Re: New Mount for TOM

[Chris Albertson <chrisalbertson90278@yahoo.com>]

Tom,

I think you've got something there.  I'll call it the "Coo Coo
Clock Enclosure".

I've been thinking for ages now about a sliding roof enclosure.
Now I think that sliding the whole Mk IV might be easier.
No leaking roof.  It is pretty easy to build a trolly, just bolt
v-belt pulleys to the edges of a big chuck of wood and use 1x1
inch angle iron upside down (like the letter "A") for track.
So all you need is a dog house with spring loaded doors.  The trolly
would push the doors open on the way out like a coo coo clock.  One
could power
the trolly with an off the shelf garage door opener.  It's a powerfull
liner drive.  Maybe if the track ran uphill the Mark IV would
"go home" if something broke or the power failed.

One more thing, while a sliding roof enclosure must be built on site
the coo coo clock mechanisum (track, drive and doors) can be built and
tested at home and then shipped.  Only a simple dog house need be built
on site.

Of couse you guys who want to run systems in your back yard can just
go outside and lift off a cover.



--- Tom Droege <tdroege@veriomail.com> wrote:
> I have  been frustrated by TOM being able only to look at a few
> degrees of 
> sky.  While it is possible with TOM to follow a star for several
> hours, I 
> have not been able to do it because there are things in the way of
> TOM's 
> view.  I finally realized that I could put TOM on slides and just
> slide it 
> out the double door of the tower.  I ordered a pair of heavy duty
> slides 
> today.  This will solve one other problem.  I will now be able to
> mount it 
> at a convenient height instead of sitting it on the floor of the 
> tower.   It is really painful for me to work on the floor.
> 
> With this configuration, TOM should be able to see between the
> equator and 
> the zenith or a little beyond.  It will also be able see as far as
> the 
> tracking works.  I can then test to see how far the tracking actually
> will 
> work instead of measuring the arc and quoting computations.
> 
> Tom Droege 
> 
> 


=====
Chris Albertson
  chrisalbertson90278@yahoo.com
  Home: 310-376-1029
  Cell: 310-990-7550

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail
http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/