This is a possible but untested solution. Make sure you tighten clutches before turning off your motors so that your antenna does not drop and hit ground or mount. Also take care with size and shape of antenna, which may give undue strain on the mount, damage motors or cause mount to fall over.
Yes — you can effectively stop tracking on the iEXOS-100, but it’s not presented as a simple “tracking OFF” switch like on some mounts. You have a few practical ways to achieve what you want (important for RFI).
🧭 What the mount actually does
The Explore Scientific iEXOS-100 uses the PMC-Eight system, which normally continuously drives the RA motor for tracking once aligned.
It has two internal behaviours:
- Track mode → constant RA tracking rate
- Point mode → actively adjusts both axes to keep an object centred
Either way → motors are running = potential RFI source
✅ Ways to stop tracking (and eliminate motor RFI)
1. Simply power it off after pointing (best for radio work)
- Slew to your target
- Lock clutches
- Turn the mount OFF
✔ This completely kills:
- stepper motor noise
- WiFi electronics
- control CPU activity
➡️ The mount then behaves like a manual equatorial mount
This is the cleanest solution for radio astronomy.
2. Use the clutches and disengage drives
- The iEXOS-100 has clutched RA and DEC axes
- You can:
- Loosen clutch
- Manually point
- Leave motors unpowered or idle
✔ Again: no active tracking = minimal RFI
3. Do not start alignment / tracking
If you:
- Power on but don’t perform alignment or GoTo
- Avoid issuing a slew command
Then tracking may not start automatically (depends on control method), but:
⚠️ Not reliable — some control apps may still engage tracking implicitly.
4. Software workaround (less ideal)
Using ExploreStars / ASCOM:
- You can avoid issuing tracking commands
- Or set tracking rate to zero (if supported via ASCOM)
⚠️ But:
- Motors and electronics are still powered
- You will still get RFI from stepper drivers and WiFi
🔬 For your use case (radio astronomy)
Given you’re concerned about interference:
👉 Best practice
- Use GoTo to position
- Power OFF immediately after
- Let the sky drift (drift scan / fixed pointing)
This is actually ideal for:
- hydrogen line work (1420 MHz 👀)
- interferometry baselines
- RFI-sensitive SDR setups
⚠️ One subtle point
Even when “idle,” the mount:
- uses stepper motor drivers
- has a WiFi module
➡️ These can radiate broadband noise unless fully powered down
🧠 Practical tip (you’ll appreciate this)
If you want repeatable pointing without tracking:
- Mark tripod leg positions
- Use a fixed home RA/Dec reference
- Return to known coordinates manually
This turns the mount into a repeatable pointing platform without electronics active
Bottom line
- ✔ Yes — you can stop tracking
- ❗ There’s no clean “tracking OFF” toggle
- ✅ Best method: slew → power OFF → use as passive mount