ALTO-3 is the telescope cover motor we designed to let you use GIOTTO larger than 320mm as remotely controlled motorized cap. Now you can remotely open and close your telescope allowing you to use GIOTTO to record flat calibration frames without having to be at your telescope. ALTO provides a USB-C port to connect to your EAGLE or standard Windows computer that you choose to control it with our PLAY astrophotography software, or via a third party astronomy software using the ASCOM CoverCalibrator driver. You can also control ALTO by connecting to its WiFi network from your smartphone or tablet and use the included Virtual HandPad. The provided USB and 12V power passthrough plugs (to directly connect GIOTTO to ALTO) and the included Cable Locking Clips (CLC) allows you to improve cables management and simplify your telescope setup. ALTO natively runs off of a 12V power source to avoid the need for external power units.

If you want to automate the capture of your calibration files or if you are searching for the best way to remotely open and close your telescope, you can add the optional ALTO-3 telescope cover motor paired with GIOTTO as a remotely controlled motorized cap!

ALTO provides USB-C port and WiFi connectivity

ALTO integrated control electronics offers USB-C port to let you easily connect it to your EAGLE or standard Windows computer and control it with PLAY or third party astrophotography software that supports ASCOM CoverCalibrator. It also comes with WiFi connectivity so you can wirelessly control it using your smartphone or tablet via the included Virtual HandPad! In order to power ALTO, you don't need a separate power unit, since it natively runs off of a 12V power source so it's easy to power together with your astrophotography telescope.

ALTO with passthrough ports to connect GIOTTO and improve cable management

In order to connect ALTO and GIOTTO to your control computer, you do not have to connect USB and power cables to each device. Instead, ALTO offers USB and 12V power passthrough plugs to improve cables management. Connect short USB and power cables from GIOTTO directly to ALTO and then you will connect just a USB and a 12V power cable from ALTO to your computer; it will recognize GIOTTO and ALTO as separate devices in device manager. This way you will always be able to control them individually from your software.

ALTO-3 is designed for GIOTTO larger than 320mm

In order to connect ALTO to your telescope, you can add the optional PLLMORVLP PLUS dovetail clamp to let you clamp ALTO to any Vixen or Losmandy style dovetail bar that is already present in many telescopes (like SCT, Aplanatic SCT, RCT, etc). If your telescope has a short bar (for example on a refractor or Newtonian) you can easily add a longer dovetail bar to let you clamp ALTO just above or below the front end of your tube! This design allows you to adjust GIOTTO and ALTO positions to allow an optimal opening and closing of your telescope. In the bottom part of ALTO body you can find different M6 threaded holes that allow you to attach the ALTO to your telescope if you don't want to add the optional PLUS clamp (in this case you will have also to check how to fix ALTO on your telescope in order to allow the GIOTTO rotation). Note: since GIOTTO with ALTO can't seal the telescope front opening, we do not suggest to use GIOTTO with ALTO to record dark calibration frames; we suggest you to record a dark library instead.

ALTO is easy to use with PLAY software or ASCOM driver

You can control ALTO with PLAY astrophotography software that we designed not only to control PrimaLuceLab devices but also to let you do astrophotography in the easiest way. In fact PLAY comes also with a special wizard that allows you to easily calibrate the opening and closing position of ALTO and GIOTTO installed on your telescope. Then with a simple mouse click you will be able to remotely open or close your telescope. And if you want to use your preferred Windows astrophotography software, you can also control ALTO by using third party software that supports the ASCOM CoverCalibrator driver.

Use the Virtual HandPad to control ALTO even without a computer

You can also control ALTO without a computer by connecting your smartphone or tablet to ALTO’s WiFi network, then access the controls via the built-in Virtual HandPad. Here you can open or close your telescope cap without the need of a computer, like using your smartphone as an additional handpad! It will also allow you to save your preferred settings and recall them very easily.

What's in the box?

ALTO-3 telescope cover motor
USB-B cable to USB-C to connect ALTO to GIOTTO via passthrough plug (length 120 cm - 47 inches)
12V cable to power ALTO through GIOTTO via passthrough plug (length 120 cm - 47 inches)
Quick guide