Tracking Antenna Mounts - Revision history

Paul at 11:18, 25 December 2006

2006-12-25T11:18:22Z

←Older revision		Revision as of 11:18, 25 December 2006
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	An '''Azimuth-Elevation''', '''Az-El''', antenna mimics a human standing looking north. To see an object in the sky the ‘feet’– the '''azimuth drive''' – move around horizontally clockwise to the appropriate azimuth angle, between 0° and 360°, and the ‘head’– the '''elevation drive''' – tilts up to the appropriate elevation angle, between 0° horizontally and 90° vertically. Az-El antennas (and humans) find that directly overhead (the zenith) is the most difficult area in the sky to access.		An '''Azimuth-Elevation''', '''Az-El''', antenna mimics a human standing looking north. To see an object in the sky the ‘feet’– the '''azimuth drive''' – move around horizontally clockwise to the appropriate azimuth angle, between 0° and 360°, and the ‘head’– the '''elevation drive''' – tilts up to the appropriate elevation angle, between 0° horizontally and 90° vertically. Az-El antennas (and humans) find that directly overhead (the zenith) is the most difficult area in the sky to access.

-	An '''X-Y''' antenna avoids the overhead problem, as you could do, by lying down with one’s ‘head’ to the north and ‘feet’ to the south; directly upwards being denominated as 0° X and 0° Y. The '''X-axis''' drives the antenna from east (+90°) to west (-90°); like turning ones head from left to right. The '''Y-axis''' drives the antenna from north (+90°) to south (-90°); liking tilting one’s head up to down. Lie down and try it! Tracking overhead is now easy; the accuracy of measurement of anglular velocity is maximised for satellites passing across the zenith area. But there are new inaccessible areas depending on which axis drive is on top of the other; two small '''‘keyholes’''' where no tracking is possible, usually designed to be ‘north and south’ for earth-orbit tracking or ‘east and west’for deep-space tracking.	+	An '''X-Y''' antenna avoids the overhead problem, as you could do, by lying down with your ‘head’ to the north and your ‘feet’ to the south; directly upwards being 0° X and 0° Y. The '''X-axis''' drives the antenna from east (+90°) to west (-90°); like turning your head from left to right. The '''Y-axis''' drives the antenna from north (+90°) to south (-90°); like tilting your head from right 'up' to right 'down'. Lie on the ground and try it! Tracking overhead now becomes easy; the accuracy of measurement of anglular velocity is maximised for satellites passing across the zenith area. But there are new inaccessible areas depending on which axis drive is on top of the other; two small '''‘keyholes’''' where no tracking is possible, usually planned to be ‘north and south’ for earth-orbit tracking and ‘east and west’ for deep-space tracking.

	A '''Polar''' mount is commonly used for an antenna tracking objects in deep space particularly in astronomy. Here the Y-axis is tilted by the amount of the antenna’s latitude (24.900° towards the north for Carnarvon in the southern hemisphere); akin to a human lying on a tilted bed. The X-axis now becomes an '''hour-angle axis''' and the Y-axis becomes a '''declination axis'''. This makes star tracking - star-gazing - easier because once the declination angle is set for a particular star only the hour-angle axis moves - from east to west at a rate very close to 15° per hour.		A '''Polar''' mount is commonly used for an antenna tracking objects in deep space particularly in astronomy. Here the Y-axis is tilted by the amount of the antenna’s latitude (24.900° towards the north for Carnarvon in the southern hemisphere); akin to a human lying on a tilted bed. The X-axis now becomes an '''hour-angle axis''' and the Y-axis becomes a '''declination axis'''. This makes star tracking - star-gazing - easier because once the declination angle is set for a particular star only the hour-angle axis moves - from east to west at a rate very close to 15° per hour.

	Carnarvon had several of each type of mount: X-Y mounts for USB and the two R&RR antennas; Polar mounts for the SPAN telescopes and the Jupiter Monitor antenna; and Az-El mounts for all other movable antennas on site.		Carnarvon had several of each type of mount: X-Y mounts for USB and the two R&RR antennas; Polar mounts for the SPAN telescopes and the Jupiter Monitor antenna; and Az-El mounts for all other movable antennas on site.

Paul at 11:12, 25 December 2006

2006-12-25T11:12:45Z

←Older revision		Revision as of 11:12, 25 December 2006
Line 3:		Line 3:
	A moving tracking antenna commonly uses one of three different mounts.		A moving tracking antenna commonly uses one of three different mounts.

