I am wondering if this setup will work with my mount. I have an Astroview EQ mount (basically the same as a CG-4 Mount) with the EQ-3M Motor Drive Kit. I am also wondering if I ordered it now, would it arrive before the weekend of the Eclipse? I am in the Seattle area. Thanks.
Hi,
I believe it should be possible to use AstroEQ with your mount and the motor drive kit.
I normally ship ICs/PCBs as standard international letters and assembled controllers as tracked parcels, both using Royal Mail. The delivery aim is 5-7 days, however that is not guaranteed, and because USPS at that end tends to be incredibly slow, several times the parcels have gotten to the US, disappeared for a week or so and then turn up 3 weeks after I sent them. So really using those methods there is no way I can guarantee delivery before the eclipse.
The only option that would get it there in time would be to send it via courier. I had a look at the costs and the cheapest price would be to send it via UPS 1-3 day delivery which would cost £25. That is still not a guaranteed 1-3 day delivery, but UPS are far more successful than USPS when it comes to delivering stuff on time!
Another suggestion would be to build your own AstroEQ based around an Arduino Mega. It should be possible to get an Arduino, the motor driver boards, and other sundry components from many places in the US with much cheaper delivery. You could then build the whole thing on Veroboard and because the Arduino boards come pre-programmed with a compatible bootloader you wouldn't need any programmer.
Kind Regards,
Tom.
