#1  
Old 03-04-2017, 09:39 AM
Fifth Element (Ushi)
Registered User

Fifth Element is offline
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Green valley nsw
Posts: 9
Single axis or dual axis drive

Hey guys,

So Ive finally worked out how to use the Orion CCD imager and my question now is in regards to a single axis or dual axis motor drive. I have an Orion Astroview 120st.

From my limited understanding single axis (RA) allows for tracking and object and the dual axis (DA) allows for centering an object??
I thought i would just get the single axis, as it would be cheaper but I would love some guidance


Any suggestions will be very much appreciated.

Many Thanks xx
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 03-04-2017, 11:28 AM
dannat's Avatar
dannat (Daniel)
daniel

dannat is offline
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Macedon shire, Australia
Posts: 3,426
is t an eq3 or eq5 mount? prob just get the RA axis drive, you can still do manual slow-mo corrections by hand yourself
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 03-04-2017, 04:18 PM
Mickoid (Michael)
Registered User

Mickoid is offline
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 1,439
I'm with Daniel on this one, you can manually adjust the declination with the slow motion control rod. You'll still need reasonable polar alignment first for all this to work properly. Good luck.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 03-04-2017, 05:11 PM
Fifth Element (Ushi)
Registered User

Fifth Element is offline
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Green valley nsw
Posts: 9
Thanks guys, much appreciated, I spoke with the dudes at Bintel today, a dual axis drive is about $200, might have to shop around and try and find a single axis cheaper, expensive hobby

This forum rocks, really appreciate your time
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 03-04-2017, 07:01 PM
doppler's Avatar
doppler (Rick)
Registered User

doppler is offline
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Mackay
Posts: 1,656
A cheap RA drive motor is one of these units. I got mine from Aust geographic shop for $50, runs of a 9v battery and has a variable speed controller. Not sure who sells them in Aust at the moment but they are easy to find on ebay. Search google images for RA drives and you should find a link to a supplier.
Attached Thumbnails
Click for full-size image (SW20998_ml.jpg)
21.6 KB14 views
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 03-04-2017, 09:12 PM
Fifth Element (Ushi)
Registered User

Fifth Element is offline
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Green valley nsw
Posts: 9
Lightbulb

Thanks Doppler, I did see one of these on the Astroshop site for $69. Do you find it easy to control without the hand-held device? Is the tracking speed ok? I was unsure, so any advice would be great
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 03-04-2017, 10:22 PM
doppler's Avatar
doppler (Rick)
Registered User

doppler is offline
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Mackay
Posts: 1,656
For what it is it does a pretty good job as far as short focal length and wide field goes. The motor fits onto the ra slow motion shaft and there is a small knob you turn to fine tune the tracking speed. You need to see if the supplied coupling is the same diameter as your slow motion shaft, but you can get various sizes on ebay if needed. It is a cheap way to have a dabble in some astrophotography and a bit of tracking makes visual a lot easier as well especially at higher magnifications. As with any tracking you still need to learn how to get good polar alignment.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +10. The time is now 08:27 PM.

Powered by vBulletin Version 3.8.7 | Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Advertisement
Testar
Advertisement
Bintel
Advertisement