Platform for dob and Argo

[telecasterguru]

I am wondering about putting a platform under my dob to track and take some planetary and lunar images.
Is this possible with the Argo that is connected to my dob?
If it can be done does any one have a plan on how to make one?
Thanks

[gary]

Hi Frank,

Thanks for the phone call yesterday and great to see you have posted here
as we chatted about. Thanks for also recently purchasing an Argo Navis.

Argo Navis will work in conjunction with every type of equatorial platform.

One commercial platform that is very popular with many of our customers
is the one out of Equatorial Platforms in Grass Valley, California.
See http://astronomy-mall.com/regular/products/eq_platforms/
In fact, the owner and designer of Equatorial Platforms, Tom Osypowski, uses an
Argo Navis himself.

This is some of the things Tom says about Argo Navis -



I will give you a little background about using Argo Navis on a platform.
Using the Argo Navis on a platform is easy. You perform a two star alignment
and after that, there is no requirement to re-align.

Argo Navis has an inbuilt equatorial table timer which you can start and
stop and restart. Once the table reaches the end of its travel, you can take
all the time you want to reset the table and restart the equatorial table timer.
The only requirement is that you start the timer when the table starts again from its
starting position.

Argo Navis even features a programmable in-built audible
alarm that gives off a beep when it is time for you to reset your table.

There is even a display that shows both the elapsed time the table
has been running for and the remaining time to the end of its travel.

To set the mount type on your Argo Navis to an Equatorial platform,
dial up MODE SETUP, SETUP MOUNT and use the dial to select
EQ TABLE EXACT.

Once you have established that the mount type is EQ TABLE EXACT, two
new menus appear in the menu hierarchy's. Firstly, there is SET EQ TABLE
beneath MODE SETUP and there is MODE EQ TABLE at the top
level of the menu hierarchy. See your User Manual on pp 101-102
and pp 54-56 for the details on using those menus.

Recommend you also consider joining this Equatorial Platforms User's Group
hosted on Yahoo -
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/eqplatforms/
Apart from the numerous posting, the Links and Files section has additional
resource for DIY platforms.

Hopefully some IIS forum members who own or built platforms may be
able to offer some additional suggestions.

Good luck with the project! :thumbsup:

Best Regards

Gary Kopff
Managing Director
Wildcard Innovations Pty. Ltd.
20 Kilmory Place, Mount Kuring-Gai
NSW. 2080. Australia
Phone +61-2-9457-9049
Fax +61-2-9457-9593
sales@wildcard-innovations.com.au
http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au

[JethroB76]

Plenty of ideas in here too
http://www.biophysik.uni-freiburg.de/Reiner/ATM/Plattform/Plattform_e.html

[telecasterguru]

Gary,
Thanks for all the information and all the help.
I will check out all the different plans and articles on making platforms and have a go.