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CAMERA PAN-TILT COMPUTER CONTROL - HEAVY DUTY

Using the EQ5 mount (tripod including equatorial head) a very rugged camera platform is the result. The equatorial head adjusted to tilt right over so the two axes are horizontal and vertical, ie pan and tilt operation. It is capable of a load of at least 10kg (the equatorial head weighs about 6kg) and requires a counterweight on both axes to remain balanced. Axis C has an extra counterweight arm fitted to achieve this. For light loads no counterweights are required. Movement in TILT or ALTITUDE axis may be inhibited by the tripod depending on the loading and type of tripod. The PAN or AZIMUTH axis is not restriced.
This photo shows the EQ5 mount tilted in its final position.

A is the TILT axis.
B is the PAN axis.

The microstep drive system (two motors and a standard microstep drivebox) is connected to a computer by a serial lead (RS232 but non standard cabling) and then programming allows precise positioning and movements. The programmable aspects are DRIVE RATES and TIME for moving in that direction. Rates can be set to one revolution in about 10 days to one revolution in 3 minutes. Coming from an astronomy application it is smooth enough for continuous motion whilst filming. The step size is about 0.19 arc seconds.

Position feedback from the mount is also available by connecting the two encoders through the serial port CTS and DSR lines and so can be counted by the computer. This means precise positioning is available as there are 104400 encoder counts for a revolution. This is positioning of 12.4 arc seconds per count.

Note we do NOT supply the PC programme. You can dowload the protocol document to see how the drivebox is controlled.

WE HAVE OTHER MOUNTS AND PRODUCTS FOR PAN-TILT DRIVES

PRICES (incl VAT)

Astronomy application EQ5 drive system kit
MICROSTEP further information


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