-	An '''Azimuth-Elevation''', '''Az-El''', antenna mimics a human standing looking north. To see an object in the sky the ‘feet’– the '''azimuth drive''' – move around horizontally clockwise to the appropriate azimuth angle, between 0° and 360°, and the ‘head’– the '''elevation drive''' – tilts up to the appropriate elevation angle, between 0° horizontally and 90° vertically. Az-El antennas (and humans) find that directly overhead is the most difficult area in the sky to access.	+	An '''Azimuth-Elevation''', '''Az-El''', antenna mimics a human standing looking north. To see an object in the sky the ‘feet’– the '''azimuth drive''' – move around horizontally clockwise to the appropriate azimuth angle, between 0° and 360°, and the ‘head’– the '''elevation drive''' – tilts up to the appropriate elevation angle, between 0° horizontally and 90° vertically. Az-El antennas (and humans) find that directly overhead (the zenith) is the most difficult area in the sky to access.

-	An '''X-Y''' antenna avoids the overhead problem, as you could do, by lying down with one’s ‘head’ to the north and ‘feet’ to the south; directly upwards being denominated as 0° X and 0° Y. The '''X-axis''' drives the antenna from east (+90°) to west (-90°); like turning ones head from left to right. The '''Y-axis''' drives the antenna from north (+90°) to south (-90°); liking tilting one’s head up to down. Lie down and try it! Tracking overhead is now easy; it maximises the accuracy of measurement of anglular velocity for satellites passing through the zenith area. But there are new inaccessible areas depending on which axis drive is on top of the other; two small '''‘keyholes’''' where no tracking is possible, usually designed to be ‘north and south’ for earth-orbit tracking or ‘east and west’for deep-space tracking.	+	An '''X-Y''' antenna avoids the overhead problem, as you could do, by lying down with one’s ‘head’ to the north and ‘feet’ to the south; directly upwards being denominated as 0° X and 0° Y. The '''X-axis''' drives the antenna from east (+90°) to west (-90°); like turning ones head from left to right. The '''Y-axis''' drives the antenna from north (+90°) to south (-90°); liking tilting one’s head up to down. Lie down and try it! Tracking overhead is now easy; the accuracy of measurement of anglular velocity is maximised for satellites passing across the zenith area. But there are new inaccessible areas depending on which axis drive is on top of the other; two small '''‘keyholes’''' where no tracking is possible, usually designed to be ‘north and south’ for earth-orbit tracking or ‘east and west’for deep-space tracking.

	A '''Polar''' mount is commonly used for an antenna tracking objects in deep space particularly in astronomy. Here the Y-axis is tilted by the amount of the antenna’s latitude (24.900° towards the north for Carnarvon in the southern hemisphere); akin to a human lying on a tilted bed. The X-axis now becomes an '''hour-angle axis''' and the Y-axis becomes a '''declination axis'''. This makes star tracking - star-gazing - easier because once the declination angle is set for a particular star only the hour-angle axis moves - from east to west at a rate very close to 15° per hour.		A '''Polar''' mount is commonly used for an antenna tracking objects in deep space particularly in astronomy. Here the Y-axis is tilted by the amount of the antenna’s latitude (24.900° towards the north for Carnarvon in the southern hemisphere); akin to a human lying on a tilted bed. The X-axis now becomes an '''hour-angle axis''' and the Y-axis becomes a '''declination axis'''. This makes star tracking - star-gazing - easier because once the declination angle is set for a particular star only the hour-angle axis moves - from east to west at a rate very close to 15° per hour.

	Carnarvon had several of each type of mount: X-Y mounts for USB and the two R&RR antennas; Polar mounts for the SPAN telescopes and the Jupiter Monitor antenna; and Az-El mounts for all other movable antennas on site.		Carnarvon had several of each type of mount: X-Y mounts for USB and the two R&RR antennas; Polar mounts for the SPAN telescopes and the Jupiter Monitor antenna; and Az-El mounts for all other movable antennas on site.

Paul at 11:07, 25 December 2006

2006-12-25T11:07:45Z

←Older revision		Revision as of 11:07, 25 December 2006
Line 5:		Line 5:
	An '''Azimuth-Elevation''', '''Az-El''', antenna mimics a human standing looking north. To see an object in the sky the ‘feet’– the '''azimuth drive''' – move around horizontally clockwise to the appropriate azimuth angle, between 0° and 360°, and the ‘head’– the '''elevation drive''' – tilts up to the appropriate elevation angle, between 0° horizontally and 90° vertically. Az-El antennas (and humans) find that directly overhead is the most difficult area in the sky to access.		An '''Azimuth-Elevation''', '''Az-El''', antenna mimics a human standing looking north. To see an object in the sky the ‘feet’– the '''azimuth drive''' – move around horizontally clockwise to the appropriate azimuth angle, between 0° and 360°, and the ‘head’– the '''elevation drive''' – tilts up to the appropriate elevation angle, between 0° horizontally and 90° vertically. Az-El antennas (and humans) find that directly overhead is the most difficult area in the sky to access.

