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Re: Keypad problem ?

Dominik Wos <dominik@...>
 

Joe,

Here you are two images. Sorry for their poor quality. On the first
one you will see the plastic (telephony ?) keypad with a wire
connected to one of its paths. On the second one the wire is
connected directly to the board.

http://www.astrophotography.pl/testy/ap1200/ap1200_keypad_p0.jpg

http://www.astrophotography.pl/testy/ap1200/ap1200_keypad_p1.jpg

Do you know where I could buy such a telephony keypad to have it just
in case of next problems with mine (to come - according to my
neighbour) ?

All the best from Poland,
Trzymaj sie Jozefie.

Dominik


--- In ap-gto@yahoogroups.com, "Joseph Zeglinski" <J.Zeglinski@...>
wrote:

Thanks Dominik,

Are there two PCB's inside - one is the keypad, and the other,
the
processor and display? I think Marj may be wondering if you had a
problem just
with the keypad PCB ( which is made by another supplier), or the
processor
PCB, if there is more than one board inside.

The picture will put everyone's mind at rest - or maybe something
to watch out
for, in future. Anyway, it will help all of us, with a potential
problem
someday.

Thanks, and dobra noc,
Joe


----- Original Message -----
From: "Dominik Wos" <dominik@...>
To: <ap-gto@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 7:08 PM
Subject: [ap-gto] Re: Keypad problem ?


Hi Joe,

OK, I will once again dismantle the keypad to take some pictures
and
will post them on the Group. You will see the repair and what is
inside the keypad.

All the best,
Dominik

--- In ap-gto@yahoogroups.com, "Joseph Zeglinski" <J.Zeglinski@>
wrote:

Hi Dominik,

Glad to hear that all is well, after the fix.

For the rest of us, perhaps, you could clarify, just in case
we
run into a
similar problem. In anticipation of other's questions, (Marj was
not quite
clear on your post), perhaps we have a very slight
misunderstanding
in
translation - when you mention "silver" traces.

I have never seen "silver" used in PCB contacts or traces on
circuit
boards - they are either gold plated or beryllium plated
contacts,
and circuit
traces were, until recently perhaps, always lead/tin solder. I
wonder where
the "silver" comes in to play. Unless, silver is being used
somehow
to replace
solder, in order to meet Europe's ROHS pollution standard - an
expensive
solution, but this board likely predates that requirement.

Also, circuit traces, even if they are the "old solder
standard", are
almost always covered by a green layer of protective "conformal
coating", on
good quality circuit board products, which must be standard for
Astro Physics
products, surely.

So, I don't quite understand where your friend found
anything "silver". Is
it possible that he is using our Polish term "srebny", which
describes things
that are "silver coloured", in referring to the "colour" of
solder
(traces)?
Even so, I am surprised he could get to the solder trace without
some effort
to scrape away the green conformal coating, painted over it.

Be that as it may, it would appear that there was a possible
bad spot in
the "wave soldering" of the board, leaving a short segment of the
original
"copper trace" on the etched PCB exposed, which obviously has
corroded over
the last 5 years, or more. This break in the trace caused a loss
of
some
signal in the Keypad circuit, which your friend expertly cleaned
and
resoldered - he has a good eye to have spotted it. Now everything
is operating
normally.
If so, I wonder about the quality checks made by the original
keypad
manufacturer.

Have I got this right?

Anyway, I probably just made a short story ... long ;-)
Best regards,
Joe (a.k.a. Jozef)


----- Original Message -----
From: "Dominik Wos" <dominik@>
To: <ap-gto@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 5:27 PM
Subject: [ap-gto] Re: Keypad problem ?


Czesc Jozefie,

U mnie wszystko OK. Dzieki :-)

So where the problem was ? According to my neighbour the
plastic
keypad which is inside is very sensitive to corrosion (he
manyfactures electronics for agiculture machines and uses this
kind
of products). The paths are made from silver. Accourding to him
it is
a rather common problem esspecialy that I bought my mount
second
hand
and I belive it is 2002.



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Re: Balance Procedure

Dick Steinberg <steinberg@...>
 

I have successfully used the following:

1. Slew the mount to the park 1 position (with locked clutches).
2. Precisely note the positions of the setting circles.
3. For each axis, loosen the clutches and balance without disturbing
the positions of the setting circles.
4. After each axis is balanced, use its setting circle to return it
manually to its prior position and lock the clutches.
5. Voila!

