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Thanks for the info Jeff. ?One other thought I had was to put a threaded rod in the VMB where the eyebolts goes, and use wing nuts. ?But last night I noticed the eyebolts are captured in the handle, complicating matters. ?I did take the scope out last night, and timed how long it took me to add or remove the handles. ?15-20 seconds each. ?I guess it just seemed longer late at night. ?Upon further consideration, I think I can?live with 15-20 seconds.
?

As for the original post regarding collapsible handles, maybe some sort of telescoping (sorry) handles would work?

?

Alex

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Thanks Jeff.?? Yes, I spoke with Dave K. about that - observing with the handles attached is definitely a no-no.? My thought was for storage and transportation, since I have a narrow storage space, and narrow clearance in the back of my car, so reaching around the sides to detach the handles is going to be a pain.

Like Alex, I'm also interested in hearing how you attach the handles with quick-release pins.? That could be a big help!

Dave also told me the big white ATA carrying case is no more.? He's also making the scopes with one-piece altitude bearings now (he said it's more mechanically stable and holds alignment better), which means it probably wouldn't fit in the case anyway.

Best,

Jeremy

Keep in mind the wheelbarrow handles mount to the mirror cell, NOT the groundboard: you can't observe with the handles on (well, only within a couple of degrees of zenith).? I HATED the three minutes it took to unscrew the four eyebolts on my old Telekit; I replaced the normal threaded bolts with 3/8" quick release pins (and seats).? That took 30 seconds to mount/unmount the handles; I didn't mind that at all.

I think you'll find jacking around with all that gear at the base will make it even more cumbersome and may restrict getting it in the travel case.? The Dolly you only need around the house (or somewhere else you'll keep it set up).? ?When travelling with it, you carry from the case or from the care in components, rather than roll the full structure.

Good luck.? I'm curious to your solution.

-jeff

-- 
-..   .     -.   ..---   --..   .-..   --.-

   Jeremy P. Carlo
   jcarlo@...
   

   Cell:        (917) 612-2163
   Work:        (610) 519-3279

-..   .     -.   ..---   --..   .-..   --.-

> ?I replaced the normal threaded bolts with 3/8" quick release pins (and seats)?
?
Jeff, I’m not particularly handy. Could you expound a bit more on your solution, maybe attach a picture so I can visualize what you did? A quick release would be a wonderful addition. ?It is a bit of a pain to mess with those eyebolts, especially when finishing up an observing run at 2am.
?

Thanks,
Alex

Hi Sevan,

Great to hear you have been doing satellite tracking with your Argo Navis for a while now. It's a lot of fun and it really gets the heart rate rising. It's really cool to do in that period at dawn when you have setup but it is not quite dark enough yet to observe deep sky objects.

Appreciate you wanting to retain alignment but we invalidate for a couple of good reasons, one of which is to ensure your ability to find stuff will remain as accurate as possible.

Whenever user objects are loaded via the SETUP LOADCAT menu, whether they be satellites, asteroids, comets or user defined objects, the alignment is intentionally and purposely invalidated.

In the case of objects such as user defined objects, we want to ensure that if they had been used as alignment objects or TPAS sampled data themselves that if they suddenly are then erased the "wheel's don't fall off" so to speak. In programming parlance, we would refer to it as avoiding a "null pointer reference". The very object that say the alignment was referring to vanishes.

The second and more important reason however is related to the fact that the FLASH memory in which the user objects reside is physically the same FLASH memory in which the program and data including the operating system reside. When Argo Navis boots the OS internally keeps track of time to very small fractions of a second. So for example, say you aligned on a star 100.0 seconds after the system starts and a second star at 132.562 seconds after the system started, a relative difference of 32.562 seconds during the alignment process. Since the Earth is rotating and with it the apparent position of the stars, the alignment process if also taking time into account including those sub-second timings when the star is centered.

The type of FLASH memory Argo Navis uses is known as NAND FLASH and it is exceedingly fast to read from. Much faster than the type of FLASH say used on a USB stick or SIM card. However, FLASH memory writes times for all types of FLASH is slow. When Argo Navis writes to FLASH memory it effectively suspends all other background processing activity because the same memory it operates from is in a busy state whilst the FLASH device commits the write. It thus looses track of internal time, not by much, but depending on how much is written to the FLASH.

Since Argo Navis needs to suspend operation it looses its tracking of sub-second relative time. Hence we purposely invalidate the alignment.

The time of day clock - the RTC - however maintains time during FLASH writes so it does not need to be re-synchronized.

The alignment invalidation can be inconvenient but it is there for a good reason.

As you will be aware and is detailed in the Argo Navis User Manual, it is highly recommended to update the TLE's just before an observing run.
Satellites in low Earth orbit in particular, such as the ISS have orbits that decay and change very quickly from day to day and split second timing is everything.

The Argo Navis clock scaling feature also helps with precision timing.

Enjoy those passes!

Best Regards

?

Gary Kopff

Managing Director

Wildcard Innovations Pty. Ltd.

20 Kilmory Place

Mount Kuring-Gai NSW 2080

Australia

Phone +61-2-9457-9049

sales@...

