counterclockwise
Set reverse
Whether “reverse” need to be checked depends on the software you use. For
example, N.I.N.A. does not require you to check “reverse” while S.G.P.
requires you to check “reverse”.
Set zero
The rotator has no mechanical zero and requires the user to specify a virtual
zero position. When connecting for the first time (or after upgrading the
ASCOM driver), the current position is set to zero. If you need to set a new
zero, click “Set current position as home” to set the current position to
zero. Note that when the rotator is suddenly powered off during the rotation,
or the rotator stalls due to cable wrap, please reset the zero. The principle
of zero setting: the rotator should be able to rotate 360 degrees (or at least
180 degrees if you limit the mechanical range in N.I.N.A.) from the zero
without cable wrap. Also, the zero does not need to coincide with 0 degrees of
the sky angle so do not worry about this.
Firmware upgrade
First download the firmware upgrade tool (Figure 8) and the firmware file with the suffix ”.hex” (Figure 9) from the official website.
Figure 8
Figure 9
After extracting the compressed file, click Xloader.exe to open the firmware upgrade tool (Figure 10).
Figure 10
Select the downloaded firmware file with the suffix .hex, select the product model and the correct COM port, and click Upload to upload (Figure 11). Please note that do not change the Baud rate.
Figure 11
When you see “xxxx bytes uploaded”, it means the upload was successful. If stuck in the uploading process, try to upload again after rebooting.
De-rotation
WandererRotator Lite supports de-rotation for altazimuth mounts or Dobs users, which can play a major role in planetary photography, as well as longer exposures in deep sky photography.
Install Wanderer Console
WandererRotator Lite needs to be controlled via the Wanderer Console to
perform de-rotation. Visit the official website to download the latest version
of the Wanderer Console zip package, unzip it, and double-click setup.exe to
install. After the installation is complete, start the Wanderer Console and
enter the rotator interface. Select the correct COM port and click Connect.
After the connection is successful, the Wanderer Console will automatically
identify the model and firmware of the rotator (Figure 12).
Figure 12
Please note that the Wanderer Console must obtain the latitude and longitude of the device location in order to perform the de-rotation, so please open the location service in “Settings -Location” and check “Let desktop apps access your location” (Figure 13). Your location is only used for de-rotation rate calculations, and Wanderer Console will not upload or share your location.
Figure13
Enter the target coordinates
The Wanderer Console also needs to know the right ascension and declination
coordinates of the target you are shooting to complete the de-rotation. You
can manually enter the target’s coordinate (Figure 14), or you can synchronize
the target’s coordinates from the Stellarium.
Figure14
If you need to synchronize the target’s coordinates from Stellarium, you need
to install the remote control plugin (Settings – Plugins) in Stellarium and
set the plugin to load at startup
(Figure 15). After restarting Stellarium, click the icon to enable the remote
control plugin (Figure 16), select and center the target, and click “Sync from
Stellarium” in the Wanderer Console to complete the coordinate
synchronization.
Figure15
Figure16
Start de-rotation
When everything is ready, click “Start de-rotation” . The rotator will first
rotate a small angle (about 1 degree) to ensure that the backlash is
eliminated, and then start de-rotation. The
de-rotation rate will be refreshed in real time , and you don’t need to
perform other operations.
If the rotation direction is not correct, check “Reverse”.
In addition, when the target is very close to the zenith (86 degrees and
above), because the field rotation rate is too fast, the de-rotation cannot
achieve good results. At this time, it is recommended to wait for the target
height to drop below 86 degrees before shooting.
FAQs
Q：Do Wanderer Rotator Lite has an absolute mechanical zero?
A：The zero is virtual rather than mechanical. The user can specify any
position as a zero.It should be noted that if the cable wrap occurs or the
rotator is suddenly powered off during rotation, the recording of the virtual
mechanical angle will be inaccurate. In this case you have to reset the zero
to avoid the risk of cable wrap.
Q:How accurate is Wanderer Rotator Lite?
A:Wanderer Rotator Lite can easily achieve an accuracy higher than 0.04
degrees within 2 rounds of solve and rotate if the backlash is set properly
(just keep the default backlash in most cases).
Q：Can the Wanderer Rotator Lite withstand low temperatures?
A：Yes. Wanderer Rotator Lite uses high-quality grease that can withstand
temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees. In our tests, the Wanderer Rotator
Lite was placed in a -20 degree freezer for 72 hours and the rotator still
worked fine.
Q：Do I need to reshoot the flats after rotation?
A：Yes. Therefore it is recommended to use our motorized flat panel.But if you
are using an APO , it is likely to be OK to use the same flats for different
PA.
Q：Will Wanderer Rotator Lite cause flexure during rotation?
A：The unique magnetic structure allows the Wanderer Rotator Lite to guarantee
absolute zero flexure at any angle, think of it as an adapter!
Shots from users (random PA)
ASI2600MM+SkyRover 130 APO Pro
ASI6200MM+Takahashi TOA130
ASI6200MM+SharpStar 600mm F5.6
ASI6200MM+GSO RC14+SharpStar RC2508 Reducer
Note 1: Calculated when the center of gravity of the load is 15cm away from the rotator