Re: [ATM] Patent Application for an Automatic Telescope

[Dominic-Luc Webb <dlwebb@canit.se>]

Always nice to hear everyone looking into (latest???) innovations. I
wonder, if anyone has implemented some of the ideas I have below,
although I think they are fairly obivous, not terribly original and
not terribly marketable. On the other hand, as pointed out by others,
some software giants made billions selling essentially dysfunctional
garbage.

My idea as follows:

Time + GPS + gravity sensor.

Time + GPS fixes you to an ephemeris. The gravity sensor tells you
exactly which way is down, and by extrapolation, which way is up.
I would guess this is pretty cheap to implement by ATMs these days
and sad to say I have no time to try this myself for the time being.
A GPS is rather often helpful appendage to our arsenal, so it could
be something many of you already have. A simple gravity sensor
should not be hard to make, like a position sensor hanging on a
string placed below a fixed point somewher on the scope. Without a
GPS and time, a computer with fixed local coordinates and time
should be fine. This should guarantee the scope knows night from day
and gives a crystal clear starting point for orientation.

This is obviously gadgetry beyond what is needed by most, but it
might allow some of us an excuse to stay out of the cold this
Winter in favor of engineering a (better???) mouse trap.

Come to think of it.... I already did write very simple tracking and
orientation software that takes into account time of day. Basically,
it does not permit tracking or sweeping outside a field that is less
than 10 degrees above horizon, and the software is given time and
ground coordinates. It was not such a big deal really.

Dominic-Luc Webb

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