?

https://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au

Hi Guillaume,

Historically all versions of Windows offer both NotePad and WordPad.

Since these two programs are two of the standard applications Window's offers, I do not recommend deleting them.

Instead I recommend you right click on the Desktop or in a folder and select what the corresponding prompt is in French that appears in English as New->Text Document.
Double left clicking on it will open Windows NotePad. You can copy and paste into it.

By way of background, the TLE's come in what is referred to in the computing industry as a "plain text file".
What this means is that there are no hidden formatting characters. What you see is what you get.

By contrast, consider a program such as Microsoft Word or WordPad. Those programs wrap the plain text that humans read into a format such as Rich Text Format (RTF).

RTF includes additional text so that the program can perform formatting. Consider the phrases "International Space Station" and "International Space Station".

They read exactly the same but note the later I bolded. There is hidden text that performs that task. Likewise in most Western languages a single space is used to separate words. If you type multiple spaces into some programs such as Word and WordPad they will condense it down to a single space. NotePAd, by contrast, will preserve white spaces.

The TLE format was originated by NORAD - The North American Air Defence Command - back in the early days of the Cold War.
NORAD had established a set of radar antenna along the Arctic Circle in what was called the DEW Line - The Distance Early Warning Line.
The world's largest computer at the time was interfaced to these radar to look for Soviet ICBM's coming over the North Pole. The computer had to also differentiate between a Soviet nuclear attack and the thousands of commercial aircraft flying and known earth orbiting satellites. So NORAD tasked itself to keep track of all man-made satellites and to this day has a global tracking network including in places such as Hawaii. NASA adopted the same format.

Back in those days, computers used punch cards, typically 80 columns. The TLE format no doubt was designed to fit within the 80 columns of a standard punch card.

For many years - until the early 1990's - Celestrak use to receive its elements by postal mail.

With this historical background in mind, you can appreciate it was easier in those days for computer programs to process the data if it came in fixed columns. This means at times multiple spaces between fields when no data is present.

As the Argo Navis User's Manual details, only ever open the orbital elements with a program that will preserve them as "plain text files". Microsoft NotePad and MicroSoft WordPad can both open them but there is a difference. Notepad will preserve the "plain text" format whereas programs such as WordPad will apply hidden formatting, may reduce multiple spaces to a single space and thereby corrupt the fixed column format that programs use to interpret the fields.

Comet and asteroid orbital elements are not identical to satellite TLE's but the same rule applies.

The Argo Navis Users Manual also provides tips on satellite tracking using the ServoCAT starting on page 200 in the English edition.
These same tips also apply if you don't have a ServoCAT and will track by hand.

Wildcard Innovations and StellarCAT worked very closely for nearly a year on the development and testing of the AutoTrack feature.
How well this control system works is exemplified by real-time satellite tracking. It's exciting to watch the satellite appear stationary in the eyepiece with stars zooming by in the background.

?

Best Regards

?

Gary Kopff

Managing Director

Wildcard Innovations Pty. Ltd.

20 Kilmory Place

Mount Kuring-Gai NSW 2080

Australia

Phone +61-2-9457-9049

sales@...

https://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au

?

?

Hi, thank you for your reply ,
It seems he works well now, it's just that as wordpad is the default reader, when I reopen the file it's wordpad that opens it, but I had done well at the start with NotePad, the only problem is that I don't did not enter lines of 69 characters, with spaces to reach 69 characters per line it works now. I will also look at how to enter the coordinates of Comet and Asteroid, it seems to be different from the satellites, it seems to be necessary to put “|” of separation between each values... Excuse me for these questions, I discovered since this morning how to make it work for satellite / asteroid and comet..

I understood my error Gary, it is necessary to make lines (1 and 2) of 69, of this fact it is necessary to leave empty spaces if the line does not represent 69 character. I just tried it, it works. The operation is the same for comets and asteroids I suppose?

I understood my error Gary, it is necessary to make lines (1 and 2) of 69, of this fact it is necessary to leave empty spaces if the line does not represent 69 character. I just tried it, it works. The operation is the same for comets and asteroids I suppose?

Hello Garry,

thank you very much for your response and help so fast, it's great.

I don't quite understand, I downloaded NOTEPad++, I open NOTEPad++ and I just paste some of the satellite coordinates that I copy (copy/paste) directly on the Celestrak site in the TLE/3LE section, but when I saves in a .txt“ format, it saves on my desktop, for example the file that I name satellites.txt, but when I reopen the .txt file it is my Windows WordPad which opens the Satellite coordinates file and no NOTEPad++. Should I remove Wordpad Windows from my computer??

?

Hi Guillanme,

The TLE format uses fixed fields that are 69 columns wide.

For example, a modulo 10 checksum should appear in line 1, column 69

Argo Navis is reporting the checksum is incorrect.

I can see from your images that all the line 2's of your TLEs are longer than your line 1's.
The LIne 1's and Line 2's should all be exactly the same length, that is 69 columns wide.
The formatting is wrong even though you are displaying it using a fixed pitch font.

