QHY PoleMaster with adapter for EQ5, EQM-35, NEQ6, AZ-EQ6, EQ6-R and CGEM Mounts
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 QHY PoleMaster with adapter for EQ5, EQM-35, NEQ6, AZ-EQ6, EQ6-R and CGEM MountsQHY PoleMaster with adapter for EQ5, EQM-35, NEQ6, AZ-EQ6, EQ6-R and CGEM Mounts 

QHY PoleMaster with adapter for EQ5, EQM-35, NEQ6, AZ-EQ6, EQ6-R and CGEM Mounts

£269.00
  (6 Reviews)
✓ 2 year warranty

:  

12x in stock shipped 1-2 working days

About this product

Model:  qhyccd_polemaster_eq6

PoleMaster - a high precision, easy to use electric polar scope.

Includes adapter for EQ5, EQM-35, NEQ6, AZ-EQ6, EQ6-R and CGEM Mounts.

The QHY PoleMaster is a modern solution to an age-old problem. With only a few simple, easy-to-follow steps you can achieve perfect polar alignment in minutes, with an accuracy of up to 30 arc seconds! 

"We think that QHYCCD have come up with an excellent product here which really takes the sting out of having to polar align. The accuracy of the device meant that polar aligning with the Polemaster was more a pleasure than a chore" Pete Lawrence writing for 'BBC Sky at Night' magazine Sep 2016.

How does it work?

Polar alignment sounds simple enough. You find where the pole is,  determine the mechanical axis of rotation of your mount, then make the two coincide. PoleMaster makes use of a sensitive wide field imaging camera along the axis of RA to monitor the polar region in real time (not only can it detect Polaris, it also finds the dimmer surrounding stars). From the positions of these stars PoleMaster determines the position of the true pole and compares that to the mechanical axis of RA rotation. Polar alignment is now a simple matter of moving the two centres of rotation so they overlap. Easy!

FEATURES

  • Speed and convenience: No need to move the telescope to specific place to unblock the polar scope. No need to kneel or crick your neck to see through a polar scope. No need for fully dark adapted eyesight. No need to level your mount and no need to enter the date and time in your handset then figure out where to rotate the mount to coincide with the current pole star position.
  • Accuracy: PoleMaster's sensitive camera can achieve accuracy not achievable with naked eye. The camera's 30 arc second resolution means the best polar alignment that can be achieved by PoleMaster, in the order of 30 arc seconds. 
  • Wide angle view of the polar region: A wide field view of 11x8 degree makes it easy to locate the pole star.
  • Easy to install: PoleMaster can be easily installed onto any equatorial mount through mount-specific adapters, even on mounts without polar scope.
  • Real time polar alignment checking / adjustment: Using PoleMaster you can monitor your polar alignment in real time. In the event that polar alignment is lost, you can bring it back quickly and easily without starting from scratch.
  • Three star alignment is no longer needed: Once you are polar aligned, you only need to perform a one star alignment - a real time saver.
  • Perfect companion to single axis mounts: When used with single (RA-only) axis mount, good polar alignment will minimise drift in the DEC axis therefore maximising the performance of your mount.

Mechanical Dimensions

What's in the box

  • QHY PoleMaster
  • Lens Cap
  • USB Cable
  • Mount Adapter

Specifications

Resolution Approx 30 arc seconds
Install method Three M3 screw to mount adapter
Interface mini USB2.0
Software QHYCCD PoleMaster Software
Rough precision Approx 5 arc minutes
High Precision Max 30 arc seconds
Weight Approx 70g
Dimensions See mechanical drawing
Power Consumption Approx 0.35 watts  / 70 mA
Available Adapters
  • Sky-Watcher EQ6/AZEQ6 HEQ5
  • iOpton CEM60 ZEQ25/CEM25 iEQ45  iEQ30 AZEQ5 
  • Celestron AVX  CGEM 
  • EM200/EM11

Downloads / Manuals

The following manuals and downloads are available for this product:

Unofficial Manual

Steve Richards has kindly put together a manual for the PoleMaster which you may find is much easier to understand and follow than QHY's own manual.

PoleMaster User Manual (English, UK / Northern Hemisphere) - by Steve Richards (PDF)

Manuals

QHY PoleMaster Manual (HTML)

QHY PoleMaster 3D Drawing (DWG)

Software

The latest QHY PoleMaster Driver and Software can be downloaded from the QHY CCD website.

