Re: ETX70 for balloon tracking ??

From: szaki (szaki10_at_comcast.net)
Date: 11/17/04 

Date: Wed, 17 Nov 2004 08:05:45 GMT

NexStar is better, since it uses brass and aluminium gears, only the cover
is plastic, cost less than the ETX also. To the Nexstar 60, 80, 114 etc...
you can mount any OTA if you want to by small modification, vs. ETX you
stuck with the OTA it comes with.
Julius

"Dan Mckenna" <dmckenna@as.arizona.edu> wrote in message
news:cne9ei$qj2$1@onion.ccit.arizona.edu...
> Hi all,
>
> And now for something completely different.
>
> As part of my project on the prediction of seeing I have started
> tracking radiosonde balloons both with radio and when conditions permit
> optical. I use a standard balloon theodolite and write down the
> elevation and azimuth as a function of time just as weather observers
> do. Meanwhile the radio tracking obtains the Pressure,temperature and
> dew point data.
>
> I would like to automate the tracking and use a tv camera and something
> like an etx70 on the roof and sending alt az commands from my cave.
>
> I have a tv camera on the antenna mount now and it works well.
> The antenna mount has a 1 degree slop and the camera FOV is about 10
> degrees.
>
> The ETX70 has plastic gears....ouch... never in my day would I consider,
> well till now, such a thing.
>
> I will need position readout to better than 0.1 degrees and so I think
> it will do. I would like .01 degrees even better.
>
> I gather I can connect RS232 to this mount and read the position as well
> as command a position.
>
> My questions are:
>
> 1) Will the etx work for my app ??
> 2) Is there a better mount that wont cost 1 arm and two legs ?
> 3) Has any one written an interface for sat tracking or the like that I
> might rip off ?
>
>
> Thanks for reading
>
> Dan
>

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