Askar FRA400 Platform Posts
The portable scope platform is supposed to be, well, portable. That means light and compact. In determining how to pack this platform for travel, I realized that the finder scope mounting rings made no sense in this application and I changed them out with something both more rigid and compact - the William Optics 50mm base-slide ring set.
After doing manual camera rotations to achieve the compositional framing that I plan - using SGP’s Framing and Mosaic Wizard - I finally decided to add a Camera Rotator to this rig to automate the rotation between objects and when getting flat cal frames for images shot with a specific camera rotation. While I had the rig apart, I re-tensioned the declination belt on the mount to reduce declination backlash.
Version 2.0 of my Askar FRA400 Platform consists of a switch in mounts! I have gone from an IOptron CEM26 mount to a new ZWO AM5 Harmonic Drive! This post documents and discusses this change in the platform.
Version 2.1 of my Askar FRA400 Platform consists of a switch to a steel pier in the Southeast corner of my new Whispering Sies Observatory. Also changed was the computer from a laptop to a new Mele Quieter 4C mounted on the pier.
Version 3.0 of my Askar FRA400 Platform includes a switch to a new ZWO ASI2600MM-Pro Camera and 7×36mm filter wheel, as well as a new Wanderer Atro Motorized Cover/Flat light source.
This is my third telescope platform - this one is specifically designed for portability and travel.