rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 63466
Loc: Phx, AZ
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Dave; we may have to talk!
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Ron
NS11GPS
Pronto
16" dob
127mm F9 Surplus Shed/Crawmach kit scope
Coronado SolarMax 40 on a Celestron 102 Wide Field
Best of ATM
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D. Marcotte
member
Reged: 10/30/05
Posts: 45
Loc: Alberta, Canada
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Congrats on your project, Dave! I'm also just about to mount my encoders, so it's nice to see pics of how you did it. I did it pretty much exactly how you did (David Eks, Palm M100, US Digital encoders), and I can't wait to see how it works. I'm also putting the finishing touches on an EQ platform, so knock on wood that it all comes together. I have a color Palm with astromist on it (which I love), but think I'll start with the M100 for awhile before I even consider the whole bluetooth/aircable thing.
Also, for anyone not sure about this DSC project... if I can do it, anyone can! I had absolutely NO experience with electronics, but the kit is pretty foolproof, and the David Eks website explains everything very well. (of course, this is coming from an as-yet untested DSC setup, so I'll post again if the thing actually works  )
Darren
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Darren Marcotte
10" f4.8 Antares dob
Orion Stratus 21mm/13mm
Homemade EQ platform
David Eks DSC's
<a href=http://cleardarksky.com/c/OldsAbkey.html> <img src="http://cleardarksky.com/c/OldsAbcs0.gif"></a>
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Biff
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/04/05
Posts: 2562
Loc: Tampa, FL
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I've been planning on this project for a bit aswell. I just aquired another Palm T2 not too long ago so now I have one for dedicated telescope purposes.
My timeline is still months though as there's a back log of projects in my garage. Making a cradle for my OTA, EQ platform, a few 80mm refractors, modifying my finder, putting my 5.1" f/5 in a tube, and I think the wife said something about making night tables and painting the bedroom or something  .
Eitherway I'm too far out to be involved in a group build but I'll be watching this thread for sure.
Ryan
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Ryan
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Tom L
Reged: 01/07/04
Posts: 31037
Loc: Sunny Oregon
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Dave, how well can you read the screen at night while in use and what do you do to keep it red?
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Tom 
Tele Vue 102mm f/8.6 on an EzTouch
Vixen 80mm f/5 A80SSWT on a grab-n-go mount
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Biff
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/04/05
Posts: 2562
Loc: Tampa, FL
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FWIW, I use planetarium on my Palm, it has a night mode but it is still too bright. I put a clear red plastic over the screen and it is perfect. There is no loss of resolution and can be read at arm's length. This is on a T2 which has a colour screen so I'm not sure how it'd work with a monochrome display. If they have backlights then I think you're in business.
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Ryan
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Daud
sage
Reged: 08/05/06
Posts: 285
Loc: AZ, Scottsdale
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The Ryolith red foil works well on my Axim with Sky installed. I cut it just so slightly bigger and manipulated it under the frame of the screen - works well.
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TMB 80SS | SV90T | APGT 130 | Meade SN-6 | Johnsonian 16" goto | Celestron Regal 8x42 | Canon 15x50IS
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Tom L
Reged: 01/07/04
Posts: 31037
Loc: Sunny Oregon
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Quote:
Quote:
..
Daud; how soon are looking at pulling the trigger on this? I'm probably a couple months out as things sit now.
I have this mount (without the DSC box) coming next (?) week so my time horizon is "Now" 
Does this already have the encoders installed? I have the EzTouch version of this and would love to add DSCs to it. I haven't taken it apart enough to know how to mount the encoders.
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Tom
Tele Vue 102mm f/8.6 on an EzTouch
Vixen 80mm f/5 A80SSWT on a grab-n-go mount
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Daud
sage
Reged: 08/05/06
Posts: 285
Loc: AZ, Scottsdale
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Quote:
Does this already have the encoders installed? I have the EzTouch version of this and would love to add DSCs to it. I haven't taken it apart enough to know how to mount the encoders.
I don't think EzTouch would allow internal installation of encoders due to limited space. This AyoDigi is BIG brother of the EzTouch (innards)from the same manufacturer, with encoders already installed, only cable coming out on the top, to be connected to a David Ek's interface.
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TMB 80SS | SV90T | APGT 130 | Meade SN-6 | Johnsonian 16" goto | Celestron Regal 8x42 | Canon 15x50IS
Edited by Daud (09/04/06 01:35 PM)
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Bill Cheng
super member
Reged: 05/21/05
Posts: 185
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Which encode has 10,000 tic? Thanks Bill
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Bill
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ad701xx
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 11/22/03
Posts: 1133
Loc: Oregon, USA
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Tom, I just used my red headband-type flashlight to read the screen. Some people have used the red Ryolith to cover the screen. I've also heard of peopl using a Game Boy illuminator and coloring the lights with red nail polish. I may just build myself a dedicated red led illuminator that I can snap onto the Palm.
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Dave
2 scopes with 3 pieces of glass in the front, one has a little oil in it.
4 scopes with shiny glass at the bottom.
2 Cats
A few eyepieces.
