Mount with GTO-CP4 control box, new auto-compensating motor gearboxes and central cable feed through the polar axis
Astro Physics has radically revised and redesigned the drive technology of its mounts. All Astro Physics mounts now feature self-compensating motor gearboxes on both the RA and DE axes. These offer major advantages for astrophotography and visual observation.
The entire unit, consisting of a servo motor and drive worm, is pressed into the worm wheel by spring force. This ensures optimum engagement in all telescope positions and operating temperatures and the resulting changes in distance between the worm and worm wheel. The adjustment between the worm and worm wheel with tension and pressure screws, which is often difficult for inexperienced users, is no longer necessary.
Backlash problems are also largely a thing of the past. When adjusting with tension/pressure screws, the problem was always finding the optimum setting. If the distance between the worm and the worm wheel is too large, the reverse play is much too high; if the distance is too small, there is a risk of the drive blocking, e.g. due to temperature fluctuations. Thanks to the new design, the worm and worm wheel are always in optimum engagement.
To prevent damage to the drives during transport, the entire motor/screw block can be completely disengaged using a small lever and just as easily re-engaged after transport.
Even after years of use, and even under very intensive use, the drive worm always presses optimally into the worm wheel when material wear occurs. In addition, new steel alloys with extremely low wear are used for worm production – not unimportant for automated observations, where the telescope is frequently swivelled back and forth at high speeds in GoTo mode.
The concentricity (PE - periodic error) of EVERY drive worm is measured with the PemPro software before delivery of the mount, and the resulting compensation is stored in the CPC control box so that the PEC function (periodic error compensation) is immediately available to you as the observer. This compensates for 90% of the periodic error, which is important for photographic observations with shorter exposure times WITHOUT guiding.
Included in the scope of delivery of the GTO-1100 mount:
- Pole block with RA/DE axis cross
- GTO servo motors Control box
- Control box adaptors
- Stainless steel counterweight bar, length 356 mm and diameter 47.6 mm with safety screw
- RA/DE Y-cable for connecting the GTO control box to the drive motors
- Power cable set for GTOCP4, incl. 1.8 m cable with PowerPole connector, 45 cm cable with cigarette lighter plug and 45 cm cable with ring cable lug (power supply operation)
- 4.5 m serial extension cable
- 1/4-20 inch knurled screw set
- Inch hex key set
- CD with PEMPro v2 software and PulseGuide software by Ray Gralak, Sirius Imaging, and PDF operating instructions for GTO-1100 and GTO Keypad
- Operating instructions: GTO-1100G and GTOCP4 Servo Motor Drive System
