Rowan Astronomy AZ100 User manual

AZ100 Motor Drive System

2 AZ100 Motor Drive System
AZ100 Motor Drive System
Contents
Connections ......................................................................................................................................................................3
Connecting to the AZ100 ..................................................................................................................................................4
Home screen.....................................................................................................................................................................5
Alignment..........................................................................................................................................................................6
Config ................................................................................................................................................................................7
Update...............................................................................................................................................................................8
SkySafari Connection Settings...........................................................................................................................................9

3 AZ100 Motor Drive System
AZ100 Motor Drive System
Connections
RS232
RJ11
Power
switch
Handset
RJ11
12v DC
Inner Diameter: 2.5mm
Outer Diameter: 5.5mm
Centre Contact: Positive (12v)
Barrel: Negative (0v)
LED Red when powered.
Az Motor
RJ45
Alt Motor
RJ45
Az Encoder
RJ11
Alt Encoder
RJ11

4 AZ100 Motor Drive System
AZ100 Motor Drive System
Connecting to the AZ100
---
The AZ100 requires a 12V DC 2 amp power supply
(5.5mm x 2.5mm dc barrel connector) Plug in with the
power switch off.
Before turning on the power, point the telescope due
south and set horiziontal to set the initial alignment.
Turn on the power switch, the AZ100 will create a WiFi
hotspot which can be connected to using Android, iOS,
laptop or computer with a WiFi dongle.
To connect to the AZ100, open the WiFi settings menu
on your device and then connect to the AZ100
hotspot.
Open your web browser and type 192.168.4.1 into the
address bar. After connecting it should show the
AZ100 home page, pictured to the left)

5 AZ100 Motor Drive System
AZ100 Motor Drive System
Home screen
Command buttons
STAR 1 ALIGN & STAR 2 ALIGN
These are used to precisely set the telescope alignment.
SYNC
Sync is used to reset the telescope pointing position
GOTO/STOP
The GOTO/STOP button moves the telescope to the selected
target. The telescope will only move when the motor button
is green (i.e. motors enabled).
MOTORS
Click the button to toggle the motors ON or OFF,
Menu buttons
Align
Toggle display of the alignment buttons
Rate
Telescope tracking rate, LUNAR, SIDERAL and SOLAR
Night
Toggles a red filter over the screen.
Config
Opens AZ100 configuration screen –see page 7
Search
Search for a star, once a star is clicked in the search menu,
it will be selected as the target
Update
Opens AZ100 firmware update screen –see page 8
Restart
Restarts the software, Wi-Fi network and telescope position.
Status icons
Green when a valid
time source (either
from GPS or your
system time)
Green when location is
valid, orange when
using a previously
saved location and red
when no position. If
red wait until this
turns green before
using the webpage.
Web page has an
active connection to
AZ100.
Green when encoder
has moved at least 0.1
degrees from initial
starting point
Green when motors
are connected, and no
error reported from
stepper drivers.
Status Icons
Zoom
Star
Double tap or
click to select a
star as the
target or use
the Search
button.
Joystick
Used to move
the telescope.
Joystick icon
only shown
when motors
are enabled.
Joystick
parameters can
be set in the
configuration.

6 AZ100 Motor Drive System
AZ100 Motor Drive System
Alignment
SYNC
Sync is used to reset the telescope pointing position to match the object position in the planetarium
screen. After a Goto the object may not be exactly centered in the eyepiece. Use the joystick or manually
push the telescope to centre the object. Then press Sync. Goto's to nearby objects will be more precise.
You can use Sync as a quick 1-star alignment. The pointing accuracy using a 1-star alignment will depend on
how accurately the tripod is leveled.
You can use Sync before the 2-star alignment procedure. ie, Sync on a bright star or planet first. This will
help acquiring the optimum stars for a 2-star alignment.
STAR 1 ALIGN & STAR 2 ALIGN
The telescope should be set horizontally and pointing South before applying power to the mount.
Select the first object in the planetarium screen and move the telescope to this object or issue a
Goto. Centre in eyepiece using the joystick or manually move and then click STAR 1 ALIGN,
Select a second object in the planetarium screen and move the telescope to this object and c entre in
eyepiece Press STAR 2 ALIGN. The mount is now aligned.
Ideally for best pointing results the 2 objects should be spaced at least 90 degrees apart in Azimuth and 30
degrees in Altitude.