Regards,
Dick Steinberg











--- In ap-gto@yahoogroups.com, "spcrichey" <drichey@...> wrote:

What's the procedure for rebalancing. If I have very good polar
alignment and a good
pointing accuracy, but need to loosen the clutces and reblance the
load due to adding
equipment, how do I maintain my pointing model.
Re: Balance Procedure

Edd Weninger
 

My AP900 is very tolerant of imbalance, so I don't bother even when
changing from a 1 1/4" eyepiece to a binoviewer with 2 Radians on my
AP155.

Don't know what equipment you're changing, but try it without re-
balancing.

--- In ap-gto@yahoogroups.com, "spcrichey" <drichey@...> wrote:

What's the procedure for rebalancing. If I have very good polar
alignment and a good
pointing accuracy, but need to loosen the clutces and reblance the
load due to adding
equipment, how do I maintain my pointing model.
Re: AP900 Dec backlash

Ray Gralak <rgr@...>
 

Jeff,

PulseGuide, which is what John used, does not use the ASCOM driver. PulseGuide
talks directly to the mount.

-Ray

-----Original Message-----
From: ap-gto@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ap-gto@yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf Of Jeff
Sent: Saturday, April 21, 2007 6:27 PM
To: ap-gto@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [ap-gto] AP900 Dec backlash

John..

By any chance were you using The AP Ascom driver?

Fyi, with the new 1200, after installing the Ascom driver and running
PemPro, I ended up needing a ton of backlash compensation.
I tried compensating this w/ the handpad setting which was very odd.

Turns out the default backlash compensentation _setting_ in
the ASCOM AP
driver was like 25, which it then loads into the controller.

(I.e. after I installed the driver, the "default value in the
UI" was like
25 secs. This didnt show up in the handpad, but visually in
the eyepiece it
was very obvious. It took me like two weeks to figure out
what was causing
the odd behaviour with the 1200. Powercycling the mount cleared the
problem, but whenever I wanted to control the mount w/
software I'd get the
bad backlash.)

However, this was in RA. Dec was zero, iirc.

Just something to check.

If there was alot of backlash, I'd expect it to be noticible
with the "hand"
test. But I could be wrong.


_____

From: ap-gto@yahoogroups.com
<mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com>
[mailto:ap-gto@yahoogroups.com
<mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf Of
John Winfield
Sent: Saturday, April 21, 2007 2:52 PM
To: ap-gto@yahoogroups.com <mailto:ap-gto%40yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [ap-gto] AP900 Dec backlash

Hi,

I've recently bought a used AP900 and just ran the backlash tests in
Ray's Pulseguide app.

I found a load of Dec backlash - so much that the tests didn't reverse
direction at all.
I needed a backlash setting of 87 in the driver to correct for the
backlash.

Today I went to follow the instructions on the AP website to adjust
the Dec worm adjustment (using the advice of finger pressure rather
than a hammer!).

The first thing I noticed was that the grub screw locking the hex bolt
in place was still present, so presumably the adjustment had never
been done before since the instructions say to remove and discard this
screw.
However, although I could loosen the grub screw, I couldn't remove it
completely - it unscrewed to the point of contacting the Dec motor
housing but I couldn't get it out completely. Is there a trick to
removing it?

Secondly, once I had loosened the bolt and retightened with finger
pressure pushing on the motor housing, the instructions said to remove
the shaft cover and ensure the shaft could be rotated by hand without
binding. However, I couldn't remove the shaft cover.
Does it screw on, or is it a push fit? Any tips for removing it
without marring?

Thanks,

John

__________ NOD32 2209 (20070421) Information __________

This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system.
http://www.eset.com <http://www.eset.com>






Re: AP900 Dec backlash

John Winfield
 

negligible. As to the cover, if it is the same as mine and is about
1/2" in diameter and domed, then it threads out / unscrews normally.
Excellent - just the info I was after, thanks Rick.



--- In ap-gto@yahoogroups.com, "Rick K" <JunkMailGoesHere@...> wrote:

I am assuming you managed to get the mesh correct and the backlash is
negligible. As to the cover, if it is the same as mine and is about
1/2" in diameter and domed, then it threads out / unscrews normally.
If it is really tight, it might need some firmer persuasion using a
pair of pliers with some strips of leather or rubber to protect the
finish of the cap.

