Gday Fahim
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but I have read that this should be powered from a seperate source to the main telescope power source. Is this correct? I believe it has to do with back interference
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The above is good practice, but if you have a really large battery, it probably wont hurt to run both heater and scope off it.
( As long as the supply lines all terminate at the battery terminals )
Preferably though, have a dedicated source for yr scope/cameras etc
and a seperate battery for a dewheater ( if its PWM ).
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Is there an off the shelf project kit that I could use, and program to my needs. Preferably something that can be programmed via a simple PC link, not requiring a separate reprogrammer etc.
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There are no ( cheap ) off the shelf controllers i know of that are programmable. However, i have made various units up that are just std passive ( ie controlled by a pot ) or PIC based ( thermostatic control )
In the PIC variety, there are true PICs ( that require coding in assembler, or some form of compiler ) and also need a dedicated programmer
or, for simple stuff, there is a brilliant little system called PICAXE.
This is readily available in OZ,
The programming software is free, and the hardware for programming is two resistors and a diode. It runs off a std serial port and is very easy to use.
If all you want is a simple thermostic unit, you could probably even build it on breadboard.
Andrew