Re: [ATM] Flex Rocker Question

["john sherman" <atm@mail.johnspics.com>]

Hi Chuck,

>What is a strip reader and encoder strip?

I went to US Digital <www.usdigital.com> and did a search on "strip". Here is one of the pages I got to http://www.usdigital.com/products/lin/  It shows a picture of a strip which appears to be a series of bulls-eyes. US Digital makes the encoders used by some of the commercial DSC units, so these things should be immediately compatible (you'd have to adjust the number in the DSC unit). 

A strip is a long skinny piece of plastic with alternating reflectors on one side (red and white, for example). The reader shines a light on the strip, and as you move the scope the light "flashes". Each flash is read as a certain amount of movement. I think the regular encoders have the reflectors lined up on the outside of a disc, with the reader built in. So imagine separating the two functions into separate units. 

In our case, I'd want to line the inside of the groundring with a strip, and mount the reader to the underside of the rocker (to measure AZ). This arrangement should allow you to mount your scope arbitrarily close to the ground. If you're not careful, your mirror box can be made so low as to hit the ground.

If you go this route, please post your experience. I'd really like to know how it works out. Thanks,

John






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