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About the Sky Rover StarChair™
What is
it?
The Sky Rover StarChair™ is a portable robust
motorised chair that enables comfortable viewing of the night sky
through binoculars. The chair is designed to support a pair of
binoculars in front of a seated observer.
Using a simple
joystick, the observer can rotate the chair on its base through a
full 360° and beyond and, at the same time, tilt the chair from
horizon to zenith. In this way, the entire celestial dome can be
viewed in comfort from a seated position.
The addition of optional computer sky vector hardware allows an
observer to quickly and easily place any of several thousand
celestial objects in the binocular field of view.
The StarChair™ revolutionizes the use of binoculars for night sky
viewing.
How does it work?
The Sky Rover StarChair™ is
powered by an ordinary 12 volt motorbike battery or car battery. The
observer uses a joystick to control the motion of the chair. A
variable speed, low power motor rotates a central worm gear and a
unique altitude actuator that act together to move the chair in the
desired direction. There is no slippage while traversing, nor
directional backlash or flexing on halting. As a result, binocular
images always remain steady.
The design ensures the electronic wiring does not suffer
umbilical cord fouling. This allows base rotation beyond 360°.
Binoculars are held rigidly in place as part of the chair, but
remain fully adjustable to allow an observer to tailor the position
of the eyepieces to their individual body height and size.
More information
The Sky Rover StarChair™ is
constructed from high quality materials and components. It is
designed for outdoor use and will not deteriorate if left outdoors
for extended periods of time.
User safety has been a paramount goal from the initial design
stage. The resulting StarChair™ design puts safety first and
instills user piece of mind. The construction is very strong -- will
not break -- and easily supports 1,000 pounds weight!
Consult the extensive list of Sky Rover features or refer to our
Frequently Asked Questions page.
The invention has been taken through the design and development
phase and is now market-ready.
TECHNICAL DATA
Starchair TM 3000 model is
basically composed of 3 easily manageable components that fit
together in around 3 minutes ready for use.
The Main Base Section is only 26 inches wide and can be
conveniently carried through any standard doorway. It weighs only 45
pounds and can be lifted by most average users.
| The "SEAT" section weighs less and quickly "fits" into the
Main Base. The material of this specially designed seat is
made from "laser cut" 6mm. thick aluminium plate and is
extremely strong and rigid, yet light weight. It easily
supports 1,000 pound weight! Inside seat width is 20 inches.
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The plush thick "upholstery" is ergonomically contoured and
covered with appealing UV treated Navy Blue velour material.
The
"front posterior upholstery" is so "obtusely rounded", there is now
no need for a foot rest. "Under-the-knee section" is now just so
comfortable.
Front View with only
80mm binoculars fitted
The 3rd section, is the New Heavy Duty Back Hook Bar and
Binocular Head Attachment. This New Designed Section is now capable
of supporting all large binoculars from 70 mm - up to the Giant 150
mm Fujinons! Totally adjustable to cater to all sized stature
observers.
Variable Speed Control.
A hand held supplied
joystick will control the speed and direction to all points of the
celestial dome. Maximum speed = around 8 degree per second! Minimum
speed = around 1 minute of arc per second! Both axis can be
activated simultaneously! ie chasing and centralising fast moving
satellites is possible and exhilarating. So are fast moving
aircraft. Sky divers and Glider Aircraft are also suitable for close
observation, using the variable speed joystick and Starchair
combination in complete steady reclined luxury comfort.
Computer Control
Starchair has very accurate
inbuilt fittings in its design, so that Standard Optical Encoders
will quickly snap on to Starchair.
Those optical encoders will
give a full read out of positions of the celestial dome as well as
feedback to most PC Programmes that will show where the Starchair is
pointing. Deep sky objects can then be accessed by using the "guide
to", or "Identify" function Mode.
Ease Of Portability
Starchair will totally
fit into any small sedan and be driven to any dark sky site and be
set up in 3 minutes! Pack up time is also similar. We have
extensively field tested this factor many times and find this is one
of the most desirable "features" of the device, especially under
"cold" conditions.
A great plus for deep sky observing!
Power Supply
Starchair is proud to state the
fact that our design is curtailed by the need to have a "safe and
secure" simple 12volt dc car battery. Not 240volt ac and a
transformer!
This low power - safe dc power supply is a nice
comfort to behold when observing under 5 degree temperatures and at
a "remote" dark sky site! A simple 9 amp per hour dc battery will
easily control the Starchair all night, and even the next night! And
even the third night before recharging the battery! The recharge is
only around 3 hours.
This is a very nice situation for users.
Starchair is advanced in this situation. In fact, at extreme
locations, a small "solar power" cell can recharge during the day!
A total large stereo observing device for deep sky, that is
easily portable and quickly sets up! Only uses 12v dc!
Availability
The Sky Rover StarChair™ is
available for purchase direct from the manufacturer at an
introductory price of US$6,950.00 plus freight.
Direct All Enquiries To
Starchair Engineering Pty Ltd.
1
First Street Gawler
South Australia 5118
phone: 61-8-85-22
7272
The Sky Rover comes with a full 24 month warranty guarantee.
Should last a lifetime.
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