Rick

--- In ap-gto@yahoogroups.com, "John Winfield" <winfij@> wrote:

Hi,

I've recently bought a used AP900 and just ran the backlash tests in
Ray's Pulseguide app.

I found a load of Dec backlash - so much that the tests didn't reverse
direction at all.
I needed a backlash setting of 87 in the driver to correct for the
backlash.

Today I went to follow the instructions on the AP website to adjust
the Dec worm adjustment (using the advice of finger pressure rather
than a hammer!).

The first thing I noticed was that the grub screw locking the hex bolt
in place was still present, so presumably the adjustment had never
been done before since the instructions say to remove and discard this
screw.
However, although I could loosen the grub screw, I couldn't remove it
completely - it unscrewed to the point of contacting the Dec motor
housing but I couldn't get it out completely. Is there a trick to
removing it?

Secondly, once I had loosened the bolt and retightened with finger
pressure pushing on the motor housing, the instructions said to remove
the shaft cover and ensure the shaft could be rotated by hand without
binding. However, I couldn't remove the shaft cover.
Does it screw on, or is it a push fit? Any tips for removing it
without marring?

Thanks,

John
Re: AP900 Dec backlash

observe_m13
 

I am assuming you managed to get the mesh correct and the backlash is
negligible. As to the cover, if it is the same as mine and is about
1/2" in diameter and domed, then it threads out / unscrews normally.
If it is really tight, it might need some firmer persuasion using a
pair of pliers with some strips of leather or rubber to protect the
finish of the cap.

Rick

--- In ap-gto@yahoogroups.com, "John Winfield" <winfij@...> wrote:

Hi,

I've recently bought a used AP900 and just ran the backlash tests in
Ray's Pulseguide app.

I found a load of Dec backlash - so much that the tests didn't reverse
direction at all.
I needed a backlash setting of 87 in the driver to correct for the
backlash.

Today I went to follow the instructions on the AP website to adjust
the Dec worm adjustment (using the advice of finger pressure rather
than a hammer!).

The first thing I noticed was that the grub screw locking the hex bolt
in place was still present, so presumably the adjustment had never
been done before since the instructions say to remove and discard this
screw.
However, although I could loosen the grub screw, I couldn't remove it
completely - it unscrewed to the point of contacting the Dec motor
housing but I couldn't get it out completely. Is there a trick to
removing it?

Secondly, once I had loosened the bolt and retightened with finger
pressure pushing on the motor housing, the instructions said to remove
the shaft cover and ensure the shaft could be rotated by hand without
binding. However, I couldn't remove the shaft cover.
Does it screw on, or is it a push fit? Any tips for removing it
without marring?

Thanks,

John
Re: AP900 Dec backlash

Jeff <jlc@...>
 

John..

By any chance were you using The AP Ascom driver?

Fyi, with the new 1200, after installing the Ascom driver and running
PemPro, I ended up needing a ton of backlash compensation.
I tried compensating this w/ the handpad setting which was very odd.

Turns out the default backlash compensentation _setting_ in the ASCOM AP
driver was like 25, which it then loads into the controller.

(I.e. after I installed the driver, the "default value in the UI" was like
25 secs. This didnt show up in the handpad, but visually in the eyepiece it
was very obvious. It took me like two weeks to figure out what was causing
the odd behaviour with the 1200. Powercycling the mount cleared the
problem, but whenever I wanted to control the mount w/ software I'd get the
bad backlash.)

However, this was in RA. Dec was zero, iirc.

Just something to check.

If there was alot of backlash, I'd expect it to be noticible with the "hand"
test. But I could be wrong.




_____

From: ap-gto@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ap-gto@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
John Winfield
Sent: Saturday, April 21, 2007 2:52 PM
To: ap-gto@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [ap-gto] AP900 Dec backlash




Hi,

I've recently bought a used AP900 and just ran the backlash tests in
Ray's Pulseguide app.

I found a load of Dec backlash - so much that the tests didn't reverse
direction at all.
I needed a backlash setting of 87 in the driver to correct for the
backlash.

Today I went to follow the instructions on the AP website to adjust
the Dec worm adjustment (using the advice of finger pressure rather
than a hammer!).

