Feature request: hardware rotational limits

SeelyRichard

Hi everyone! As somebody who is becoming very interested in unsupervised/remote imaging, I'd like to make a feature request/suggestion...

Please can you add a low-resolution encoder (or other similar mechanism), allowing us to set explicit rotational limits for the RA/Dec axes? This would allow me to sleep at night, knowing that my telescope/camera will never collide with the pier. One of the nice features of high-end mounts with encoders is that they never get "lost", meaning that we can set limits and then not have to worry about pier collisions. The encoders used in these mounts are extremely expensive - due to their precision. I'm wondering if there might be a low-resolution/cost solution (1-5 degrees), that would allow the mount to set an approximate limit point. It could also be used in place of the homing sensor - and allow custom park positions.

ASIMount-ZWO

SeelyRichard Hello! What is the model of your device? AM3, AM5, or AM5N? The equatorial mount has several limit settings to protect the equipment from collisions: time limits before and after a meridian flip, stopping tracking below the horizon, stopping motion when a collision occurs, and ensuring the RA angle <150° and DEC angle <180° during a single GoTo operation. Under what usage conditions did the collision occur? Since adding an encoder to older devices is structurally challenging, I hope to help you resolve the issue through a firmware update.

paulitoweb

ASIMount-ZWO When I can fing these settings to prevent a collision? I am also interested...
Thanks,
Paolo

SeelyRichard

These issues occurred when I had a short telescope (WO Pleaides 68) with the ZWO 7x2 EFW mounted on the back. The mount did a meridian flip, and crashed the EFW into the tripod leg when doing a meridian flip. I was using the ZWO tripod and 200mm pier extension.

ASIMount-ZWO

SeelyRichard Thanks for your feedback.If the location is restricted, will it affect your device's normal mid-sky rotation?

ASIMount-ZWO

paulitoweb What scenarios and methods do you hope to use to implement limit setting? Once you have set the location limit, can you accept that the goto cannot be done correctly during the planned shoot?

paulitoweb

ASIMount-ZWO
Hi,
Thank you for your reply.

Just to clarify my point: my main concern is preventing the telescope from hitting the tripod under certain conditions. Here are a few situations where this could happen:

When I accidentally select a target that is not visible from my location or at my current time.

When slewing to a target near the zenith — depending on my optical train and the position of the scope on the dovetail, the back of the telescope could collide with the tripod.

When I repeat a polar alignment (PA) procedure without first moving the mount back to the home position — this can cause the mount to move in a way that risks collision.

For these reasons, having user-defined upper and lower altitude limits could help avoid such situations and protect the equipment.

Thanks again for your support and for considering this feature.

Best regards,
Paolo