Re: [ATM] Unique New Equatorial Platform Design

["Mel Bartels" <mbartels@bbastrodesigns.com>]

>  > Ok, found the same mount in an old Telescope Making magazine,
>  > where it was called the box or corner equatorial mount.
> 
> Could you please send me the reference and/or a copy of the article?
> I would very much like to examine the mount presented in that article
> and compare it in detail with what I have designed.


Also from geometric first principles, the circle is perfectly symmetrical in
its plane when rotated about its center, as is the line when rotated along
its length.  In your case, the line is formed from the opposing vertices of
a cube.  Concrete examples of the circle appear in professional (Isaac
Newton polar disk mount) as well as amateur (Rob Adam's tilt-a-dob), and the
well known Dobsonian.  

Incidentally, Rob, a true mechanical talent, considered the circle and its
perfect symmetry superior to the rotating line because he found circle
mounts easier to build.  

Combinations of both line and circle abound, for instance, the Horseshoe
mounting and professional altaz mounts that use a vertically aligned zenith
cone.  Combinations of circles occur in alt-alt mounts as well as 5 pt
equatorial tables.  These circle combinations work because they use
translational symmetry. Combinations of lines cannot occur as they are not
continuously symmetrical when translated.

Making claims that lines are [innately] superior to circles will cause a lot
of ancients to rise from their grave <smile> besides raising eyebrows of
mathematicians and geometers who understand group theory and symmetry.

The equatorial table and variants that were built over a several year period
of popularity I referred to earlier were based on a cube supported at
opposite vertices and cut away providing a flat level platform to place a
2-axis mount.  Since you are making the claims I suspect that you will want
to conduct your own research as part of due diligence.

Mel Bartels


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