Sky Engineering Sky Commander

5.0 Easy to use, Saves time

Easy to use, small size, Great quality

Fewer features than other DSC's

I have the XP4 version of Sky Engineering's Sky Commander. This allows one to update (or "flash") the unit using the serial connection on a computer. It has over 9000 objects including the Messier objects and NGC, IC, and many other catalogs, the planets, and even 59 objects that you can manually enter the coordinates for (great for comets and even asteroids...but why asteroids I don't know).

The biggest benefit of Digital Setting Circles (DSC's) really is how much time you save.....trying to find an object with just star charts can require a LOT OF TIME, and since most objects are pretty faint, you may not even know the object is there. If you just want visual observation, stick with star charts and manual setting circles...or just star hop. But if you want to take photos of astro objects, then this gizmo will save an UNBELIEVABLE amount of time in locating those "faint fuzzies".

It is very easy to use. Just pick an object you want to see, and then push the telescope and watch the display....as you get closer to the object, the numbers on the display count down to "0"...when all the numbers are at 0, you are at the target. You do have to do a 1-star alignment if your mount is polar aligned, or a 2-star alignment if you want to skip polar alignment. This is easy to do, especially if you have a Red Dot Finder to align on the stars for the alignment. You can also "re-align" on an object to improve accuracy in that part of the sky, although it is pretty accurate to begin with.

I have had the unit out in freezing weather, and dew-filled nights, and it still works great. You do have to get the optical encoders to go with the DSC computer...the total cost for my system which I mounted on my GM-8 was about $600. This is cheaper than most GOTO systems available (except the Sky View Pro goto kit, but this only works for the Orion Sky View Pro mount so far). GOTO systems will move the scope for you, but if you don't mind doing the actual work yourself, you can save a bunch of money.

You can even put DSC's on Alt-Az mounts or dobsonian telescopes, not just equatorial mounts! Check the internet for compatible mounts.

There are other DSC's on the market that have more objects in their database, and have other features that make them a bit better than Sky Commander in certain areas, but they also cost more. I think 9000 plus objects will keep me busy for quite a while, it can be flash updated, and it is a small sized unit, so that's why I chose Sky Commander. These are also the reasons why I rate it with 5 stars.

To sum up, even though most celestial objects have their coordinates published and you could use the manual setting circles that comes with most equatorial mounts, you save a BUNCH of time using DSC's (or goto for that matter).