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ad701xx
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 11/22/03
Posts: 1133
Loc: Oregon, USA
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Bill, the part number for the 10,000 tick encoder is S2-2500. You just take the CPR number in the chart and multiply it by four to get your resolution.
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Dave
2 scopes with 3 pieces of glass in the front, one has a little oil in it.
4 scopes with shiny glass at the bottom.
2 Cats
A few eyepieces.
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ad701xx
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 11/22/03
Posts: 1133
Loc: Oregon, USA
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Darren, you are right, it is a pretty simple project. The instructions on the David EK site are all you really need. As long as you can solder or find someone who can, it really is a piece of cake.
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Dave
2 scopes with 3 pieces of glass in the front, one has a little oil in it.
4 scopes with shiny glass at the bottom.
2 Cats
A few eyepieces.
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SeaDeep
member
Reged: 05/11/06
Posts: 87
Loc: Colorado
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Hi Dave:
Now that you have yours working... and that I finally got time last night to try it out for a few hours... I thought I'd aks you a question on its use...
After the alignment process it will provide an "alignment OK" message and it also gives a number. I am assuming the number given is a "acuracy factor"? Do you have more insight into what it is? I also noticed that there is an entry in "general setup" for that same number (which the instructions mention is more for advanced users... but does not elaborate). Any ideas?
Also... I set the m100 up for staying on for 3 minutes (I could not find an "always on" setting. So, the m100 would sometimes shut down after it timed out. It seems this did not matter, as I'd simply power it back on before moving to a new object. I was wondering if this "shut down" caused any subsequent tracking issues. So far, I have not seen any issues with this, as it still pegged objects. Just wondering what you thought about it.
SeaDeep
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Meade Lightbridge 12" Deluxe (with 26mm EP)
(Lightbridge has DSCs, using PalmDSC)
Celestron NexStar 114 GT
EPs = Hyperion 13mm, 8mm, 5mm
Garrett Optical Gemini 9x60 LW Binoculars
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ad701xx
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 11/22/03
Posts: 1133
Loc: Oregon, USA
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Hey Seadeep,
the way I understand it the Z3 number that shows is just the pointing error from when you first pointed the scope to the zenith (or level if you chose that option). According to the guys on the Palmastro group on Yahoo, you can pretty much just ignore that number. I've noticed that the closer you get to the zenith, the lower that number is.
Z1 and Z2 should be set to zero in the encoder setup screen. Z3 will have whatever your error was during init. Apparently you could change Z1 and Z2 to take into account any imperfections in your scope and mount not being square. I guess you have to figure out how far off you are and do some calculations to come up with the values that you would plug in to compensate. I haven't really worried about that because I'm finding I can usually get the object within the field of view of my 20mm Nagler.
As for the powering off part, as long as you keep the EK box powered up, you can turn off or even unplug the Palm Pilot without loosing your alignment. I read that somewhere on one of the sites and it appears to be true.
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Dave
2 scopes with 3 pieces of glass in the front, one has a little oil in it.
4 scopes with shiny glass at the bottom.
2 Cats
A few eyepieces.
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Tom L
Reged: 01/07/04
Posts: 31037
Loc: Sunny Oregon
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What about if you use an EQ platform? Does the SW take that into account? I want to build a roundtable platform for my scope also and use it with this.
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Tom
Tele Vue 102mm f/8.6 on an EzTouch
Vixen 80mm f/5 A80SSWT on a grab-n-go mount
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ad701xx
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 11/22/03
Posts: 1133
Loc: Oregon, USA
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Hey Tom,
yes, you can use it with an EQ platform or even an equatorial mount. You just check that option when you do your setup.
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Dave
2 scopes with 3 pieces of glass in the front, one has a little oil in it.
4 scopes with shiny glass at the bottom.
2 Cats
A few eyepieces.
Edited by ad701xx (09/04/06 10:46 PM)
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Tom L
Reged: 01/07/04
Posts: 31037
Loc: Sunny Oregon
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Cool! Thanks Dave. I really need to get over and see all your new stuff. I hope you'll be able to make MSHSP-III also.
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Tom
Tele Vue 102mm f/8.6 on an EzTouch
Vixen 80mm f/5 A80SSWT on a grab-n-go mount
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ad701xx
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 11/22/03
Posts: 1133
Loc: Oregon, USA
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No problem Tom. Maybe next weekend? I'm going to try to make the MSH star party.
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Dave
2 scopes with 3 pieces of glass in the front, one has a little oil in it.
4 scopes with shiny glass at the bottom.
2 Cats
A few eyepieces.
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rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 63466
Loc: Phx, AZ
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I've got the serial adaptors to get my Palms to talk to my NexStar, are they the same adaptor cables for Dave Eks' box?
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Ron
NS11GPS
Pronto
16" dob
127mm F9 Surplus Shed/Crawmach kit scope
Coronado SolarMax 40 on a Celestron 102 Wide Field
Best of ATM
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ad701xx
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 11/22/03
Posts: 1133
Loc: Oregon, USA
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Ron, that should work.
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Dave
2 scopes with 3 pieces of glass in the front, one has a little oil in it.
4 scopes with shiny glass at the bottom.
2 Cats
A few eyepieces.
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