7 AZ100 Motor Drive System
AZ100 Motor Drive System
Config
Latitude
Manually enter your latitude in decimal format
Values:
-90.0000 to +90.0000
Default:
0.0000
Longitude
Manually enter your longitude in decimal format
Values:
-180.0000 to +180.0000
Default:
0.0000
Max Motor Speed
The maximum stepper pulses per second
Values:
1000 to 16000
Default:
14000
Motor Acceleration
Use higher values for smaller or lighter telescopes.
Values:
1000 to 16000
Default:
6000
Magnitude Filter
Filter stars on the AZ100 planetarium
Values:
-1.5 to 12.6
Default:
3.5
Joystick speed
Adjustment for joystick speed, higher is faster
Values:
1 to 100
Default:
30
Joystick Az Direction
Invert the direction when moving the joystick in azimuth direction
Values:
0 = Default or 1 = invert joystick direction.
Default:
0
Joystick Alt Direction
Invert the direction when moving the joystick in altitude direction
Values:
0 = Default or 1 = invert joystick direction
Default:
0
Joystick Deadband
How far the joystick needs to be moved from centre before the mount moves.
Values:
0 to 100
Default:
0
Default Motor State
The initial state of the motors, 0 = off and 1 = on
Values:
0 or 1
Default:
0
Star Font Size
Font size of the stars in pixels
Values:
10 to 30
Default:
16
Initial Alt Position
Startup position for Altitude
Values:
-90.00 to +90.00
Default:
0
Initial Az Position
Startup position for Azimuth
Values:
0 to 360.00
Default:
180
Push Track Window
How many degrees to move until the telescope starts tracking the new position
Values:
0.1 to 0.5
Default:
0.1
Readout Rate
How often the AZ100 planetarium requests the position per second
Values:
1 to 30
Default:
10
WiFi Channel
Values:
1 to 11 (Recommended channels are 1, 6 and 11)
Default:
11

8 AZ100 Motor Drive System
AZ100 Motor Drive System
Update
To get the latest firmware .bin file, with an internet
connection go to the following website:
https://rowanastronomy.com/AZ100Update/
Download the latest version which will be highlighted
in bold.
Next, connect to the AZ100 WiFi hotspot and navigate
to 192.168.4.1/update or click the Update button at
the bottom of the AZ100 home screen.
Then, click choose file and select the .bin file you
downloaded from rowanastronomy.com.
After selecting the update file, click update and the
progress bar should go from 0% to 100%
Wait until the progress bar displays Rebooting…
The mount will reboot, and once your device connects
back to the AZ100 you will be redirected to the AZ100
home screen.
You may need to manually re-connect to the AZ100
WiFi hotspot again if your device automatically
connects a different WiFi hotspot such as your home
internet.

9 AZ100 Motor Drive System
AZ100 Motor Drive System
SkySafari Connection Settings
SkySafari 6 Plus is required which can be purchased through Google Play or the Apple App
Store.
Open SkySafari and click Settings at the bottom of the window, then under Telescope Setup
and enter the following values:
Equipment Selection
Scope Type –Meade LX200 Classic.
Mount Type –Alt-Az. GoTo
Communication Settings
Connect via WiFi
IP Address –192.168.4.1
Port Number –4030
Common Settings
Untick “Set Time & Location”, “Tilt Device to Slew” and “Save Log File”
Readout rate –10 per second
Go back to the main Planetarium screen and click the Scope icon and click Connect.