Customer reviews

Average Rating (6 Reviews):  
Write a Review and share your opinions!

Rating (max 5):  
Qhy polemaster
02 August 2024  | 

Don’t know why i waited so long to get this, best bit of astro kit i’ve bought in a long time , given a new lease of life to my eq6pro mount , the software can be a bit of a firtle to download , but highly recommend the polemaster, delivery to France has been exceptional 3 days! Quicker than local la poste, super service from FLO as always , many thanks


Rating (max 5):  
Worked a treat. And fast. EQ3-PRO and EQ6r-Pro mount.
08 October 2022  | 

Bought initially for an EQ3-PRO mount. The mount fitted great. So an option for those with that mount. But due to cloud never got to use it with that mount.

Got to use the camera last night for the first time. And wow. First time use (did watch a few review videos that had a quick setup guide). Was polar aligned in about 20 mins. This was using a new mount (unboxed it about an hour before using the PoleMaster) so had to set it all up from scratch, so an eyeball on where Polaris was when it came to polar alignment.

Honestly this was super easy, no bending over and squinting. Just sat at the laptop, next to the mount.

I would recommend taking a moment to rotate the camera so that your adjustments are clearly represented on the screen (adjust the mount right, image moves to the right).

But absolutely fantastic to use. A must have.


Rating (max 5):  
Just get one
02 September 2022  | 

Excellent, back and neck saving device that gives the very best of Polar alignment. Don’t think, get one!


Rating (max 5):  
My back is so much happier now
02 March 2021  | 

As an older person with a not so good back, this has to be a game changer.no more getting into awkward position to polar align, And so much quicker, it's deffinatately a game changer for me. Simple to use, I just watched many videos on YouTube while waiting for delivery, which was 2 days after ordering,thanks First Light Optics ,excellent service,as usual. Then I just worked through the settings, took about 10 minutes the first time, and getting quicker each time, The camera itself is really well put together,nice alloy body and a good lens cap which screws into the camera when not in use, all in all I am very pleased.with this tool, would I recommend this ? Absolutely!!!!


Rating (max 5):  
THE BEST astro accessory you can buy
20 January 2021  | 

Forget the mount. Forget the scope. Forget the dew heater. This genuinely is the best purchase I've made for the astro setup.

Not just so you don't have to bend down (I'm 27 so that's not *too* much of an issue) but it takes all ambiguity of when things aren't going well one evening, you know it ISN'T your polar alignment. This is a BIG help. The quality of the PoleMaster is also fantastic. I was really surprised at the overall build quality of the actual pole master and the accessories. All really high quality. Fitting and setup was a total breeze, the software is super simple and you'll be able to align within literally 1 minute after first setup.

I also keep my cap off during imaging just to monitor polar alignment, but also to see for light high clouds as the camera is very sensitive. Due to this sensitivity, it takes all question out of 'hold up, is that actually Polaris' that you no doubt have had while looking through a polar scope! Polaris will be very noticeably brighter with fainter stars around it. I actually had the polar illumination randomly stop working one night on my EQ6R, so this would have been SO helpful that evening, now that is totally a non issue as this completely replaced the polar scope.

Not having to fully level the mount has made things a lot more convenient for me. I sometimes shoot at a friend's place who has a patio with slabs. These aren't all totally flat, but with the PM this is a non issue.

Finally, because of the higher accuracy of polar alignment, my stars have never looked better. I always thought my stars looked great and round, until I used this. My stars are now actually pinpoints - I should mention I'm NOT guiding, which I know is part of this, however the much higher degree of accuracy has helped a lot.

This is totally worth it for all the things above. It 'just works' and the quality of this totally justifies any queries about the price.


Rating (max 5):  
excellent
05 July 2019  | 

I bought the polemaster with both the adapter for the Star Adventurer (which does not fit as you need a washer + screw from the hardware store...weird) and for the EQ6R-Pro (one day in the future) I live in the Southern Hemisphere / South Africa, and trying to pole align is almost impossible unless you're at a dark site. Locating Sigma Octantis / Polaris Australis is a nightmare.. with this tiny machine I can pole align in a matter of minutes with an accuracy far greater than one could do through any reticule. Using the software is very easy, a few clicks and you're done. Highly recommended

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