The first thing I noticed was that the grub screw locking the hex bolt
in place was still present, so presumably the adjustment had never
been done before since the instructions say to remove and discard this
screw.
However, although I could loosen the grub screw, I couldn't remove it
completely - it unscrewed to the point of contacting the Dec motor
housing but I couldn't get it out completely. Is there a trick to
removing it?

Secondly, once I had loosened the bolt and retightened with finger
pressure pushing on the motor housing, the instructions said to remove
the shaft cover and ensure the shaft could be rotated by hand without
binding. However, I couldn't remove the shaft cover.
Does it screw on, or is it a push fit? Any tips for removing it
without marring?

Thanks,

John





__________ NOD32 2209 (20070421) Information __________

This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system.
http://www.eset.com
AP900 Dec backlash

John Winfield
 

Hi,

I've recently bought a used AP900 and just ran the backlash tests in
Ray's Pulseguide app.

I found a load of Dec backlash - so much that the tests didn't reverse
direction at all.
I needed a backlash setting of 87 in the driver to correct for the
backlash.

Today I went to follow the instructions on the AP website to adjust
the Dec worm adjustment (using the advice of finger pressure rather
than a hammer!).

The first thing I noticed was that the grub screw locking the hex bolt
in place was still present, so presumably the adjustment had never
been done before since the instructions say to remove and discard this
screw.
However, although I could loosen the grub screw, I couldn't remove it
completely - it unscrewed to the point of contacting the Dec motor
housing but I couldn't get it out completely. Is there a trick to
removing it?

Secondly, once I had loosened the bolt and retightened with finger
pressure pushing on the motor housing, the instructions said to remove
the shaft cover and ensure the shaft could be rotated by hand without
binding. However, I couldn't remove the shaft cover.
Does it screw on, or is it a push fit? Any tips for removing it
without marring?

Thanks,

John
Re: Brightest Comet in the Sky -- Don't Miss It!

Geoff Carstairs <geoffc@...>
 

Dennis that is brilliant. It really gives a sense of how fast that comet
was moving.
Well done.

Geoff

Dennis Persyk wrote:


C/2007 E2 (Lovejoy) is nearing its peak on light curve -- see
http://www.aerith.net/comet/catalog/2007E2/2007E2.html
<http://www.aerith.net/comet/catalog/2007E2/2007E2.html>

This is presently the brightest comet in the sky (save for a few
lucky souls near the equator who might still be able to view
2P/Encke). Better grab a view or an image now, before it fades into
oblivion.

It is racing though Aquila at 8.8 arc seconds per minute at
magnitude ~ 7.6. I was limited to 30 second exposures when I imaged
it to avoid blur.

I "think" I saw (using averted vision and averted imagination) the
comet in my 4-inch refractor piggybacked on the 6-inch E-160 f/3.3
astrograph. I synthesized a simulated eyepiece view for my web page
linked below.

I was baffled for quite a while looking for the "missing star", V606
Aquilae, that was depicted prominently in my SkyMap Pro screen shot
as being very bright but was missing in my image -- even though all
the other stars were right where they should be. How could I not
image a bright star??? The mystery (for those that haven't figured
it out yet) is solved on the web page.

Let me know what you think of the movie. It really was hard for me
to get the hour's worth of frames to look about the same. The comet
was rising in the sky (and thus getting brighter as the atmospheric
extinction was decreasing); at the same time, the sun was rising, so
the sky glow was increasing. Balancing the two effects to achieve
consistent histograms drove me nuts! I've probably invested ten
hours in image processing and composing the web page.

Images, associated data, eyepiece view, imaging notes and *movie*
all at
http://home.att.net/~dpersyk/new.htm
<http://home.att.net/%7Edpersyk/new.htm>

Please take a look and give me some feedback. This was quite a
processing challenge for me. Thank you for visiting my site.

Clear skies,

Dennis Persyk
Igloo Observatory Home Page http://dpersyk.home.att.net
<http://dpersyk.home.att.net>
Hampshire, IL
Brightest Comet in the Sky – Don’t Miss It!

Dennis Persyk <dpersyk@...>
 

C/2007 E2 (Lovejoy) is nearing its peak on light curve – see
http://www.aerith.net/comet/catalog/2007E2/2007E2.html

This is presently the brightest comet in the sky (save for a few
lucky souls near the equator who might still be able to view
2P/Encke). Better grab a view or an image now, before it fades into
oblivion.

It is racing though Aquila at 8.8 arc seconds per minute at
magnitude ~ 7.6. I was limited to 30 second exposures when I imaged
it to avoid blur.

