Wanderer Astro WMFP4 Motorized Flat Panel V4 - 190 mm

Wanderer Astro Motorized Flat Panel V4, 190 mm

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

Download page for the control software

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