| Plans for the CCD Camera, Telescope Mount and Finder | ||
| CCD Camera | Build Cookbook CCD | Camera completed, in final testing |
| Telescope Mount | Convert from tangent arm drive to friction drive | 1.48 inch pinion driving 35.5 inch wheel |
| Finder upgrade | Provide alternate images to CCD from finder | Internal finder with switchable optical path being designed around filter slide |
| Drive | 1 rpm synchronous motor to 60:1 speed reducer | Shaft directly coupled to drive pinion |
| Digital telescope positioning | Installed encoders on RA & Dec axes | Link with TheSky using BBox ( Software Bisque) |
| Slewing and slow motions | ||
| Fast RA via differential from reversible drill motor A power drill motor is used with a worm and worm gear driving the differential box | RA Slow Motion by variable speed drill control relocated from the stock drill via cable | |
| Fast Dec - cable driven large wheel from friction driven small urethane wheel in turn driven by a variable speed power drill. Slew rate about | ||
| Slow dec - variable speed drill turning a worm gear. Controls moved to cable for use at the computer | ||
| Problems identified | Proposed solution | Analysis |
| Drive slips due to imbalance of scope | Scope has a 30 ft-lb imbalance due to the weight of the declination wheel | Relocated counterweights in mirror end of telescope away from declination wheel side Added counterweights to RA Wheel |
| Drive slips due to low coefficient of friction between stainless steel drive pinion and aluminum band | Several improvements tried, with small degree of success | Current solution: Contact cement on fiberglass window screen on drive pinion and fiberglass window screen contact cemented to rubber innertube material cemented onto wheel rim seems to work OK (one night's testing) |
| Drive slips due to friction in idle roller | drive idle roller or reduce friction | A brass collar was applied over the pinion to increase the torque on the idle roller - seems to be working |
| Scattered light causes gradient across field | Scattered light reaches CCD directly | Extend length of tube Darken interior of tube with black paint |
| Collimation variable | Secondary mirror supports flexing | Remount secondary |