Re: [ATM] Ideas/suggestions for South Pole sun following platform?

["Bob May" <bobmay@nethere.com>]

A simole tracker using either the individual phototransistors or a quadrant
photodiode will lose the sun when clouds come over so you are going to need
to do some kind of basic blind tracking like the RA drive systems do and
then use the phototransistor/quadrant detector to fine tune the tracking.
A good source of 60Hz (not from a generator but rather crystal contolled or
other such reliable source) can be the basic blind tracking frequency source
and a fairly simple change divider ratio can be used to fine tune the
position of the telescope.
When you build, don't forget to insure that this thing can go around for
hundreds of turns without wrapping up the connections between the telescope
and the earth.  For some, that ends up being the hardest part of making
something like this.
Bob May
http://nav.to/bobmay
bobmay@nethere.com
NEW! http://bobmay.astronomy.net


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