I "think" I saw (using averted vision and averted imagination) the
comet in my 4-inch refractor piggybacked on the 6-inch E-160 f/3.3
astrograph. I synthesized a simulated eyepiece view for my web page
linked below.

I was baffled for quite a while looking for the "missing star", V606
Aquilae, that was depicted prominently in my SkyMap Pro screen shot
as being very bright but was missing in my image – even though all
the other stars were right where they should be. How could I not
image a bright star??? The mystery (for those that haven't figured
it out yet) is solved on the web page.

Let me know what you think of the movie. It really was hard for me
to get the hour's worth of frames to look about the same. The comet
was rising in the sky (and thus getting brighter as the atmospheric
extinction was decreasing); at the same time, the sun was rising, so
the sky glow was increasing. Balancing the two effects to achieve
consistent histograms drove me nuts! I've probably invested ten
hours in image processing and composing the web page.

Images, associated data, eyepiece view, imaging notes and *movie*
all at
http://home.att.net/~dpersyk/new.htm

Please take a look and give me some feedback. This was quite a
processing challenge for me. Thank you for visiting my site.

Clear skies,

Dennis Persyk
Igloo Observatory Home Page http://dpersyk.home.att.net
Hampshire, IL
Balance Procedure

spcrichey <drichey@...>
 

What's the procedure for rebalancing. If I have very good polar alignment and a good
pointing accuracy, but need to loosen the clutces and reblance the load due to adding
equipment, how do I maintain my pointing model.
Operating Temperature

spcrichey <drichey@...>
 

My AP900 is in a fiberglass observatory and in the summer it can get quite hot, well over
100ºF. Is this a problem for the equipment?
Re: Advice please: Standard verus Rotating Pier Adapter

observe_m13
 

I call it simply the RA axis or more usually RA section. The altitude
plates and azimuth adjusters are part of this section. The other piece
is the Dec section or Dec axis. Pretty basic.

Rick.

--- In ap-gto@yahoogroups.com, "Joseph Zeglinski" <J.Zeglinski@...> wrote:

Yes, but I think you were right.

A lot of discussion about AP mounts eventually gets into
referring to the
"base section". Quite often I see discussions on Astro Mart, and
other places,
and they refer to the fork. The new fork versus the old fork, the mount
assembly instructions in the manual, the sales and parts catalog -
the term
comes up quite often. I think it was descriptive, but perhaps an
unfortunate
duplicate of something else.

I just wish that AP had selected some other term to name that
part, a long
time ago. Now I dare not use the term "fork", lest perhaps someone
new to the
product, gets momentarily confused with "fork mounts for
telescopes", instead
of "fork mounts for telescope mount axles".

Indeed, it would seem that long standing members of the group
and owners
of an AP mount might possibly not be aware of the "fork" term used
this way.
At least this discussion leaves behind some hard copy in the
archives, for
newcomers.

Just wanted to set the record straight.

Joe


----- Original Message -----
From: <kgkirkley@...>
To: <ap-gto@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2007 12:09 PM
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Re: Advice please: Standard verus Rotating
Pier Adapter



Joe:
I didn't mean to have things get complicated.

I think "Polar Axis Assembly" would suffice.

Kent Kirkley


**************************************
See what's free at
http://www.aol.com.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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Re: Advice please: Standard verus Rotating Pier Adapter

Joe Zeglinski
 

Yes, but I think you were right.

A lot of discussion about AP mounts eventually gets into referring to the
"base section". Quite often I see discussions on Astro Mart, and other places,
and they refer to the fork. The new fork versus the old fork, the mount
assembly instructions in the manual, the sales and parts catalog - the term
comes up quite often. I think it was descriptive, but perhaps an unfortunate
duplicate of something else.

I just wish that AP had selected some other term to name that part, a long
time ago. Now I dare not use the term "fork", lest perhaps someone new to the
product, gets momentarily confused with "fork mounts for telescopes", instead
of "fork mounts for telescope mount axles".

Indeed, it would seem that long standing members of the group and owners
of an AP mount might possibly not be aware of the "fork" term used this way.
At least this discussion leaves behind some hard copy in the archives, for
newcomers.

Just wanted to set the record straight.

