Dob Driver II

[fok4tel]

Hi All,
Does anyone have experience with Dob Driver II from Tech2000? I would like to know whether it will be jerking under high magnification as viewed in the eyepiece, due to the stepper motor. Also, most folks will say it will center an object under low magnification for an hour. What's your experience?
Your feedback is very much appreciated.

Thanks.

Clear skies,
Josh

[glend (Glen)]

Are you sure they are still in business? The webpages are no longer available. Looking at past reviews the system seems to require a new base be made but that may depend on the model of scope. What about ServoCat?

[fok4tel]

Yes they are still in business.

http://www.tech2000astronomy.com/dobdriver/

They offer many types of mounting to suit various scopes. ServoCat is more expensive compared to this one

[astroron (Ron)]

Originally Posted by glend

Are you sure they are still in business? The webpages are no longer available. Looking at past reviews the system seems to require a new base be made but that may depend on the model of scope. What about ServoCat?

I have the Servo Cat Junior which works very well on my 16" Dob.
At the time of purchase about four months ago,it was US $1333:00
That was without a ground board which must be perfectly round which you can make yourself orget someone to make for you here in Aus.
Mine cost an extra $100,00 made here.
With exchange rate the final cost and the ground board was AU$2461.83
Looking at the prices on the site,they are equal to Servocat.
Cheers

[Satchmo]

Servocat and Dob driver are very different beasts.

Servocat you will need to spend an extra $1000 for encoders and Argo Navis - if you dont have them the whole rig will be no change from $4K.

Dob driver is an old stepper drive system where you train the drive to go at a suitable rate for where you are pointing and slew rate is relatively slow, but I used one on a few different scope and panning around the Moon is fun and they are good for planetary viewing but overall a pretty dated system.