I can also see that you are using what Microsoft call in English WordPad. Do not use WordPad.
Use the simpler NotePad which will not reformat the data.

I can also see you have some UTF-8 international characters embedded in there (for example?LEMUR-2 is funny). The TLE's use plain ASCII.

Go to the Celestrak page a copy the TLE's you would like to observe into a NotePad .txt file.

A plain text file of the first few space station elements is attached.

Best Regards

Gary Kopff

Managing Director

Wildcard Innovations Pty. Ltd.

20 Kilmory Place

Mount Kuring-Gai NSW 2080

Australia

Phone +61-2-9457-9049

sales@...

https://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au

?

?

Hello, I'm having a problem with AN, this is the first time I've tried to send a satellite file (.txt created with Notepad+). It doesn't work, I've read and re-read the manual and I'm sure I forgot something. I am attaching pictures of what I am trying to enter into AN and the error message Argonaut is giving me... Can anyone help me? I think it's a syntax error or something.
Thank you very much, Guillaume.
( Serial 1 : 38400 / Navis , Load Catalog Ready )

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Thanks Jeff - very interesting!? A dolly is a bit more involved than I was looking to get into (I'm hoping to just make a couple of cuts and drill a couple of holes and be done with it), but it is nice to not have to remove the altitude encoder for transport.

That gives me another idea, to come up with a way to have the wheelbarrow handle fit around the altitude encoder.? Perhaps the handle could be mounted a little further out (without putting too much shear on the supporting bolts), or a channel could be milled out of the inner part of the handle where it meets the bearing arms (without weakening it too much).

jpc

Hi Jeremy,

I've got some info about the wheelbarrow handles and the need for a dolly here:??

hope that helps some.??

-jeff

-- 
-..   .     -.   ..---   --..   .-..   --.-

   Jeremy P. Carlo
   jcarlo@...
   

   Cell:        (917) 612-2163
   Work:        (610) 519-3279

-..   .     -.   ..---   --..   .-..   --.-

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Thanks so much Gary for the information!? Looking forward to the new system, whenever things settle down.

Hopefully with a new system there will be a more elegant system for the altitude cable.?? I was evaluating another UC18 before ordering my own, and also reading various comments, and that altitude cable slipping out of its channel seems to be one of the biggest complaints about the system.?

My quick take was if the channel were a little larger, or the cable end a bit slimmer, the cable could be fed directly into the channel from one end while the VMB is sitting on the rocker box.? Still not the easiest thing to do in the dark, but much easier than having to lift the scope off the base, line up the cable, and then plop the scope back down without the cable slipping out.? Or, instead of having the cable run under the altitude bearing, have it run along a rail mounted outboard to the bearing, which makes it much easier to install and remove the cable.? (But it would have to be done in a way which doesn't run afoul of the wheelbarrow handles... not sure if that's doable.)

Best,

Jeremy

Hi Jeremy,

When Gary Myers retired in January, we announced we would be introducing a next generation servo GOTO controller.

?

As you may be aware, StellarCAT had Wildcard had a long cooperation and we developed the ServoCAT communications protocol together including features such as AutoTrack.

?

Gary Myers had spoken about retiring for some time and the plan had been for Wildcard to then seamlessly introduce introduce a new GOTO controller as a successor to the ServoCAT.

?

However, the pandemic brought about a severe global supply chain disruption in the semiconductor industry. Components became harder and many times impossible to source.

So Gary Myers brought his retirement forward.

?

The semiconductor components shortage crises is still ongoing, still very severe and it has also meant that it does not look likely that we will be able to introduce the controller this year.

Semiconductor manufacturing industry spokespeople suggest the shortages will likely go on into 2023, so currently that is what we are aiming for.

?

The new controller will be compatible with existing ServoCAT servo motor installations. The controller also includes new advanced features.

?

My advice is to purchase your UC 18 now. As you can imagine, we are eager to get the new controller on the market as soon as the semiconductor log jam clears
but even semiconductor manufacturers themselves are not sure when that will be.

?

Argo Navis units however are in stock including both here and at Obsession. All Argo Navis units ever made are manufactured here at an ISO-9001 quality assured plant in Sydney.
Obsession manufacture their own encoder mount hardware and supply their own encoders and encoder cables. You ask for that to be pre-installed and use the mount in a PUSH-TO
mode of operation.

?

Announcements about the forthcoming GoTo controller will appear here as well as on the Argo Navis Users' Group at?

?

The best way to contact us is by email at sales@...
We always respond to emails so if you don't see a response within a day or two, please check your spam folder

?

?

Best Regards

?

Gary Kopff

Managing Director

Wildcard Innovations Pty. Ltd.

20 Kilmory Place

Mount Kuring-Gai NSW 2080

Australia

Phone +61-2-9457-9049

sales@...

?

-- 
-..   .     -.   ..---   --..   .-..   --.-

   Jeremy P. Carlo
   jcarlo@...
   

   Cell:        (917) 612-2163
   Work:        (610) 519-3279

-..   .     -.   ..---   --..   .-..   --.-