Joe

----- Original Message -----
From: <kgkirkley@aol.com>
To: <ap-gto@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2007 12:09 PM
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Re: Advice please: Standard verus Rotating Pier Adapter



Joe:
I didn't mean to have things get complicated.

I think "Polar Axis Assembly" would suffice.

Kent Kirkley


**************************************
See what's free at
http://www.aol.com.






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Yahoo! Groups Links
Re: Advice please: Standard verus Rotating Pier Adapter

Joe Zeglinski
 

Hi Tom,

Yes, I forgot about that error.

I was probably thinking about the TOTAL weight of the mount, if I were to
lift it fully RA + DEC assembled (minus weights and bar). That is almost the
same as my G11 mount (minus it's weights and bar).

Though that seems strange - the G11 looks so puny compared to the AP900 -
the AP900 is more massive looking, more load bearing surface, yet a lot of the
excess aluminum has been milled away.

The choice is between doing "one heavy lift" (as for the G11) from house
to yard pier, or make two trips and save your back. That, along with the
better load surface, and of course, extra 10 lbs of scope load capacity,
swayed me to upgrade. Naturally, there were many other AP performance and
quality reasons.

Joe

----- Original Message -----
From: "r9825" <w11806@email.mot.com>
To: <ap-gto@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2007 11:49 AM
Subject: [ap-gto] Re: Advice please: Standard verus Rotating Pier Adapter


Not sure where you are getting 35 lbs from. The RA aixs which includes
what you call the "fork" is listed as 26.5 lbs. The 900 mount is very
easy to carry and setup.

Tom





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Re: Advice please: Standard verus Rotating Pier Adapter

Auchter Tom-W11806
 

Not sure where you are getting 35 lbs from. The RA aixs which includes
what you call the "fork" is listed as 26.5 lbs. The 900 mount is very
easy to carry and setup.

Tom
Re: Advice please: Standard verus Rotating Pier Adapter

Joe Zeglinski
 

Hi Kent,

Yes, I dislike using the term "fork", for this AP mount's part, but that
is what they call the "pair of vertical plates and bottom plate" that support
the Polar axle. I guess it really looks like and serves as a "fork for the
assembly", but not a "fork mount for a telescope". That really confuses
discussions about mounts, since we use the short form "fork" to imply "mount".

What do you think would be a better term to describe the base plate with
the two vertical side plates? Perhaps AP might accept using a different term
to describe their "base fork", from now on.

Alternatively, we could simply change the part's terminology to a "yoke" -
or will that now imply a form of "horse shoe" telescope mount?

How about replacing the AP "base fork" terminology with the word "BENDIX"
(if that is the correct spelling)?
If I recall correctly, there is a "fork-like" sliding part on the shaft of
every automobile's starter motor, that momentarily pushes the small starter
pinion into the main gear of the car's transmission, when you crank the
engine - so maybe we can suggest that AP change their confusing term, to an AP
mount's "Bendix".
Any auto mechanics out there that can correct me on this?

Other suggestions?

Joe

----- Original Message -----
From: <kgkirkley@aol.com>
To: <ap-gto@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 11:31 PM
Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Re: Advice please: Standard verus Rotating Pier Adapter



In a message dated 4/17/07 8:48:38 PM, J.Zeglinski@rogers.com writes:


The AP900 RA with fork is 35 lbs.
'with fork' ??? What fork?

German equatorial mounts don't have forks, unless you are referring to the
mount's side plates.

Kent Kirkley



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Re: Advice please: Standard verus Rotating Pier Adapter

Kent Kirkley
 

In a message dated 4/18/07 10:29:14 AM, J.Zeglinski@rogers.com writes:


Hi Kent,

    Yes, I dislike using the term "fork", for this AP mount's part, but that
is what they call the "pair of vertical plates and bottom plate" that
support
the Polar axle. I guess it really looks like and serves as a "fork for the
assembly", but not a "fork mount for a telescope". That really confuses
discussions about mounts, since we use the short form "fork" to imply
"mount".

    What do you think would be a better term to describe the base plate with
the two vertical side plates? Perhaps AP might accept using a different term
to describe their "base fork", from now on.

    Alternatively, we could simply change the part's terminology to a "yoke"
-
or will that now imply a form of "horse shoe" telescope mount?

