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FS-2 GoTo Drive - Quality Made in Germany
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New Telescope-Service Online Shop:
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High Performance GoTo Drive System
Compatible with all EQ mounts with stepper motors |
Ready-made motor kits for many astronomical mounts. Motor kits for custom adaptation.
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Cables, Encoders, Power supply, ...
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FS-2 GoTo Drive System - Made in Germany FS-2 GoTo Drive System shown on a Losmandy mount on a heavy-duty Astro-Electronic wooden tripod |
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An Easy-to-Use, highly sophisticated Dual Axis GoTo Motor Drive
The FS-2 is a GoTo Drive System made in Germany. It is very easy to use, highly functional and extremely versatile. The FS2 works with all equatorial mounts with bipolar stepper motors. One of the greatest advantages of the FS-2 is that it is particularly easy to use! You will immediately master its basic functions within minutes of switching it on the first time. Even its (very many) special functions can be learned and mastered after only a brief training time. The FS-2 is particularly Compared with simpler motor drives the FS-2 has several important advantages. Features of this drive include: - Microstep Mode: The current for the two stepper motors is sine shaped. This means the motors run very silent, with no vibrations and with a very steady torque. This function is called "Microstep Mode". - Five Programmable Slewing Speeds: You can freely program five different slewing speeds up to 3200x. The maximum possible speed is limited by the used motors and gears and depends on the version of the FS-2 used. - Tracking Speed: The tracking speed can be selected for stars, moon and sun. In addition you can set tracking speeds for comets (both axes are programmable) or disengage tracking for terrestrial use. |
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| - Hand Controller: The control box has five large keys that can be easily used with gloves. The cable is 2-5m long and can be operated with temperatures as low as -30°C (-22°F). No PVC insulation. The special detail here is that the actual electronics of the FS-2 are not located in the hand controller, but in a separate electronics box. As a result the hand controller is very light and ergonomic.
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- Reference Objects: All 168 stars brighter than 3rd magnitude and the sun are available as reference objects for alignment. You can also enter RA and DEC of any other object to be used as reference object. - GoTo Object Database: -- All 109 Messier Objects -- a practical selection (>3500) of NGC and IC objects. -- 168 bright stars (all stars brighter than 3m0) -- sun and planets -- free entering of RA and DEC coordinates possible -- automated spiral search pattern available in case you did not find an object right away - Serial Connection to PC: The FS-2 can be connected to any PC using a serial port. It has been tested for the following softwares: -- Guide -- The Sky -- Skymap Pro -- Starry Night -- AstroVideo -- Earth Centered Universe (ECU) -- Cartes du Ciel -- Hallo Northern Sky -- IRIS 3.6 -- AstroArt -- Maxim DL -- The FS-2 is compatible with most other LX-200 compatible softwares. The serial connection is guaranteed to work with 15m cable length. With an optical link with plastic fiber cable distances up to 80m are possible. |
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- Interfaces: The FS-2 has a separate box containing the electronics. This box has several interface ports. There are ports for two optional encoders, the hand controller, RS-232 (for connection to a PC) and on the rear of the box there are ports for connecting the RA and DEC motors. - Autoguider Port (optional): You can also order the FS-2 with an integrated autoguider port. A later upgrade with this port is not possible. This autoguider port makes the FS-2 compatible with most common autoguider systems (ST-4, ST-5, ST-6, ST-7, ST-7e, ST-8, ST-8e, ST-9e, ST-10e, ST-1001e, STV and Meade Pictor). |
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- Simple Adjustable Parameters: For both axes the following parameters can be adjusted separately: -- Current (from 10mA to 1800mA for each coil in 10mA increments) -- Current at motor standstill or for low speed -- Frequency at which the higher current is used -- Current waveform: full step, half step or microstep -- Motor type (number of full steps per motor revolution) -- Gear ratio -- Acceleration and slow down ramps -- Gear clearance compensation a.k.a. declination backlash compensation. Duration and speeds are adjustable. -- Motor turning direction (the FS2 works on the southern hemisphere, too) -- Encoder (select resolution and turning direction) The adjustment of the parameters is required only one time. All parameters are adjusted using the five keys. Adjustment is very easy since the display will always show what you are doing. All parameters are stored permanently even without power supply, but they can of course be changed at any time if needed. |
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| - Periodic Error Correction (PEC): A Periodic Error Correction function significantly improves the performance for astro-imaging. Learning the corrections can be done either manually or using an autoguider. A correction of the declination drift is available. - Reversing the Button Directions: You can separately reverse the directions of the buttons. This is particularly useful to switch between telescopes with and without star diagonal. - Timer Function: The timer function can be used to keep track of the current exposure time. - Energy Saving Mode: Motors and display can be switched off temporarily to save energy. When you switch the display back on it will show the correct coordinates. - Visitors Mode: All functions except moving using the four direction buttons are locked to avoid accidentally changing the controller's settings. - Easily Upgradable: The entire firmware is in the EPROM and thus easily upgradable when new firmware versions become available. - Dimensions: -- Main Electronics Box: Anodized aluminium case 170mm x 110mm x 54mm -- Control Box: Solid plastic case 112mm x 62mm x 31mm |
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| - Three Different Voltage Versions: The FS2 is available in three different voltage versions for different applications. The standard version is made for 12V, but accepts voltages from 9V to 15V. We recommend to use a regulated 13.8V power supply or a powerful 12V battery pack. The second version is made for 9V to 30V. At 30V you can use approximately twice the maximum speed compared with 12V. The third version accepts an Input of 10V to 15V. It has an integrated voltage converter which produces an Output of 40V for the stepper motors. This offers an even greater maximum speed compared with the 30V version. All versions are protected if you accidentally attach the power supply the wrong way around. For power supply the FS-2 has two banana plugs on a 1m cable. |
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Prices and availability: Please see our new Online Shop
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FS-2 Motor Kits for Various Astronomical Mounts We offer a large number of different motor kits for most common astronomical mounts. In addition we can offer motors for custom adaptations by the customer. The FS2 will work with all bipolar stepper motors. |
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Example 1: SECM 3 stepper motor with 10:1 gearbox
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Example 2: SECM 3 stepper motor with a CNC machined aluminium housing
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Example 3: ESCAP P530 disc magnet stepper motor
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Please send requests or online orders to: sales@telescope-service.com |
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Various Accessories for the FS-2: Cables and Encoders You can also get a large number of accessories for your FS2 controller. Below you will find a list of cables and angle encoders suitable for the FS2. |
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An angle encoder for the FS-2.
These encoders are available with up to 2500 lines per turn and with a resolution of up to 10000. |
| The coordinates in the display of the FS2 are normally calculated using the known positions of the motors, simply by counting the steps. This is also the method used by most other Goto drives. As long as you do not manually move your mount this method is very precise. If the mount is moved manually then the display of the GoTo drive will no longer show the correct coordinates. As a result you normally cannot operate a GoTo mount by hand. This function is often required for many reasons. In order to achieve this you can use angle encoders. You can plug in two encoders into the FS2. The encoders will give an absolute position back to the FS-2, so the FS-2 will be able to track manual movements of the mount. The encoders have an 8 pin Western Modular plug. The maximum turning speed is 2000 lines per second. Encoders are available with different resolutions. |
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Please send requests or online orders to: sales@telescope-service.com |
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