Rowan AZ100 - Motor Drive System

[R26 oldtimer]

Does the motor controller firmware have alt-az or eq option available for use with a wedge or bent-knee pillar?

[Dek Rowan Astro]

47 minutes ago, R26 oldtimer said:

Does the motor controller firmware have alt-az or eq option available for use with a wedge or bent-knee pillar?

Hello  R26 OT,

Firmware is Alt Az only.

I think in order to make the AZ100 perform well in an EQ configuration it's likely there would be some mechanical changes required effectively making it a EQ100.

We may look at this at some stage but its not in our schedule at the moment.

ATB

Derek.

 

[Moonwatch]

Great to see this arriving finally!! 
 

Beautiful piece of equipment it seems, as always with Rowan. 
 

- what’s the power consumption? Is a classic 12v outdoor power supply enough (like the ones for camping) ?

- glad to see that it allows 30s exposure times. Is there a way to improve elongated stars if it happens? Either mechanically or by software.   

- I have a dsc pro, is the controlling with the unit still work in progress?

- how many ways for alignement? I know the fast « point to the south » one. Are there others?

- i may have misunderstood but are you also developing a specific iOS/android app for controlling the motors?

- any price range yet?

 

thanks a lot. 
 

and thanks to the beta testers 

[Stu]

Just a brief up date on this. I received a firmware update yesterday which installed very easily using the web page interface. After making a small adjustment to the mount (as advised by Rowan) I gave it a test out indoors. It ‘aligned’ easily and then was slewing quickly and quietly to targets.

Opening up SkySafari and connecting immediately picked up the position and I was slewing happily to targets with that too. I’m sure as integration progresses there will be more updates to try. Now if only it hadn’t been raining and I was outside with a scope! 🤪🤪

Anyway, good progress is being made although we are still a little way from launch. From what I’ve seen, it should be excellent 👍 

[johninderby]

Same here. The updated interface is much improved and getting closer to the finished article. Test alignments in the conservatory went well. 👍🏻

Slewing is so quiet. Will measure the quietness with my decibel meter later.

Edited February 12, 2022 by johninderby

[Justin P]

Hi all,

Interesting following your progress. Quick question with regards to pillars. Am I correct in saying that if mounted on a Berlebach Planet then a pillar is required for certain high elevation viewing ? 
 

Thanks Justin 

[johninderby]

With a long frac then yes an extension is needed.

[Stu]

13 minutes ago, Justin P said:

Hi all,

Interesting following your progress. Quick question with regards to pillars. Am I correct in saying that if mounted on a Berlebach Planet then a pillar is required for certain high elevation viewing ? 
 

Thanks Justin 

Yep, I’ve found a pillar useful for longer scopes at high elevations. Rowan are working on one so hopefully should be available at some point, not sure when.

[Justin P]

21 minutes ago, Stu said:

Yep, I’ve found a pillar useful for longer scopes at high elevations. Rowan are working on one so hopefully should be available at some point, not sure when.

Great, thanks. I presume a pillar is considered more stable than just a larger tripod ? I see that Berlebach make taller tripods (than the planet) - but I assume the further the extension of the legs the more the vibration ?

[Stu]

15 minutes ago, Justin P said:

Great, thanks. I presume a pillar is considered more stable than just a larger tripod ? I see that Berlebach make taller tripods (than the planet) - but I assume the further the extension of the legs the more the vibration ?

Actually a taller tripod doesn’t solve the issue of long scopes clashing with the tripod which is the problem I’ve found. A pillar lifts the scope clear of the tripod top and avoids clashes.

Hopefully this link takes you to a post I made with images and video of the AZ75 on a pillar just to see if it helped. It did.

 

https://youtu.be/JKjvOtKAqbs
 

[Stu]

I managed a quick session on the Sun today, using the AZ100 with tracking motors. This was more about testing the mount than any serious observing, although it was still nice to catch some of the activity going on.

Powering on from the start position, I just aligned on the Sun in SkySafari and the mount tracked very well, keeping the sun centred for as long as I left it. It kept tracking even when I left it completely and the phone disconnected. I tried manually slewing away from the Sun and then doing a Goto back to it and it all worked fine.

There is still stuff to work through but it is all looking good.

[Alan White]

All sounding very promising indeed.

As a tester of the AZ75, Rowan really do listen and work with the testers and interested parties.
Said it before and will say it again, such a breath of fresh air with a UK manufacturer.

 

[johninderby]

I was hoping to do some testing today but other things got in the way. 😕

As Stu says just going from the starting position and aligning with SkySafari works rather well.👍🏻

[Justin P]

Thanks for the info re a pillar Stu. Final question….. is there an accurate date as yet for completion of testing and actual retail sales commencing (fully guided)

 

thanks 

[BGazing]

Lovely, @Stu, is that Planet it is sitting on?

[Stu]

1 hour ago, Justin P said:

Thanks for the info re a pillar Stu. Final question….. is there an accurate date as yet for completion of testing and actual retail sales commencing (fully guided)

 

thanks 

No fixed date yet I’m afraid. It’s certainly a few months off yet I should think. It’s a complex product to develop, as much on the software side as anything so I think they are doing an excellent job and obviously want it to be right when it launches.

[Stu]

1 hour ago, BGazing said:

Lovely, @Stu, is that Planet it is sitting on?

Yep, the trusty Planet, solid as a solid thing  

[johninderby]

I think the software development will proceed as normal for these sort of things. Working out those few last bugs will take months. And of course even after it’s on sale there will be updates. 

[Stu]

10 minutes ago, johninderby said:

I think the software development will proceed as normal for these sort of things. Working out those few last bugs will take months. And of course even after it’s on sale there will be updates. 

Yes, another good thing is that firmware updates are so easy to do.

[johninderby]

Wonder what features the handset will have when it is eventualy released? 🤔

[Justin P]

Out of interest what’s a firmware update versus a software update ?

[StarryEyed]

Software being code to make the controller board behave in a certain way.

Hardware the controller board

Software stored on the hardware is referred to as firmware. This software doesn't disappear when the hardware is turned off. Its still there when you turn it back on. That's really the definition of firmware

There might be other software that runs on a computer to upload the firmware to the controller board. So it all depends on the context. 

Often people use these words software and firmware interchangeably. Which can make things tricky to follow.

Edited February 19, 2022 by StarryEyed

[Stu]

8 hours ago, Justin P said:

Out of interest what’s a firmware update versus a software update ?

As Starryeyed says, it updates the code held on the controller which runs the mount. This has the connections to the motors and encoders, plus a connection for the future hand controller and provides the WiFi connection. You access the controller via a web browser interface which lets you configure, align and control the mount in a basic fashion, plus update firmware which you download from the Rowan website.

[Deadlake]

4 hours ago, Stu said:

As Starryeyed says, it updates the code held on the controller which runs the mount. This has the connections to the motors and encoders, plus a connection for the future hand controller and provides the WiFi connection. You access the controller via a web browser interface which lets you configure, align and control the mount in a basic fashion, plus update firmware which you download from the Rowan website.

I'm presuming that you can drive the mount via wifi using SkySafari?

Is Rowan going to support a standard protocol or does it require a custom protocol at all?

Does the mount have GPS or is that in the controller?

I'm guessing the one answer to the above but it would be great if Rowan had used INDI which is a lot more open for integration to third party software.

How is the mount powered, usual 12 v?

Thanks

Edited February 19, 2022 by Deadlake

[johninderby]

Yes you can use SkySafari to GOTO targets.

Connects to SkySafari using Meade LX200 Classic settings

Think it gets GPS from the phone / tablet

Ppwer connector is a standard Meade 2.5mm 12v