Celestron Smart Dew Heater Controller 2x

Work smarter, not harder, when it comes to combating dew. The Smart DewHeater and Controller 2x prolongs your battery life by optimizing power usage for up to two dew heaters. The controller gathers and analyzes information in real time to warm your optics just enough to prevent dew.

The Smart DewHeater and Controller comes with two ports to control two dew heaters at once. You can use one port to heat your optical tube while the other warms a second optical tube, a guide scope, an eyepiece, or another accessory. The controller also features an additional 12V DC output port so you can power another 12V DC device, such as your mount.

The Smart DewHeater and Controller works seamlessly with Celestron’s Dew Heater Rings, which have a built-in thermistor to provide temperature readings of the corrector lens. Third-party dew heater bands or straps are also compatible; you simply need to add Celestron's Thermistor for Smart DewHeater Controllers (sold separately).

Smart Controls

At the heart of the controller is a powerful microprocessor that gathers information from the sensors, computes the data, and automatically adjusts your dew heaters. The controller monitors the ambient temperature and humidity using its integrated environmental sensor and monitors the heaters’ temperatures using thermistors.

You can run the Smart DewHeater and Controller 2x as a standalone accessory. Or, if you want to view data from the controller and make manual adjustments, you can connect it to your Celestron telescope’s hand control or your PC. The controller works with NexStar+ or StarSense hand controls running the latest firmware or Celestron CPWI telescope control software, included with every Celestron mount.

Power

The Smart DewHeater and Controller 2x runs on a 12V DC battery (like our PowerTank Lithium Pro or PowerTank 17) and can handle a maximum power of 120W (10A max current @ 12V DC). The controller also features a 12V DC output port. You can use this extra port to power another device, like your mount. This way, you can power your entire setup from a single source. Resettable electronic fuses prevent damage if input or output current draw becomes too high.

NOTE: If you are using two dew heaters in heavy dew conditions and powering a 12V DC device, the controller may be operating near its power limit. In this case, one PowerTank Lithium Pro or PowerTank 17Ah will not have enough capacity to run your setup all night; you'll need a larger capacity battery or multiple batteries.

Unique Industrial Design

The Smart DewHeater and Controller 2x features a heavy-duty metal housing. Inside, a cooling fan protects the controller’s electronics.

The Bridge – On top of the controller, you will find the bridge, which is home to the device’s status LEDs and environmental sensors. It also helps with cable management. We have positioned the temperature and humidity sensors here, away from the control box and other components that could generate heat. Unlike competitor products, our sensors do not require additional cables to obtain accurate readings.

The LED lights on the bridge indicate the device’s current status. The LEDs provide warnings if the controller is drawing more current than your power source can supply or if the battery charge needs recharging. You can dim the lights if you are under dark skies.

Mounting – The Celestron Smart DewHeater and Controller 2x mounts on your CGE or CG-5 dovetail with the integrated dovetail clamps. If you prefer to mount the controller on your tripod leg, use the included strap.

Smart DewHeater and Controller 2x comes complete with:

Smart DewHeater and Controller 2x
Tripod leg strap
Controller power cable
Power cable for external 12V DC device
AUX cable for connecting to Celestron mounts
Thermistor extension cable to attach to Celestron’s Dew Heater Ring

Enhance your setup

We highly recommend pairing this controller with Celestron Dew Heater Rings. They fit seamlessly on your Schmidt corrector lens and will improve your observing or imaging year-round.

For the highest level of dew prevention, we also suggest adding a dew shield to your setup. While not required, a dew shield will cut down on the amount of power the controller needs to provide to the dew heater rings to keep your optics clear.

Some items that are showing as in stock are in stock at our holding warehouses, not at the shop. To double check the stock levels at the shop, please contact us on 01909774369 or sales@rothervalleyoptics.co.uk.

The delivery times for most items is 1 - 2 days but again, please double check stock levels on important orders before placing an order via the website.

The delivery costs for courier next day are for mainland UK only. If you live in the Scottish Highlands/Islands, Channel Islands or Northern Ireland, then a shipping surchage will apply. please contact us for prices. Smaller items can still go 1st class via Royal Mail.

Please note that if you are wanting to take advantage of our Saturday and Sunday timed services or next day pre 12 or pre 10:30 services, you MUST check that the stock is here at the shop before placing orders. Also, orders using the Saturday and Sunday services must be placed before 1pm the previous working day. Also, please remember to check that the stock is here at the shop before placing orders. If the stock is not at the shop, we won't be able to ship on any of the timed services. 

