http://www.paulkimbrel.com/rotor Ramblings about building a satellite rotor. Thu, 01 Feb 2007 04:44:11 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I started building the computer interface on my perf-boards and was tossing around the idea of purchasing a pre-made circuit board for it. I found that Far Circuits had the board available at a pretty decent price, so I decided to go ahead and get it. I also ... http://www.paulkimbrel.com/rotor/2007/01/31/computer-interface-working/ I decided to monkey around a bit with this DAC so I could understand how it works before I through it into full use. I learned a lot tonight about the TLC7528CN as well as my parallel port and Windows XP. I started by hooking up a boat-load ... http://www.paulkimbrel.com/rotor/2007/01/25/digital-to-analog/ Okay, I hooked up the capacitor across the left and right terminals of the rotor and viola! It works! Here's the whole test assembly: Here's a close up of the capacitor: I took the power off the transformer's secondary leads and run it to an old two-position knife switch of mine (easier ... http://www.paulkimbrel.com/rotor/2007/01/23/we-have-movement/ Before I popped open rotor controller, I decided to try it out. It certainly sent a signal to the rotor and got it moving, but the motor in the controller didn't seem to be turning. After opening and poking at it a bit, it turned out to be ... http://www.paulkimbrel.com/rotor/2007/01/22/opening-the-rotor-controller/ So I ask my dad if he can bring our (okay... his) old rotor controller over. We're sitting there eating dinner and I ask, "So how attached are you to that controller?" I can't recall the answer, but it was about as direct as my question. So ... http://www.paulkimbrel.com/rotor/2007/01/22/acquiring-the-parts/ It was arduous, but I finally got the stinker of a rotor open. Doug's pictures show it coming apart rather easily. Not my model! Before I continue, let me lay out some terminology. It's not correct, I'm sure, but at least you'll know what I'm talking ... http://www.paulkimbrel.com/rotor/2007/01/22/pain-sorrow-conquest-opening-of-the-rotor/ I've been tooling around with this project for a bit now, doing research, getting materials, etc., so here's a quick update of how I got to today... First of all... references. I was posting a question on QRZ around rotors and I got several great references. The best one ... http://www.paulkimbrel.com/rotor/2007/01/22/in-the-beginning/ I've decided to give amateur satellite work a serious go and decided to try and tackle building my own azimuth / elevation rotor. It's essentially a rotor that can move in the horizontal (azimuth) as well as the vertical (elevation) plane. Then, I plan to build a computer controller ... http://www.paulkimbrel.com/rotor/2007/01/21/welcome-to-my-rotor-project/