rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 63466
Loc: Phx, AZ
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I used an existing hole for the threeded insert and knob to attach the encoder arm along with scrap wood (and scrap knob!).
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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
Edited by rboe (10/22/06 08:48 PM)
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rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 63466
Loc: Phx, AZ
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I dry fitted the rocker box encoder then routered a mortice for the arm.
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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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rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 63466
Loc: Phx, AZ
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Drilling a recess hole and using a speed nut the encoders are attached to their arms.
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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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Biff
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/04/05
Posts: 2562
Loc: Tampa, FL
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Good job Ron!
How do you hold the shaft of the encoder for the Az.? I've been fiddling around trying to figure out some sort of press fit for the encoders as I'm not a big fan of needing to use tools around my scope in the dark. I'm not getting very far with it though and I think I might borrow your Locking collar idea.
Ryan
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Ryan
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rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 63466
Loc: Phx, AZ
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The AZ encoder was very predestrian - I used the az. bolt kit from Astrosystems which has a set screw in the side of a brass bolt that had a hole bored in the middle.
I have the az encoder arm friction fitted into that slot so it is free to wiggle a bit (in and out, side to side). The altitude arm was slotted where the knob attaches it to the rocker box. At first this was very loosely fastened just incase it was off center but that has not been the case and I cinch it down quite firmly.
I'm not fond of the allen wrench thing either so a T handle may be expoxied to the screw in the future. I'm just afraid something will catch on. Food for thought though.
I have some diamond sharpening tools and went after the collar with a coarse one so the epoxy had plenty of surface to grip. Sandpaper may do as well.
Note: I sprung for the sealed encoders from US Digital. The desert is very dirty and since these are optical encoders its best to keep them as clean as possible. Other parts of the country will probably not need that extra precaution - although it's not that much more.
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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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Chriske
Kijkerbouw Urania
Reged: 08/15/04
Posts: 2317
Loc: Boechout, Belgium
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I did not read the entire topic, so maybe I'm asking something that has already been posted.
When starting the program PalmDSC the first questing while calibrating is : 'Point the scope to the zenit'.... Someone know why this is asked....
Preparing to install the first scope with it...  Guy is busy drawing the PCB. As encoder we use the inner parts of a computermouse.
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Chris
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rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 63466
Loc: Phx, AZ
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In the software you are given the option, horizon or zenith. It needs a baseline from where to start counting tics from the encoders.
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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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Chriske
Kijkerbouw Urania
Reged: 08/15/04
Posts: 2317
Loc: Boechout, Belgium
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Why does it need a 'baseline' while the software has two stars to calibrate with...?
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Chris
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rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 63466
Loc: Phx, AZ
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It knows where the two stars are in relation to themselves - but not to the scope (or earth). The baseline provides that.
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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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rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 63466
Loc: Phx, AZ
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Finally had success. Started out as partial success as it thought Mitzar was in the East. I suspected AM vs PM was entered. That wasn't it. Finally tonight I checked the box to reverse the AZ encoders in the PalmDSC encoder setup menu and that fixed it. Alas, it appears no such animal for Astromist but there may yet be a solution in there. Haven't found it yet.
Accuracy seems to be a bit off and I'm blaming a not level spot in the yard but it could be the two axis are not normal. At this point I'm not even sure how to test for it. Things are in the field of view of a 40mm eye piece and just out of range of a 14mm.
Chris; After reading up a bit on the math involved it appears I've over simplified the two star alignment a wee bit and I'm suspecting the leveling (or zenith) actually locates where the scope is between the pole and equator of earth.  Further reading needs to be done. 
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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, what I've done to increase my accuracy is to put a level on my mirror box (this is a small, two way level) during the initialization and then experimenting with the two stars I choose for alignment. Using Polaris and Altair worked out pretty well during the summer months. I haven't had my scope out lately, but I expect to have to try a couple combinations before I find what works best for the fall/winter months.
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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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Being a newbie to this beast I've been using Polaris and Vega. The level is great idea, think I'll steal that one! 
I've added PalmDSC to my E2 so I have a self lit screen (red no less!) - have no idea why I didn't do that earlier. I may have to price out a battery replacement for my old Tungsten and just declare it the dob shove to CPU.
