MtnGoat
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/18/07
Posts: 1212
Loc: Columbia Gorge, WA
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Anybody seen these yet?
Cen Tec Digital Angle Gauge $25
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"Ignorant people think it's the noise which fighting cats make that is so aggravating, but it ain't so; it's the sickening grammar they use." Mark Twain
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rnabholz
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 07/25/04
Posts: 897
Loc: Iowa
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Justabob,
Back about a page or so in this thread I describe a way to mount the circle around the groundboard - necessitated by the addition of a Dob Driver system to my scope. Maybe something like that will work for you.
I titled the posts "Degree Circles - Dob Driver II Compatible"
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Rod Nabholz
Home Built Astronomy Projects
Wild Bird Photography
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justabob
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 05/05/07
Posts: 1673
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Thanks rod. But I have in fact come up with a idea that will be completely non destructive and invisible at zenith for the Obsession ground board. Will post pics asap.
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http://www.pbase.com/rkn/astro&page=all
Vixen Sphinx SXW
Meade sn6
Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM Lens
Hutech 1000d
Self modded 350d
ST8300c on order
DSI PRO II
Bob
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stefanj
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 11/15/07
Posts: 1755
Loc: Western New York State
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OK I give up- I have all the items I need except I cannot make either of my printers (HP deskjet932c or my Canon i350) print out the complete circles I need- the Canon was able to print out from 275° to 340° but thats it! I don't have ready access to any print shops (I'm to busy to drive to one and wait around) so unless someone here can solve this problem I'm going to have to try to figure out a way to hand draw the circles (probably take my base apart- get a circle cut to the exact same size- then start quartering up) HELP???? BTW I have a Z10
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Life is a circus- and I'm stuck in the FREAK TENT
If these are blue- it means the moon is full!
Meade ETX 90RA w/ tripod
Meade AZ 70 (now solar)
Meade DS 2130 AT
Zhumell 10" Dob
Simmons 10x50 Binoculars
GLPx8
LPI
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csa/montana
Wild Spirit
Reged: 05/14/05
Posts: 40135
Loc: montana
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The best, & most accurate way is to have a print shop do it for you. I don't know about any other places, but they did mine as I stood there, probably 4-5minutes tops.
Don't know if you would get the accuracy needed by drawing.
Carol
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Carol
AstroTech 16" Dob (Thanks ASTRONOMICS!)
Vixen 80MF/AstroTech Voyager
Masuyama's 7.5, 15, 25W, 35mm,
Pentaxes; 5XW, 7XL, 10XW.
14mm Meade 4000 UWA
TV Panoptics; 22, 35
DreamCatcher Dobservatory, #2
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m.r.memarian
super member
Reged: 10/01/07
Posts: 121
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Hi,
I have circle on the base but i'm trying to use a "Rotary Angle Encoder with Remote Display" Like this :
Rotary Angle Encoder with Remote Display
I'm trying to find a way to connect it to base and make a digital angle reader for the Azimuth (as well as Altitude with Wixey).
with this you don't even need to turn the base every time you want to calibrate azimuth (you will turn scope like
normal observation)and with some simple steps you can easily find north and set zero (even if you can't see polaris).
A Fully Digital Push to System!
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NightSKY 20x80 Binocular(Broken)
SkyWatcher SkyLiner 200 (8",f/5.91 Dob)
10mm&25mm Skywatcher Super Plossls,Skywatcher 8-24mm Zoom,
Vixen LVW-13mm, Hyperion 8mm
Vixen 2X Short Barlow with T thread
Astronomik UHC Filter 1.25"
Orion SteadyPix, Green Laser Pointer
Celestron SkyScout IYA2009 Edition
Softwares : Stellarium , RedShift 6 , Celestia
Next Targets : LVW-17mm , LVW-22mm ,Vixen LVW-8mm or Hyperions 
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MtnGoat
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/18/07
Posts: 1212
Loc: Columbia Gorge, WA
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WOW! What a find, M! That thing is suuuweet!
I spent last night spraymounting paper and cutting circles and making pointers and it came out pretty good, a read of this thread and a couple hours in the shop and my azimuth circle is ready.
But that gizmo looks way, way better..won't even need to move from the top of the scope to see numbers for both axes or zero the azimuth!
It looks like a variation on the Wixey unit. I'm currently trying to find a US distributor for the rotary gauge, or what Asian outfit is actually making them, but nothing has turned up yet.