-	An '''X-Y''' antenna avoids the overhead problem, as you could do, by lying down with one’s ‘head’ to the north and ‘feet’ to the south; directly upwards being denominated as 0° X and 0° Y. The '''X-axis''' drives the antenna from east (+90°) to west (-90°); like turning ones head from left to right. The '''Y-axis''' drives the antenna from north (+90°) to south (-90°); liking tilting one’s head up to down. Lie down and try it! Tracking overhead is now easy but there are new inaccessible areas. Depending on which axis drive is on top of the other, there will be two small '''‘keyholes’''' where no tracking is possible; either ‘east and west’ or ‘north and south’. This is usually designed to be ‘north and south’ for earth-orbit antennas and ‘east and west’ for deep-space antennas.	+	An '''X-Y''' antenna avoids the overhead problem, as you could do, by lying down with one’s ‘head’ to the north and ‘feet’ to the south; directly upwards being denominated as 0° X and 0° Y. The '''X-axis''' drives the antenna from east (+90°) to west (-90°); like turning ones head from left to right. The '''Y-axis''' drives the antenna from north (+90°) to south (-90°); liking tilting one’s head up to down. Lie down and try it! Tracking overhead is now easy; it maximises the accuracy of measurement of anglular velocity for satellites passing through the zenith area. But there are new inaccessible areas depending on which axis drive is on top of the other; two small '''‘keyholes’''' where no tracking is possible, usually designed to be ‘north and south’ for earth-orbit tracking or ‘east and west’for deep-space tracking.

	A '''Polar''' mount is commonly used for an antenna tracking objects in deep space particularly in astronomy. Here the Y-axis is tilted by the amount of the antenna’s latitude (24.900° towards the north for Carnarvon in the southern hemisphere); akin to a human lying on a tilted bed. The X-axis now becomes an '''hour-angle axis''' and the Y-axis becomes a '''declination axis'''. This makes star tracking - star-gazing - easier because once the declination angle is set for a particular star only the hour-angle axis moves - from east to west at a rate very close to 15° per hour.		A '''Polar''' mount is commonly used for an antenna tracking objects in deep space particularly in astronomy. Here the Y-axis is tilted by the amount of the antenna’s latitude (24.900° towards the north for Carnarvon in the southern hemisphere); akin to a human lying on a tilted bed. The X-axis now becomes an '''hour-angle axis''' and the Y-axis becomes a '''declination axis'''. This makes star tracking - star-gazing - easier because once the declination angle is set for a particular star only the hour-angle axis moves - from east to west at a rate very close to 15° per hour.

	Carnarvon had several of each type of mount: X-Y mounts for USB and the two R&RR antennas; Polar mounts for the SPAN telescopes and the Jupiter Monitor antenna; and Az-El mounts for all other movable antennas on site.		Carnarvon had several of each type of mount: X-Y mounts for USB and the two R&RR antennas; Polar mounts for the SPAN telescopes and the Jupiter Monitor antenna; and Az-El mounts for all other movable antennas on site.

Paul at 06:37, 6 December 2006

2006-12-06T06:37:30Z

←Older revision		Revision as of 06:37, 6 December 2006
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		+	<BR>
		+	{{SideMenuTRACK}}
	A moving tracking antenna commonly uses one of three different mounts.		A moving tracking antenna commonly uses one of three different mounts.

Paul at 02:45, 29 November 2006

2006-11-29T02:45:15Z

←Older revision		Revision as of 02:45, 29 November 2006
Line 1:		Line 1:
	A moving tracking antenna commonly uses one of three different mounts.		A moving tracking antenna commonly uses one of three different mounts.

-	An Azimuth-Elevation, Az-El, antenna mimics a human standing looking north. To see an object in the sky the ‘feet’– the azimuth drive – move around horizontally clockwise to the appropriate azimuth angle, between 0° and 360°, and the ‘head’– the elevation drive – tilts up to the appropriate elevation angle, between 0° horizontally and 90° vertically. Az-El antennas (and humans) find that directly overhead is the most difficult area in the sky to access.	+	An '''Azimuth-Elevation''', '''Az-El''', antenna mimics a human standing looking north. To see an object in the sky the ‘feet’– the '''azimuth drive''' – move around horizontally clockwise to the appropriate azimuth angle, between 0° and 360°, and the ‘head’– the '''elevation drive''' – tilts up to the appropriate elevation angle, between 0° horizontally and 90° vertically. Az-El antennas (and humans) find that directly overhead is the most difficult area in the sky to access.

