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Alt-az mounts
Posted: 21 Sep 2023, 08:20
by tlove
I am curious to know whether others have plans similar to mine. My next telescope setup will use an alt-az mount. While until recently the combination of an alt-az mount and a rotator was the province of very large professional telescopes, it is increasingly available for small telescopes, and these days makes sense for larger amateur setups (you can get away with a smaller observatory and a less chunky mount, there are no meridian flips, and polar alignment isn't an issue).
Is anybody else contemplating an alt-az mount? And is it at all likely that Astroart would potentially support an alt-az mount plus rotator combination (as I understand it the Astroart rotator support is currently only for photographic composition, not for alt-az tracking - or is this incorrect)?
I'm interested to know whether anybody else is thinking about this.
Tom
Re: Alt-az mounts
Posted: 24 Sep 2023, 03:31
by Dunmunro
tlove wrote: ↑21 Sep 2023, 08:20
I am curious to know whether others have plans similar to mine. My next telescope setup will use an alt-az mount. While until recently the combination of an alt-az mount and a rotator was the province of very large professional telescopes, it is increasingly available for small telescopes, and these days makes sense for larger amateur setups (you can get away with a smaller observatory and a less chunky mount, there are no meridian flips, and polar alignment isn't an issue).
Is anybody else contemplating an alt-az mount? And is it at all likely that Astroart would potentially support an alt-az mount plus rotator combination (as I understand it the Astroart rotator support is currently only for photographic composition, not for alt-az tracking - or is this incorrect)?
I'm interested to know whether anybody else is thinking about this.
Tom
If the mount and rotator has an ASCOM driver then Astroart should support it,
Re: Alt-az mounts
Posted: 24 Sep 2023, 10:48
by fabdev
It's an interesting feature. Actually it's also easy to develop, and it's already possible to do it with a script. If you like to test the script please write me by email or PM.
If this becomes common, maybe in the future this could be part of the ASCOM standard ? So that it's automatically available for all software, just like the current implementation of the domes with the ASCOM Hub.
A last note: are all rotators available now actually able to do it well ? (e.g. sufficient resolution, smooth moving, backlash compensation, etc.) it would be interesting to know if a producer "certificates" a rotator as tracking-ready.
Fabio.