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"Ignorant people think it's the noise which fighting cats make that is so aggravating, but it ain't so; it's the sickening grammar they use." Mark Twain
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nightster
member
Reged: 12/16/07
Posts: 13
Loc: charlotte, nc
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Quote:
Anybody seen these yet?
Cen Tec Digital Angle Gauge $25
I love Harbor Freight! Loads of china cheap tools. If you are careful when shopping here they almost pay you to take this stuff off their hands. Just be warned you are not shopping at Snap-On, the stuff is cheap for a reason. But no reason not to give their stuff a try.
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jeff
Z8
Charlotte, NC
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MtnGoat
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/18/07
Posts: 1212
Loc: Columbia Gorge, WA
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Harbor freight works as long as you understand what you are getting. I have a small bandsaw and a benchtop drill press from them, and while not top grade they cut and drill straight and have decent features, dirt cheap, so what the heck.
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"Ignorant people think it's the noise which fighting cats make that is so aggravating, but it ain't so; it's the sickening grammar they use." Mark Twain
Edited by MtnGoat (02/03/08 01:55 PM)
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csa/montana
Wild Spirit
Reged: 05/14/05
Posts: 40135
Loc: montana
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Let us know if you find a distributor; this has great possibilities!
Carol
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Carol
AstroTech 16" Dob (Thanks ASTRONOMICS!)
Vixen 80MF/AstroTech Voyager
Masuyama's 7.5, 15, 25W, 35mm,
Pentaxes; 5XW, 7XL, 10XW.
14mm Meade 4000 UWA
TV Panoptics; 22, 35
DreamCatcher Dobservatory, #2
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stefanj
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 11/15/07
Posts: 1755
Loc: Western New York State
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OK I bite the bullet and went to a Staples HUGE MISTAKE!!! They did a BEAUTIFUL Job- laminated and everything- but I paid a small fortune for it- I'm embarrassed to say how much- But lets just say that my setup is going to approach a $100. Still I'm pretty excited about this- especially since I got 3 software programs working on my Palm- and 4 on the laptop (and all of them were free!!) I hope to finish mine up this week- picture when I'm done- thanks to all who have posted ideas, links, pdfs, pictures, and questions- I read all 30 pages and came away with some great ideas- and most important I FINALLY understand how this whole thing works!
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Life is a circus- and I'm stuck in the FREAK TENT
If these are blue- it means the moon is full!
Meade ETX 90RA w/ tripod
Meade AZ 70 (now solar)
Meade DS 2130 AT
Zhumell 10" Dob
Simmons 10x50 Binoculars
GLPx8
LPI
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csa/montana
Wild Spirit
Reged: 05/14/05
Posts: 40135
Loc: montana
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Congratulations! We want to read about your first light with your new "push-to" system!
Carol
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Carol
AstroTech 16" Dob (Thanks ASTRONOMICS!)
Vixen 80MF/AstroTech Voyager
Masuyama's 7.5, 15, 25W, 35mm,
Pentaxes; 5XW, 7XL, 10XW.
14mm Meade 4000 UWA
TV Panoptics; 22, 35
DreamCatcher Dobservatory, #2
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Sky Captain
Metal Whisperer
Reged: 11/07/04
Posts: 7177
Loc: Issaquah, WA.
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Quote:
Hi,
I have circle on the base but i'm trying to use a "Rotary Angle Encoder with Remote Display" Like this :
Rotary Angle Encoder with Remote Display
I'm trying to find a way to connect it to base and make a digital angle reader for the Azimuth (as well as Altitude with Wixey).
WOW-WEE...!
I just ordered one, not sure what I'll do with it. 
Might be interesting to adapt it to the LightBridge base.
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Equipment Overload!
Kerry
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MtnGoat
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/18/07
Posts: 1212
Loc: Columbia Gorge, WA
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I had some luck...I found the manufacturer of the Wixey and the rotary encoder.
Here is the rotary encoder - Gemred corporation
Instructions for rotary encoder
They also offer a model without a shaft...I am not quite sure how this one works as it's function would seem to be the same as the single box tilt angle one.
Encoder without shaft
Still searching for a US source.