-	An X-Y antenna avoids the overhead problem, as you could do, by lying down with one’s ‘head’ to the north and ‘feet’ to the south; directly upwards being denominated as 0° X and 0° Y. The X-axis drives the antenna from east (+90°) to west (-90°); like turning ones head from left to right. The Y-axis drives the antenna from north (+90°) to south (-90°); liking tilting one’s head up to down. Lie down and try it! Tracking overhead is now easy but there are new inaccessible areas. Depending on which axis drive is on top of the other, there will be two small ‘keyholes’ where no tracking is possible; either ‘east and west’ or ‘north and south’. This is usually designed to be ‘north and south’ for earth-orbit antennas and ‘east and west’ for deep-space antennas.	+	An '''X-Y''' antenna avoids the overhead problem, as you could do, by lying down with one’s ‘head’ to the north and ‘feet’ to the south; directly upwards being denominated as 0° X and 0° Y. The '''X-axis''' drives the antenna from east (+90°) to west (-90°); like turning ones head from left to right. The '''Y-axis''' drives the antenna from north (+90°) to south (-90°); liking tilting one’s head up to down. Lie down and try it! Tracking overhead is now easy but there are new inaccessible areas. Depending on which axis drive is on top of the other, there will be two small '''‘keyholes’''' where no tracking is possible; either ‘east and west’ or ‘north and south’. This is usually designed to be ‘north and south’ for earth-orbit antennas and ‘east and west’ for deep-space antennas.

-	A Polar mount is commonly used for an antenna tracking objects in deep space particularly in astronomy. Here the Y-axis is tilted by the amount of the antenna’s latitude (24.900° towards the north for Carnarvon in the southern hemisphere); akin to a human lying on a tilted bed. The X-axis now becomes an hour-angle axis and the Y-axis becomes a declination axis. This makes star tracking - star-gazing - easier because once the declination angle is set for a particular star only the hour-angle axis moves - from east to west at a rate very close to 15° per hour.	+	A '''Polar''' mount is commonly used for an antenna tracking objects in deep space particularly in astronomy. Here the Y-axis is tilted by the amount of the antenna’s latitude (24.900° towards the north for Carnarvon in the southern hemisphere); akin to a human lying on a tilted bed. The X-axis now becomes an '''hour-angle axis''' and the Y-axis becomes a '''declination axis'''. This makes star tracking - star-gazing - easier because once the declination angle is set for a particular star only the hour-angle axis moves - from east to west at a rate very close to 15° per hour.

	Carnarvon had several of each type of mount: X-Y mounts for USB and the two R&RR antennas; Polar mounts for the SPAN telescopes and the Jupiter Monitor antenna; and Az-El mounts for all other movable antennas on site.		Carnarvon had several of each type of mount: X-Y mounts for USB and the two R&RR antennas; Polar mounts for the SPAN telescopes and the Jupiter Monitor antenna; and Az-El mounts for all other movable antennas on site.

Paul at 02:35, 29 November 2006

2006-11-29T02:35:17Z

New page

A moving tracking antenna commonly uses one of three different mounts.

An Azimuth-Elevation, Az-El, antenna mimics a human standing looking north. To see an object in the sky the ‘feet’– the azimuth drive – move around horizontally clockwise to the appropriate azimuth angle, between 0° and 360°, and the ‘head’– the elevation drive – tilts up to the appropriate elevation angle, between 0° horizontally and 90° vertically. Az-El antennas (and humans) find that directly overhead is the most difficult area in the sky to access.

An X-Y antenna avoids the overhead problem, as you could do, by lying down with one’s ‘head’ to the north and ‘feet’ to the south; directly upwards being denominated as 0° X and 0° Y. The X-axis drives the antenna from east (+90°) to west (-90°); like turning ones head from left to right. The Y-axis drives the antenna from north (+90°) to south (-90°); liking tilting one’s head up to down. Lie down and try it! Tracking overhead is now easy but there are new inaccessible areas. Depending on which axis drive is on top of the other, there will be two small ‘keyholes’ where no tracking is possible; either ‘east and west’ or ‘north and south’. This is usually designed to be ‘north and south’ for earth-orbit antennas and ‘east and west’ for deep-space antennas.

A Polar mount is commonly used for an antenna tracking objects in deep space particularly in astronomy. Here the Y-axis is tilted by the amount of the antenna’s latitude (24.900° towards the north for Carnarvon in the southern hemisphere); akin to a human lying on a tilted bed. The X-axis now becomes an hour-angle axis and the Y-axis becomes a declination axis. This makes star tracking - star-gazing - easier because once the declination angle is set for a particular star only the hour-angle axis moves - from east to west at a rate very close to 15° per hour.

Carnarvon had several of each type of mount: X-Y mounts for USB and the two R&RR antennas; Polar mounts for the SPAN telescopes and the Jupiter Monitor antenna; and Az-El mounts for all other movable antennas on site.