Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i Pro Kit

Great bit of kit. Only thing I think lets it down is the non inclusion of an internal polar scope illuminator. The added external light can be lost in the field especially in the dark. They are not cheap to re purchase. also the battery lid is not very secure and comes of very easy. another thing to get lost. Other than this great

Needs tripod included in package rather then purchase separately, Used with D810a and 70-200 zoom and 14-24 zoom lenses . Hard to polar align on a short tripod unless using polemaster method. Once aligned quite good at tracking even @200mm. All in all quite happy with the star adventurer

First thing to say is that straight out of the box this device was useless.My initial reaction was to pack it up, send it back and seek a replacement, but then I reckoned that another unit would simply demonstrate the same issues so I persevered with it and now have a working, calibrated unit; that's more than Sky Watcher could provide.Problems encountered have been:1) Selecting celestial tracking on the mode dial did nothing, while solar and lunar modes made the motor spin up.2) Checking the polar scope calibration (as recommended in the manual) showed it to be wildly adrift.3) Attaching the ball head adapter to the mounting platform and rotating it manually showed it was obviously off-centre.4) Connecting the 'Star Adventurer Console' Android app to the ... MoreFirst thing to say is that straight out of the box this device was useless.My initial reaction was to pack it up, send it back and seek a replacement, but then I reckoned that another unit would simply demonstrate the same issues so I persevered with it and now have a working, calibrated unit; that's more than Sky Watcher could provide.Problems encountered have been:1) Selecting celestial tracking on the mode dial did nothing, while solar and lunar modes made the motor spin up.2) Checking the polar scope calibration (as recommended in the manual) showed it to be wildly adrift.3) Attaching the ball head adapter to the mounting platform and rotating it manually showed it was obviously off-centre.4) Connecting the 'Star Adventurer Console' Android app to the WiFi produced an unresolvable 'connection error' message, so no interaction was initially possible.5) The bubble level on the equatorial wedge was plainly seen to be inaccurate.6) Latitude Indicator markings on the equatorial wedge are inaccurate, so my real 53.7 degrees shows as nearer 58 on the scale, which is after all just an indicative sticker placed at manufacture.Solutions applied were:1) Unresponsive celestial tracking is not an unknown issue to the Internet apparently, and is resolved with a firmware update. Beware though for the manual's instruction for a firmware update is a work of fiction. I can't decisively say how I got the Motor Controller software to work correctly as it was more by luck than judgement but I suspect that switching the device on and off a few times while connected with the USB cable forced my PC to eventually acknowledge its presence and allow installation. Best advice is to look at all the online videos you can find about its firmware update procedures and see if any of them fit your scenario.2) Again, videos are your friend here. Watch them all, then set aside a good few hours and enjoy twiddling allen screws until your calibration is bang on. Pity that Sky Watcher couldn't do it.3) The ball head adapter sits in one position on the mounting platform, having a dimple in its dovetail to align with the head of the locking knob. That should place the 3/8" centre screw on the axis of rotation, but it does not. When inserted, tightened and rotated it can be seen that the screw and the adapter are eccentric to that axis. Correcting this required some packing between the adapter and the platform, with a couple of loosely-placed plastic tie-wraps found to be most effective. Checking similarly with the L-bracket mounted revealed the same problem, and was corrected the same way.4) Using an earlier vintage Android device allowed the latest 'Star Adventurer Console' app to connect OK. To connect with an up-to-date device required using another (unadvertised and much older but identical) app from Pacific Telescope Corp called 'Tracker Console', which connected and permitted all functions to work.5) Tested several different levelling checkers including spirit levels, better quality bubble levels, and phone apps until I found one that was accurate reliable, and portable.6) A phone app inclination gauge called 'Smart Ruler Pro' from Smart Tools when held on the battery cover as the latitude adjustment knob is screwed in or out gives an accurate pitch. Coupled with a physical compass on the ground for true north, Polaris is easily seen in the scope and aligned.Conclusions (and yes, there is a theme):1) Requiring a firmware update to a new straight-out-the-box device to even make it work is laughable in terms of quality control.2) Requiring calibration of a new straight-out-the-box device to even make it accurate is ridiculous in terms of quality control.3) Requiring user adaptations to overcome inaccurate engineering of a main component is absurd in terms of quality control.4) Anyone familiar with connecting Android apps to any hardware over a wireless protocol will not be surprised by incompatibility issues. Just be prepared to search for a fix.5) It looks like a cheap bubble level and it really is. Could probably remove and remount it but other ways work too.6) Internet reviews are critical of the wedge's sloppiness which I didn't find to be overly bad, but no one mentions the scale's inaccuracy. Zero QC yet again.Overall:I had high expectations for this unit and still have, especially now I know it to be set up correctly or at least know its limitations.Considering all the essential parts that are included and the internal build quality (look for videos that hypertune or fix faulty units) the price is fair enough. Once accurately polar aligned this should be good enough for long exposures with long focal-length gear.All that's needed now is a clear sky.