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"Ignorant people think it's the noise which fighting cats make that is so aggravating, but it ain't so; it's the sickening grammar they use." Mark Twain
Edited by MtnGoat (02/04/08 01:41 AM)
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m.r.memarian
super member
Reged: 10/01/07
Posts: 121
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Hi,
some information about Rotary encoders :
I saw one of these cheap chinese rotary encoders in a local store and it wasn't so good because : when you want use it,you usually should place and attach the encoder section to the base (below scope)and attach it's shaft to the ground plate.After that,when you want to move your scope,encoder shaft must handle the ground plate weight (at this position encoder shaft acts as your azimuth tension bolt) and i think this type of encoder can't handle about ~2.3kg (~5pounds) weight of the ground plate (this is the weight of my scope ground plate).I searched and found some similar devices "Shaft Encoders".
I found some rigid & rugged shaft encoders that can handle this weight,but all of them don't have any display (they are all industrial types) and usually need more power aaround 5V or 12V @ 1A against one CR2032!)and they also have higher price (~100...200$)!I'm still seaching to find another type of these rotary encoder with better quality or another shaft encoder with lower price and lower power requirements.With shaft encoder you need also a separate display.I saw some cheap universal display for standard shaft encoders,but i should find a good shaft encoder first. Another situation : i found some of these shaft encoders (The Rotary encoder also have one cheap shaft encoder in the encoder section) aren't 360 degree rotatable.This type is rare but you should Check this with the seller before buying!
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NightSKY 20x80 Binocular(Broken)
SkyWatcher SkyLiner 200 (8",f/5.91 Dob)
10mm&25mm Skywatcher Super Plossls,Skywatcher 8-24mm Zoom,
Vixen LVW-13mm, Hyperion 8mm
Vixen 2X Short Barlow with T thread
Astronomik UHC Filter 1.25"
Orion SteadyPix, Green Laser Pointer
Celestron SkyScout IYA2009 Edition
Softwares : Stellarium , RedShift 6 , Celestia
Next Targets : LVW-17mm , LVW-22mm ,Vixen LVW-8mm or Hyperions
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MtnGoat
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/18/07
Posts: 1212
Loc: Columbia Gorge, WA
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I am going to simply extend the azimuth bolt/shaft upwards, or use a threaded rod/nut combo to provide extra shaft length on the bottom. Then I'll file a flat spot on the azimuth bolt and one on the encoder shaft as well, and connect them using the appropriate sized shaft coupler. This will transmit the rotation without placing a load on the encoder shaft.
Edited by MtnGoat (02/04/08 12:56 PM)
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csa/montana
Wild Spirit
Reged: 05/14/05
Posts: 40135
Loc: montana
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Kerry, Be sure to post here if you put it on your LB; that will really be interesting 
Carol
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Carol
AstroTech 16" Dob (Thanks ASTRONOMICS!)
Vixen 80MF/AstroTech Voyager
Masuyama's 7.5, 15, 25W, 35mm,
Pentaxes; 5XW, 7XL, 10XW.
14mm Meade 4000 UWA
TV Panoptics; 22, 35
DreamCatcher Dobservatory, #2
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csa/montana
Wild Spirit
Reged: 05/14/05
Posts: 40135
Loc: montana
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Be sure to post pictures as you install it 
Carol
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Carol
AstroTech 16" Dob (Thanks ASTRONOMICS!)
Vixen 80MF/AstroTech Voyager
Masuyama's 7.5, 15, 25W, 35mm,
Pentaxes; 5XW, 7XL, 10XW.
14mm Meade 4000 UWA
TV Panoptics; 22, 35
DreamCatcher Dobservatory, #2
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stefanj
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 11/15/07
Posts: 1755
Loc: Western New York State
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Well Almost done- Just need to get one of those slick digital level thingies (like my technical language use?) THis was almost too easy- Now I just got a free Magelian GPS for my Palm M505- so How can I incorperate THAT to my system?? Also I noticed that my csc must sense that I'm almost finished-
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Life is a circus- and I'm stuck in the FREAK TENT
If these are blue- it means the moon is full!
Meade ETX 90RA w/ tripod
Meade AZ 70 (now solar)
Meade DS 2130 AT
Zhumell 10" Dob
Simmons 10x50 Binoculars
GLPx8
LPI
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csa/montana
Wild Spirit
Reged: 05/14/05
Posts: 40135
Loc: montana
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 Yep, your CSC is leaking! It knows what you are doing 
Carol
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Carol
AstroTech 16" Dob (Thanks ASTRONOMICS!)
Vixen 80MF/AstroTech Voyager
Masuyama's 7.5, 15, 25W, 35mm,
Pentaxes; 5XW, 7XL, 10XW.
14mm Meade 4000 UWA
TV Panoptics; 22, 35
DreamCatcher Dobservatory, #2
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