Speaking as a software developer and microcontroller programmer, I think the future for embedded control systems (like GOTO mounts) is going to migrate towards Android on top of Linux. A powerful, gum

There are microcontroller peripheral support chips (dedicated task microcontroller) that do all of the Ethernet communications and this is a common approach for doing Ethernet with microcontrollers. T

I hope it's clear that Adam said that "the tables have turned", not I! I greatly prefer servo motors over hot, inefficient steppers and also think that the choice of RS-232 is a sound one, for now and

Astromist does this and is available for iOS. Astromist for PalmOS can be run under StyleTap on most Android devices. That is what I use right now. The developer of Astromist is working on an Android

Argh. I just realized that Astromist doesn't (yet) offer right-angle flipped views for its polar finder assistant. I'll make the suggestion to Cyrille, the developer. Christopher Erickson Consulting E

And some hard drives can have problems at high altitudes because of the thin air and their dependence on air bearings for controlling the height of the heads over the drive platters. http://www.instan

80% or so of your body heat is lost through your head so wearing good head coverings is important in cold, windy environments. Here in Hawaii when I work up on the summit of Mauna Kea (14,000'), I hav

Losmandy counterweight shafts are also stainless. There are many blends of stainless steel and all of them contain iron. However only about 30% of all SS manufactured has at least some magnetic proper

Same old routine, do NOT click on that link! Paul (and anyone who clicked that link) needs to run a full anti-virus and malware scan and change their Yahoo and email passwords. Christopher Erickson Co

You will notice that this particular exploit is morphing. Originally there wasn't any subject and later the sender's name was used as the subject and now a time/date is used as a subject. I conclude t

My old machining reference books refer to them as the worm wheel and the worm gear. -Christopher Erickson sent wirelessly from my Android phone and a teeny-tiny keyboard by a guy with big hands! [Non-

LOL Of course one of the two looks like a squirming worm and the other does not... Christopher Erickson Consulting Engineer Summit Kinetics Waikoloa, HI 96738 www.summitkinetics.com

If the same USB-serial adapter and computer absolutely 100% work with a different mount then: It could be a popped RS-232 driver chip in the GTOCP3. Electrostatic discharge can do that. Are you the or

The GTOCP3 box is amazingly rugged and unless the outside of the TOCP3 chassis is obviously damaged, it is unlikely that the inside is damaged. ESD damage to the serial driver chip is an exception. I

The 1200SPA (standard pier adapter) should do what you want. "The adapter plate fits into your Astro-Physics Portable Pier and is bolted from the side or bolts on top of a flat surface. In late 2007,

As part of my personal learning curve, I have my 900GTO/GTOCP3/Q/4.17 set up next to my desk. No OTA or counterweight shaft. Four days ago I used the hand controller to set the tracking rate to "stop"

Excellent news! Thanks! Christopher Erickson Consulting Engineer Summit Kinetics Waikoloa, HI 96738 www.summitkinetics.com

The CP3 detects when power is going down and quickly saves the worm position (and probably some other stuff) to NVRAM before power is completely lost. Pretty-cool feature. Christopher Erickson Consult

Stupid question time. I have PemPro 2.7 Build 132. I have a 900GTO mount. I have an SBIG STF-8300M camera. I just upgraded the mount from a Q-chip to a T-chip. Before I upgraded I used PEMPro to downl

Elegant solution! Thanks! Christopher Erickson Consulting Engineer Summit Kinetics Waikoloa, HI 96738 www.summitkinetics.com