Setup almost complete !

Hi all,
my dream will come true. My C14 will come soon. The mount is ready with modified electronics. The mount consist in a Meade 16" LX200 tripod, C14 wedge and C14 fork mount. Can't wait for the OTA.

The mount stand beside my Ultima 11 on Meade 12" LX200 tripod.


Happy new year to all.


Fred
Quebec, Canada

Attached Image:

Hi James,
i've built a printed circuit which include a 555 chip to pulse the DC motors. The potentiometer used for the reticle eyepiece was changed to adjust the pulses of the 555 chip. I've built a push-button hand controller instead of the F***ing toggle switch comming with the original C14 drive base. I've included two reverse switch to be able to reverse the HC buttons on each axis like my Ultima drive base.

The precision of the guiding speed is 2.8 arcseconds ( potentiometer at minimum ) and it's near slewing at the maximum. I've built a jumper switch to have directly to slew speed and to avoid passing through the printed circuit which was designed to produce guiding speed with the 555 chip.

I've not modified the gearing yet. I really want to test it before. I'll adjust it to reach the maximum precision i can before removing it and replacing it by probably Byers gears. The C14 fork mount have a really bad reputation for tracking but i want to confirm it myself. I'm sure it can be improved a lot only by mechanical adjustments.

The 16" LX200 tripod is an incredible platform. I've built a latitude adjuster for my C14 wedge which consist in two one inch thick aluminium block, a 5/8 threaded rod and a knob for adjustments. The end of the rod has a small teflon bloc. Ultra smooth adjustments are done with the aluminium-teflon contact.

I'll modify the rail system on the tube holders to allow a quick release of OTA from the fork arms.


Regards,


Fred

Fred,
Very impressive!! Has anyone taken your temperature lately. I thought when looking at the photo that I could detect a slight flush to your face indicating the possibilty of a slight touch of aperature fever. Beware as it has been known to be highly contageous. "Uh oh" I think I am feeling a little warm even as I write this.
Good luck,
Dan

Holy crap! I am impressed!!!!!

I wonder how you can carry this beast around