I posted some photos a few days ago showing how I transfer power and signal across the azimuth axis of a dobsonian without resorting to dragging cables or having to use an electrical connector in the pivot bolt, which you generally want to reserve for your encoder bushing. The one I showed earlier requires a metal lathe and takes a lot of time and effort (http://astromart.com/messages.asp?message_id=127907&page=).
The one shown below, however, is easily made in about a half hour and only requires sheet copper, a couple springs, and some solder. I oversized the copper rings to make things easy, and because my telescope has a large, solid ground board. Also, I was only dealing with transferring two wires, + and -, across azimuth so I could connect my EQ platform directly to an RCA jack on my ground board.
The one linked to above transferred power *and* signal to a stepper motor, which meant 4 wires, plus the telescope design required the hub to be very small so it wouldn't be seen between the spokes of the rocker bottom.
Just thought some of you might eventually run into this concern and wanted to show how I've dealt with it.
The one shown below, however, is easily made in about a half hour and only requires sheet copper, a couple springs, and some solder. I oversized the copper rings to make things easy, and because my telescope has a large, solid ground board. Also, I was only dealing with transferring two wires, + and -, across azimuth so I could connect my EQ platform directly to an RCA jack on my ground board.
The one linked to above transferred power *and* signal to a stepper motor, which meant 4 wires, plus the telescope design required the hub to be very small so it wouldn't be seen between the spokes of the rocker bottom.
Just thought some of you might eventually run into this concern and wanted to show how I've dealt with it.
Attached Image:
