Wanderer Astro Motorized Flat Panel V4, 150 mm

Wanderer Cover V4 - Flat Panel and Telescope Cover in one

The Wanderer Cover V4 is a motorized system with an integrated flat box closure cap, designed specifically for remote observatories or for astronomers who want to fully automate their setup, even while traveling!

Technical Features

The Wanderer Cover comes complete for immediate installation as it includes a functioning 12 V stepper motor. The opening of the Wanderer Cover can be customized to different positions, providing a maximum 270° opening. This option allows you to reduce wind resistance when the panel is closed.

A mechanical limit will prevent excessive opening, forcing the closure to a user-defined position in such cases.

The V4 version includes an integrated 3-level heating system!

The Wanderer Cover also features an LED panel with 255 levels of customizable intensity, replicable using third-party software (NINA, SGP, Voyager) or the native Wanderer software.

USB interface for complete control with PC or laptop

The Wanderer Cover V4 can be completely controlled remotely. In particular, you can:

swivel the cover with the integrated panel to the desired position

turn the panel on and off

adjust the brightness values in 255 steps

adjust the brightness ideally to the respective channel

set the dew heaters to three levels, but also switch them off

You can find control software and manuals on the download page.

What´s the difference?

Added 12 V DC input port
Added power/USB indicator light
Soft pads to protect the lens barrel

The built-in encoder provides real-time and accurate feedback on the position of the cover, allowing users to remotely view the status of the flat field plate without opening the monitor camera. Repeatable positioning accuracy is higher than ±0.25 degrees.

Brand new motor adopted, the payload is increased by more than 50%, ensuring its durability and preventing gearbox damage.

In humid areas, dew will occur on the flat plate at night. If the dew does not evaporate in time, it will easily make the inside of the telescope moist after closing, which may cause the lens to become damp and moldy in the long term. V4 up to 240 mm usable diameter has built-in heating elements and provides three levels of heating adjustment, which can keep the cover dry all night or quickly evaporate dew in the morning.

Thanks to the encoder, V4 provides reliable automatic detection of the open and closed position. If your device is not around and manual setting is not possible, WandererCover can automatically detect obstacles and set the open and closed position.

The new ASCOM driver makes use easier. The All-in-one driver will automatically identify the device model and connect. It also supports automatic/manual port selection and connection of multiple devices. The control interface has also been optimized and is now more beautiful.

The new dimming controller increases the PWM dimming frequency by 100% to further avoid the occurrence of bandings. 255 levels of dimming meet the needs of flat-field shooting in most situations.

- Wanderer Cover
- USB cable 1 m
- Power cable, 2x coaxial power connector 5.5/2.1 mm
- Cable ties

How do I get a good flat field image?

A good flat compensates for edge shading (vignetting), but also for darkening caused by dust on the filter, sensor or corrector. The background becomes even, the contrast can be raised further to make finer details visible in faint nebulae. The following basic settings should be noted:

The ISO or gain setting must be the same as for the lights, i.e. the actual astrophotography.

Telescope, camera and accessories, such as filters, off-axis guider etc., must be the same as for the actual exposure, also the position of the focuser should be unchanged.

The exposure time should be so short that nothing is "burned out", i.e. overexposed. Only in this way can the flat unfold its full effect. We recommend an exposure of 30-50%. The flat should not be burned out, but it should also not have any unexposed areas.

How do I find the right exposure time with the shooting software, for example Maxim DL?

The ADU value (Analog Digital Units) helps here. Every capture program shows this value when you move the mouse over the image. In the center of the image, where the illumination is highest, the ADU value is highest. The longer you expose, the higher this value becomes. If the ADU value is higher than the maximum value of the camera, the image is overexposed. A camera with 16 bits has a max. ADU value of 65536, one with 14 bits has 16384, one with 12 bits only 4096.

The exposure time of the flat should be so short that in the middle of the flat the ADU value is at most 50% of the maximum value of the camera. Then the flat looks well exposed. We recommend to take at least 10 flats per exposure and to process them to a "master flat".

If the flatfield box is too bright, that means it always produces overexposed images, then a white paper, which is fixed in the flatfield box, helps. This will dim the light and allow for slightly longer exposure times.

Safety informations: PDF Download