An Azimuth and Elevation controller for U100 (pulse type) Rotors
- A WORK IN PROGRESS -
(I decided to open up these pages to share what is here and motivate me to finish documenting this project)
Well, I couldn't resist. Even though there are a few projects out there showing how to control rotors using programmed controllers of one sort or another I have decided to give it a shot myself. Why would I do this if there are already good projects for this? Well I have attempted to list the top few answers to this question so I will remember myself !
Anyway - it seemed like a good idea when I started!
So one needs a rotor to play with. The venerable Alliance U100 was my choice. Why? It was relatively inexpensive and Norm (Norm's Rotor Service) seems to have an ample supply of them. By the way; I have no affiliation with any rotor manufacturer or parts supplier.
So enough of this -> on to the project details
By The Way
I make these notes for myself. I put it on the WEB to share what I have done with others. But I may take shortcuts and use options that are not appropriate for everyone. I will put details here that may allow you to duplicate what I have done and you are certainly welcome to do so. But these pages are not a recommendation and carry no guarantee. Use at your own discretion and risk.
------- Update Jan. 5th 2010 -----
Looking back on my notes I see that I started this project back in October of 2006! As I type this update it is January 5, 2010. It didn't take me that long to get it working. We have been using it for our club's field day for the last 3 years. I have just not been motivated to put the "finishing touches" on it; if you know what I mean. So I have decided to share it on my WEB site as is. It certainly works and we have used it every year for field day since the first version. I just keep getting distracted by other projects. So, I plan to put everything here to enable someone to make one of these if you choose to. I realize that some of the details are a bit spread around but I think there is enough here to be successful.
However, this is a project that requires building experience and knowledge of microcontrollers.
The following document will be helpful if you are interested in this project -> An AZ EL rotor controller Application