Please note International customers will need to contact us for a shipping price prior to ordering via the website. We don't ship all items internationally. It is at our discretion what we ship outside of the UK. This all depends on the size and weight of the items. Please get in touch with us for any postage costs. Please note we do NOT ship telescopes or heavy items outside of the UK. This is due to massive postage costs and problems regarding returns.

If you have any questions regarding stock levels or delivery, please get in touch.

Zygo Interferometer Testing For ED Refractor Telescopes!

We are extremely pleased to announce our Zygo Interferometer is now installed and ready for use! Our experienced staff can test refractor lenses up to 120mm aperture and provide a comprehensive 2 page report showing the optical quality and Strehl ratio, plus much more information. We are using the very latest Zygo MX software to provide a more detailed report compared to other standard reports.

The interferometer is essentially a measuring instrument. Within the interferometer is a calibrated laser that is pointed through the optical test surface, then onto a high quality reference sphere, then back through the test subject then to an internal camera which gives us the measurement on the screen. From this, we can adjust the position of the test optic and the reference sphere to obtain a perfectly calibrated system. The more central the laser to the test optic and then on return, the better and more accurate reading and measurement we can take. This takes a lot of adjustment to get the best results from the optical surface. Once the measurement has been taken, we are provided with a series of results that show the optical quality of the surface plus other information. Continue reading for an explanation of the individual values and you can also see a test report that was done on one of our RVO Horizon 60 OTAs. 

We are offering certain telescopes with a Zygo test at an extra cost. Mainly ED doublets and triplets. All available telescopes with a Zygo test report are listed here. Just select Zygo Test Report from the drop down box at the top of the listing and we will test the optics in house and provide a full 2 page report with your scope. This will show you the optical quality of your telescope optics. We can also offer this service on your refractor telescope. Please get in touch for more details about this. 

At Rother Valley Optics, one thing we pride ourselves on is customer service and quality of our equipment. When we test your telescope, we will ensure that it is of the highest quality otherwise, we will reject the scope under our strict quality control and test another model for your peace of mind. One of the main values to look at when testing a refractor is the Strehl ratio. The higher this number, the higher quality lens you have. At Rother Valley Optics, we will guarantee the highest possible Strehl ratio for your telescope.  We will aim to provide 0.95 Strehl or higher on Takahashi, RVO Horizon, William Optics and many more! Generally, the higher the Strehl ratio, the lower the Astigmatism and Coma meaning a better image quality from your instrument. 

Other measurements such as the PV and RMS are important too. With these measurements, the lower the number the better as it shows less curvature on the lens. The flatter an optical lens, the better it will perform. The PV rating (Peak To Valley) is a measurement from the highest point (Peak) to the lowest point (Valley). From this we get the RMS (Root, Mean, Square). This is a similar figure to the PV and measured exactly the same way. The RMS is basically an average height difference from the PV so again, the lower the better. As you can see form the example below, we measured an RMS of just 0.027 wave which is a very good value.

We also measure the Power with our systems which is essentially the error from the reference sphere to the test optic. The reference sphere we use on our system is a very high quality sphere so the closer to zero the Power, the less error between the 2 elements thus ensuring a higher quality optical surface. 

You will also see some more values such as Astigmatism and Coma. Again, these are measured by the interferometer when we take measurements of the optical surface after adjustment. These are values which ideally would be at 0 but as our test optics are all curved lenses, there will always be astigmatism and coma present. The lower the number, the less of these aberations you will effectively see but with most refractors, you can buy field flatteners which will compensate for the coma anyway. The astigmatisms value is explaining the error between the symmetrical curvature of the lens. Basically, no lens will be perfectly symmetrical, the lower the astigmatism, the more symmetrical the lens surface is. 

Once the Zygo test report has been completed, the optical alignment is thoroughly tested and tuned to ensure they are spot on before they leave us. 

All available telescopes are on the website at the link below and ones we've tested already that are available straight away are also listed.

https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/zygo-tested-refractors.html

Here is an example of the test what we provide. This was a test on one of our Horizon 60 ED OTA's.

For any questions about this amazing new service, please either call 01909774369 or email sales@rothervalleyoptics.co.uk.

Are you interested in this product but would like to speak to someone with some more information? Simply fill in the form below and we will get back to you as soon as we can!

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