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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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Tom L
Reged: 01/07/04
Posts: 31037
Loc: Sunny Oregon
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Is it too bright? Would this be a better option than the M100? I noticed that Dave had to use his light to illuminate the screen when finding an object...would this illiminate that requirement? Dave, I need to come over and pick up the pieces you set aside...
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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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rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 63466
Loc: Phx, AZ
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The E2 is very bright, actually a benefit in the back yard while debugging - mouth gets too tired holding the red flashlite while I try to figure out the darn thing.
I have all the software loaded up on my old Tungsten T now, it appears to get dim enough. With the red light option it may prove to be the ticket. One reason I replaced the T was because the display was on the dim side in daylight.
The E2 and T have much more powerfull CPU's so for Planetarium and Astromist I get decent redraw speeds (Astromist won't even run on the M100) and I've upped the encoder read speed from 10 to 15. Not sure what the effect will be. Just playing around at the moment.
So far, I can not fix the backwards encoder in Astromist and Planetarium can't even use the David Ek box. But PalmDSC is proving fairly useful anyway.
The DSC seems to eat 9volt batteries, may need to go with a rechargeble system.
serialIO.com is where I bought the Palm to DB9 adaptors for the T and E2. They appear to be null modem also as I can plug the adaptor cables right into the David Ek box and they work just fine.
The E2 cable seems to have a USB converter built in also since that PDA connects via USB.
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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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Tom L
Reged: 01/07/04
Posts: 31037
Loc: Sunny Oregon
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If your realtime sample rate is missing ticks then your accuracy will be off big time. It's like reading mouse movements (called Mickeys!  )...you don't really care because it is all relative...but for encoders, once they have been set, you want to catch all the ticks...
Sounds like the Tungsten T may be the ticket...Which T, Ron?
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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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rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 63466
Loc: Phx, AZ
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Just T. It's the very first one they built. Ordered a new battery for it today. Was reminded why I really replaced it - darn stylus looses its' aim and I have to reset it. Very annoying.
It also has the slider to make it bigger/smaller. Cool when you first use it but grows old. I think the E2 would be a better choice but you will need a screen to control the light. As is it is too bright. I'll know tonight how well the T does.
For now I have velcro'd the Palm and the board to the scope.
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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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rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 63466
Loc: Phx, AZ
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Astromist lives! You can't check off "Reverse" on your Alt or Az but you can add a negative sign with has the same effect.
Accuracy still a bit off. The scope is about as level as its' going to be in my yard with out installing a grass landing pad for it.
The T was rebooting when selecting a star from the list in Astromist so I tried the E2. Operates a bit smoother but way too bright unless you enable night mode (red light). The T goes completely black - no back lighting at all.
Astromist lets you see the scopes' field of view superimposed on the sky as you move it, but it's hard to read. I need bifocals. 
PalmDSC gives a short description on the item selected in the list (several lists and even a user input so the skys' the limit) which is pretty cool. But no sky picture.
Each has its' strengths. I suspect if you work off of charts PalmDSC would be the better choice. In any event you do have a choice.
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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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The bear
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/11/08
Posts: 1111
Loc: rushville, indiana
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what would be the best palm to get as mine will not work anymore for this project?
please advise
doc
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Longitude -85.42786 Latitude 39.5915
127mm refractor "Cosmos I" finished Apr 6, 2010
SP-C6 (Vixen 6" f/5) updated mar 30 2012
"current build 6 inch F6.5 "Little Toe" waining
"if all else fails use duct tape "works for me"
"Remember there is no spoon"
"Rest in Peace Dad 10 apr 2010 1:43 pm"
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rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 63466
Loc: Phx, AZ
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I'm partial to the E2. The E has a funky I/O port that does not have a serial adaptor for. The original T has a sliding feature that is cool for about two minutes. Newer T's are nice but the E2 has the performance without the price - smaller screen though.
Older units work well too but they are not in colour - and colour spoils you.
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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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The bear
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/11/08
Posts: 1111
Loc: rushville, indiana
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this E2 is it a palm what should i use to look for it on the big $bay.
doc
--------------------
Longitude -85.42786 Latitude 39.5915
127mm refractor "Cosmos I" finished Apr 6, 2010
SP-C6 (Vixen 6" f/5) updated mar 30 2012
"current build 6 inch F6.5 "Little Toe" waining
"if all else fails use duct tape "works for me"
"Remember there is no spoon"
"Rest in Peace Dad 10 apr 2010 1:43 pm"
|
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