From: Peter Tattersall <ptatters@zerobyzero.ca>

Date: February 14, 2010 1:08:26 PM MST

To: Astro_IIDC@yahoogroups.com

Subject: Re: [Astro_IIDC] Feathertouch & Moonlite focusers

Email doesn't guarantee delivery times or delivery order, so your latest message arrived in my mailbox before your earlier messages.

I used the Moonlite with the DC Servo motor focus on a William Optics FLT 110 TMB and I've been very happy with it and the LazyFocus. The system is the low end of their motor focus options and doesn't have absolute positioning. It's recommended for visual use, but I have used it for manual imaging. Ordinarily I use it with a laptop and check the image on the laptop in order to achieve focus. Because it isn't an absolute system you can't calibrate it for a temperature range and dial in the focal distance you need, but instead have to move it to the position by eye and then adjust manually as temperatures change. In my urban location subs longer than 2 minutes are pretty much impossible, so adjusting the focus from time to time isn't as much of a chore as it might be if I had longer subs to work with. I experimented a couple of times with remote control via VNC, but I haven't done enough of that to be fully comfortable with the process. If you want full automation you need to go with one of Moonlite's stepper motor options. From what I can see, the controller options you suggest would work fine with the DC motor, but I'm not sure about the stepper motor. Lacey's controller can handle both.

Moonlite has an even higher-end system with an ASCOM-compliant controller which would of course not work on the Mac under OS X, but if they are willing to give details of the command set it wouldn't be hard to run up a program to control it. Craig Stark's software might handle it already.

I haven't been doing much with the setup lately as I added a 9.25 SCT to the mount and only put the 110 back on the mount (in a side-by-side arrangement) around the middle of November. Since I'm a wimp for temperature, I haven't been out since the first frost which hit around the same time. There's still more setup work to be done to get everything operational once spring comes, so it's going to be a while before I'm back up and running.

On 2010-02-14, at 12:42 PM, Mark Gaffney wrote:

Peter, ...Here`s a couple of previous messages which apparently didn`t  

send somehow...

Hi Peter,

It was the Moonlite CS SCT focuser ($245) I was looking at with a  

1.25" brass compression ring eyepiece adapter($35) & DC servo drive  

Motor focus($150) which should work with Shoestring Focus from Stark  

Labs & a Mac. I even bought the FCUSB box back then & cables..

Mark.

Hi Peter,

I thought from my previous enquiries into Moonlite SCT focusers (I  

can`t remember the serial number they give these) that Shoestring  

focus will work with these if you have an FCUSB focusing box...I may  

go back in that direction myself (Moonlite)..!

Mark.

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