Thanks to the special lens, the EAGLE EYE has a narrow field of view, so it measures darkness of the night sky only in the part of the sky where your telescope is really pointed at. This way the EAGLE EYE won’t be influenced, for example, by clouds that may be present in other parts of the sky. For the same reason, the proximity of your telescope or other accessories (like dew shield) won’t interfere with the measurements, also if you install the EAGLE close to your telescope and you have a long tube. The small amount of internal heat generated by the processor reduces the possibility of dew formation on the small lens.
DARK mode to turn off all the LED lights.
Every astronomer knows artificial lights reduce telescope performance, both in visual use and astrophotography. That’s why we designed the EAGLE4 with a new DARK mode feature that allows you to instantly turn off all the LED lights on the EAGLE, when needed! Not only this will prevent any influence on your telescope but it is also a great feature for your astronomy friends that may be close to you while enjoying the night sky together. Thanks to the new DARK mode, the EAGLE is now a welcome guest at star parties where standard computers may be prohibited because of uncontrolled light emissions from LEDs and screens (the EAGLE doesn’t need for a screen to operate).
EAGLE Manager interface to easily control all the EAGLE’s features.
EAGLE comes with special "EAGLE Manager" software that starts automatically and provides an easy and intuitive interface, allowing you to:
- Enable/Disable every 12V power out port: this way you can keep all your devices connected (for example, mount, camera, filter wheel, etc.) and activate them remotely when you turn on the entire system. Each port shows the current consumption that can also be monitored over time.
- Check for GPS data: elevation, latitude, longitude, date, time and number of connected satellites
- Check for EYE sky quality: select the sensor facing toward the sky and check for sky quality value
- Set the power out voltage of the 3 x 0-12V power out ports: increase or decrease the power to dew heaters connected to EAGLE. Each port shows the current consumption that can also be monitored over time.
- Activate DARK mode: this turns off all the LED lights.
- Connect or disconnect devices connected to the four USB 2.0 ports: this feature is convenient in case of temporary crash of an autoguider or planetary camera, which can then be reset without the need to go to the telescope and disconnect/reconnect a cable.
- Check power consumption and battery lifetime: if you power your EAGLE with a battery, a dedicated menu allows you to set the Ampere capacity of your battery and charge percentage when EAGLE is powered on, enabling you to monitor its expected lifetime.
- Set WiFi connectivity: to access EAGLE in Access Point mode for field use (use your smartphone, tablet or external computer by connecting directly to EAGLE without the need of a WiFi router) or HOST mode for connecting to your existing network such as your home WiFi.
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Set your automatic power routines: you can define port status “After power on” and “Before shut down” for the devices connected to the EAGLE. This way, for example, you can automatically turn on all your devices after you start the EAGLE and turn them all off when you shut down the EAGLE.
Powerful and fast WiFi 802.11ac with dual band (2.4 and 5 GHz) connection to remotely control your telescope from any device.
To operate EAGLE, you don't need a keyboard and mouse - You can control the EAGLE through a free dedicated app, available on any smartphone, tablet or personal computer running Windows, MacOS, iOS or Android. Turn the EAGLE on, then enable your device's WiFi connection and select the WiFi network provided by the EAGLE. Launch the remote control app and you will have EAGLE desktop on your screen with access to all your astrophotography software. If you like, you can also configure the EAGLE to connect to a pre-existing WiFi or wired/ethernet network allowing remote access via the internet - perfect for remote observatories! Since the EAGLE doesn't use VNC or other software for remote control, it's faster and more stable. For your safety each EAGLE device creates a unique WiFi network, from any other EAGLE that might be nearby. To avoid any other issues at a star party, every EAGLE also has a unique access password known only by you. And if you prefer a wired connection, the EAGLE has also a gigabit Ethernet port so you can control it also through a wired network, which can be very useful in large observatories!
Optional ECCO environmental computerized controller for automatic dew heater control based on dew point.
By adding ECCO, (Environmental Computerized COntroller) to your EAGLE, you can automatically and continuously monitor the dew point (the temperature below which moisture condenses) by sensing the temperature and humidity of the air around your telescope and the temperature of your lenses. ECCO will then automatically vary the voltage to the appropriate EAGLE’s ports where your dew heaters bands are connected, keeping dew from forming on your optics. All of this with an automatic and easy to use device that you just have to connect to one of the EAGLE USB ports. That’s why we call it ECCO: in Italian, it means "There you go”!
PLUS aluminum case, to allow easy integration with any telescope and to support demanding payloads without flexure.
We designed the EAGLE case to be incredibly rigid. It is rigid enough to a support even a compact telescope in parallel (up to 8 kg). This way you can also install the EAGLE below your main telescope! Precise FEM simulations allowed us to design the EAGLE’s case in order to have a maximum deformation of 0.002 millimeters if loaded with 10 kg of weight. The EAGLE case comes with M5 and M6 threaded holes to seamlessly attach PLUS accessories (support rings, guide rings, dovetail bars or dovetail clamps), at at least 2 points to maintain the system's rigidity. For example, the EAGLE can be installed between the PLUS support rings and guiding rings, without any flexure improving the portability of your telescope and allowing it to be moved to the field pre-assembled, greatly reducing reducing your setup time.
Performance comparison with a miniPC.
EAGLE4 not only offers exclusive features for advanced astrophotography, but also all the power of a real computer (superior to a Mini PC) to allow you to use any astrophotography software. In order to test its performance, we used the PCMark benchmark and compared EAGLE4/ EAGLE4 S / EAGLE4 PRO with one of the many inexpensive Mini PCs on the market (where we installed the same EAGLE4 operating system for a precise results comparison). As you can see in the picture below, EAGLE4 offers 32% more performance than a common Mini PC with Intel Celeron N3160 processor, 4GB of RAM and SSD disk; EAGLE4 S still raises the gap by bringing this difference to 109%; EAGLE4 PRO boosts everything to a wonderful +153%!
In the Box
PrimaLuceLab EAGLE 4 Telescope Control Unit - Standard Version
Warranty & Manuals
PrimaluceLab 1-Year Warranty
Thanks to the special lens, the EAGLE EYE has a narrow field of view, so it measures darkness of the night sky only in the part of the sky where your telescope is really pointed at. This way the EAGLE EYE won’t be influenced, for example, by clouds that may be present in other parts of the sky. For the same reason, the proximity of your telescope or other accessories (like dew shield) won’t interfere with the measurements, also if you install the EAGLE close to your telescope and you have a long tube. The small amount of internal heat generated by the processor reduces the possibility of dew formation on the small lens.