"Last night was my first-light tracking test for the eq platform. It performed extremely well. I could not be happier." - Kevin Stephens
Read Kevin's Review of EzCBP

"The webcam I used was a Philips ToUCam II with a 2x barlow. That provides somewhere around 750X at f/10 in my 12" Lightbridge. BTW, I forgot to mention that I really appreciate your simple design. Designing a complicated solution is easy; making it simple the hard part! The turnbuckle method for setting the latitude is fantastic." Craig Matthews

Jupiter: Philips ToUCam II with a 2x barlow, about 750X at F/10, 12" Lightbridge.
Craig Matthews

"Hi Ted, My platform got first light friday 08/13/07 and worked flawlessly tracking my 16" dob."
Joe Lewandowski

Example of craftsmanship and inovations from Ken Crist. Missouri
"Hello Ted, Here are several photos showing how my cbp kit turned out. As you can see, I built it somewhat different than your basic instructions. The platform works fine and I am pleased with the outcome. Thanks", Ken Crist


EzCBP with Ken's 12.5" dob.


North end of Paul Maag's EzCBP platform

Paul Maag's EzCBP platform with his 14" Discovery scope and EzDSC digital setting circles.

"Hi Ted, I wanted to tell you how happy I am with the cylindical bearing platform. While I am not that proficient with working with wood, I am proud of the outcome. The platform looks great. I used baltic birch that I bought from the local lumber store and minwax for the finish. Mechanically, the platform works as you described. When I polar allign my 14 inch Discovery PDHQ (using the scope itself), I am able to keep objects in view at very high power. It is such a delight not adjusting the scope every third person at public star parties. I also use it when observing by myself. It's so nice to have the obect still in view when changing eyepieces. I also feel I see more when my eye does not have to keep up with the object. I also use your DSC's with ECU software. People are amazed when they see my scope's position move on the laptop screen! The process of finding DSO objects is now a pleasure, not a frustration." Thanks for a great product! Paul Maag

Tahir Saban's innovative light-weight design with a reset handle. Tahir uses his platform in the Northern and Southern hemispheres by switching motor directions and adjusting the latitude for each location.
"My primary objective was traveling and that's probably the primary reason why I selected the EzCBP. I think Tedd Laflour did a very good design, it is easy to addapt the plattform to a range of lattitudes. I live at 48N but wanted to revisit Namibia at 23S for example." Tahir Saban

TL

Kevin Stephens' Review of TL Systems EzCBP Cylindrical Bearing Platform Kit
Posted on Google's Equatorial Platform Newsgroup and on Sci.Astro.Amateur Newsgroup on 2/12/04.

"Like many first time telescope purchasers I wanted the most bang for my buck and in my case I decided to go with an 8-inch dobsonian as a starter scope. As every dob owner knows your "tracking system" consist of constantly bumping the scope every few seconds to keep an object in view. Not too labor intensive but tedious. After a while I got interested in doing a little astrophotography. For this I knew I needed some form of tracking.

I thought of several mount modifications. A true equatorial mount was out of the question, as one beefy enough to support an 8 inch scope would equal or exceed the cost of the scope. A home brewed fork mount was too labor intensive to construct. Then I began to take a look at equatorial platforms, which can provide steady tracking for about an hour (more than adequate for my needs).

I took a look at the available commercial platforms, but they started out at around $600 for a basic single axis model. I thought of building my own platform and began studying plans on the Internet. I knew I had some basic woodworking skills, however I also needed to construct a stepper motor drive circuit, which required some circuit board soldering beyond my abilities.

A couple of companies provide component kits for equatorial platforms.
I settled on a kit designed by Ted Lafleur of TL Systems. It includes basic assembly plans, all hardware for the platform (including the stepper controller). You just provide the wood, a few basic tools, a little solder for wire connections, and sweat.

The most difficult part of building the platform was cutting the radius for the north sector board. However Ted provides instructions for cutting it with basic hand tools. It can also be cut with a router and a circle-cutting jig.
As luck would have it my brother-in-law owns a machine shop. I told him the radius I needed, he placed the board in a vertical CNC mill, punched a few buttons, and about 5 minutes later I was driving home with an oak board cut with a perfect radius!

The kit allows you to build an equatorial platform that tracks smoothly thanks to a high ratio stepper/gearbox. It's also flexible in that you can build the platform to match the footprint of your rocker box if you want. As an option you can purchase the stepper controller fully wired and ready to go, I went with this option.

First light for the dob/platform combination was on a cold February night. I simply took a pocket compass and aligned the base of the platform to north. That's all you need for visual use. (Try that with a standard equatorial mount.) Then I set the motor switch to track, and lo and behold Saturn stayed in my view without drifting away. There's a potentiometer on the control so you can adjust tracking speed. It also has a switch that allows you to slew to east or west, which is perfect for centering an object, or strolling around the lunar surface.

The platform allows me to spend more time observing and less time fiddling with the scope, and I was able to build it for about half the price of a commercial single axis platform.

Thanks to TL Systems for making a platform kit that a poor Kentucky boy can afford!"

Kevin Stephens Bardstown, Kentucky

Curt Diggs' beautifully built platform for his 12.5" 100 lb scope and some inovative changes such as a metal arm on the motor mount for lifting the top board for quick reset.
"The tracking platform I built from your kit is finished. It turned out great and works perfectly. I did make a few mods from your instructions but I suspect that's pretty normal... :-)"

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