WO132 version 2.5: The Camera Rotator
Dates: July 15, 2020 - Jan 20, 2021
The Pegasus Astro Falcon Camera rotator installed. Note Cable management - critical to prevent snags!
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Rotator
During the Summer of 2020, whilst stuck at home because of Covid I became very in improving the automation of the platform and achieving more precise framing of the shots I made. Sequence Generator Pro supports Mosaic planning that allows planning framing very precisely - but if you don’t have a powered camera rotator, it involves you with a series of manual adjustments where it tells you if you have lined things up correctly or no. “Nope - Rotate the camera 3.2 degrees counterclockwise” - you make a rough move and it tells you how close you are. But if you have a camera rotator, this whole process can be automated. I had been very impressed with the stuff I got from Pegasus Astro, so when they came out with their Falcon Camera Rotator, I got one. I had some problem with the software controlling it, as for some reason it was rotating in the wrong direction based on where it needed to go. But a quick email to Pegasus Astro quickly yielding a software update that allowed you to reverse the direction. (Pegasus Support has always been super responsive and helpful!).
Mount Swap
I ended up buying a second Ioptron CEM60 for the AP130 Platform and when it came in, I installed it on this platform and moved the existing mount to the AP130. This version had the built-in IPolar Polar Alignment camera, so that was another change for this version.
This worked out really well. I could plan my session during the day with Sequence Generator Pro, and then the sequence would handle centering and rotation automatically to give me the framing I wanted. Excellent!
The updated Configuration:
Scope: William Optics 132mm f/7 FLT APO Refractor
Focus Motor: Pegasus Astro Focus Cube 2
Cam Rotator: Pegasus Astro Falcon - new
Guide Scope: Apterna 60mm Guidescope
Mount: Ioptron CEM 60
Tripod: Ioptron Tri-Pier
Camera: ZWO ASI294MC-Pro
Guide Camera: ZWO ASI290MM-Mini
Dew Strips: Dew-Not Heater strips for
Main and Guide Scopes
Power Dist: Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox
USB Dist: Startech 8 slot USB 3.0 Hub
Polar Alignment Camera: Ipolar - new