    How about replacing the AP "base fork" terminology with the word
"BENDIX"
(if that is the correct spelling)?
If I recall correctly, there is a "fork-like" sliding part on the shaft of
every automobile's starter motor, that momentarily pushes the small starter
pinion into the main gear of the car's transmission, when you crank the
engine - so maybe we can suggest that AP change their confusing term, to an
AP
mount's "Bendix".
Any auto mechanics out there that can correct me on this?

Other suggestions?

Joe
Joe:
I didn't mean to have things get complicated.

I think "Polar Axis Assembly" would suffice.

Kent Kirkley


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Re: Advice please: Standard verus Rotating Pier Adapter

Joe Zeglinski
 

Hi Kent,

The way I figured it - the G11 head, complete, is 39 lbs, and no fun
lifting into position.
The AP900 RA with fork is 35 lbs. Add the RPA (about 5 lbs), and we are back
into the G11 weight category, which I was eagerly trying to get away from. It
still is an even possibility, but hauling the RPA around attached to the RA
assembly, is a minus.

Joe



Joe:
Roland even suggests that one can leave the mount attached to the RPA and
remove them both as a unit. If the pier is permanent, you can just replace
'the
unit' into the pier and probably keep polar alignment.

Kent Kirkley
Re: Re-run Made in America segment with Astro-Physics

Joe Zeglinski
 

Rick,

I've spent more than a couple of hours going through the messages
containing the elusive "Ratzenberger" to find the magic link. Email me the
link off line, if you have it.

Thanks,
Joe

----- Original Message -----
From: "Rick K" <JunkMailGoesHere@shaw.ca>
To: <ap-gto@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 8:56 PM
Subject: [ap-gto] Re: Re-run Made in America segment with Astro-Physics


The link is supplied in a message in the ap-ug messages. I used
skyinsight search (advanced) and found it earlier today. The link
appears to be up.


--- In ap-gto@yahoogroups.com, "Joseph Zeglinski" <J.Zeglinski@...> wrote:

Hi Rick,

Whose site was the FTP download link? The stations or this
group's, an in
what section (Files, Photo)?
Anyway, I did a general search on "Ratzenberger", and saw all the
messages of
many others wanting to see the program, but having no access to the
US TV
channel. Interesting "legality" discussions, as well. I wonder, if a
copy were
on the AP install CD, if that could be considered "private viewing"
to pass
legal muster.

I guess I am out of luck of seeing it, otherwise. Oh well, maybe
the flic
wasn't that big a deal, after all.

Joe

----- Original Message -----
From: "Rick K" <JunkMailGoesHere@...>
To: <ap-gto@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 9:54 AM
Subject: [ap-gto] Re: Re-run Made in America segment with Astro-Physics


It was made available for ftp download a month or so ago. I have no
idea if it is still available. Search the archived messages for the
address. Maybe it is still up on that website.

--- In ap-gto@yahoogroups.com, "Joseph Zeglinski" <J.Zeglinski@>
wrote:

Hi,

For the benefit of those of us NOT living in the USA, and not
having
access to this TRAVEL channel ... Could some record the AP movie
segment, and
put "John Ratzenberger's Made in America TV program", in this
group's PHOTO
section, for the rest of us to enjoy. That might circumvent any
"legal" issues
AP might have with their putting it on the AP web site.
Otherwise, put it on U-TUBE, and tell us where to find it.

Thanks,
Joe


----- Original Message -----
From: "Marj" <marj@>
To: <ap-ug@yahoogroups.com>
Cc: <ap-gto@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, April 16, 2007 4:13 PM
Subject: [ap-gto] Re-run Made in America segment with Astro-Physics


John Ratzenberger's Made in America TV program on the Travel
channel will
rebroadcast the segment featuring Astro-Physics on Tuesday, April
17 and
Saturday, April 21. Please check your local listings for broadcast
times.
The first company profiled on this segment is Sub-Zero
refrigerators, so
look for Sub-Zero in the program description.

Check these links:
http://travel.discovery.com/tv-schedules/series.html?paid=26.14688.116314.25521.x
http://www.astro-physics.com/whatsnew/madeinamerica.htm


If you are attending NEAF next week and haven't seen the program,
please
stop by our booth for a private showing on our computer. We look
forward to
seeing alot of you at NEAF!


Marj Christen
Astro-Physics, Inc
11250 Forest Hills Road
Machesney Park, IL 61115
Phone: 815-282-1513
Fax: 815-282-9847
www.astro-physics.com
Please include this e-mail with your response.







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