Single Axis

• Each platform is custom manufactured to the buyer's specifications of size, latitude range and desired options.
• Apple-ply plywood - a stiff and rigid material - is used for the wooden components. It is sanded and beautifully finished with a long-lasting penetrating sealer.
• The wide 3-4 point ground support offers unprecedented stability for this platform design. Adjustable feet and a bubble level make setup and leveling a snap.
• The direct roller drive yields very accurate tracking, free of short term periodic error and free of tangent error.
• Extended tracking runs of 75 minutes or more are now standard, with a quick reset time of a few seconds.
• The stepper motor drive system, with its built-in drive corrector and push button hand control offers these features:
  • Consistent tracking accuracy
  • Adjustable drive rate
  • Choice of lunar or sidereal speeds
  • Instantly responsive guiding slew in right ascension (30% sidereal rate) and a fast centering slew (14 x sidereal rate)
  • 12V operation with low power drain (200 milliamps)
  • Direct interface capability with CCD automatic trackers

Dual Axis

A cam-action stepper-motor assembly provides a push-button operated two-speed slew in declination, useful for both fine guiding and fast centering. With this type of Platform one can easily guide a long exposure prime focus photograph. Others find the Dual-Axis feature useful for centering an object in a CCD or video camera, or for making fine adjustments when using high powers.

Note that the Dual-axis Platform provides a true Dec motion for a large part of the sky, especially along the meridian.

The microprocessor which runs the stepper motors is mounted behind the display panel. Controls include:

A 12V DC input jack. An on/off switch. Choice of lunar or siderealtracking rates. An "ADJ" button for fine tuning the tracking rate. Phone jack input for either the hand control or a CCD auto-guider. A new Cordless Remote for the two speed slew that is easy to use from one’s pocket.