Start Simply, Build Slowly – The Best Advice for Amateur Radio Astronomy

Drift scanning works well for hydrogen line work, even with small antennas or dishes and I would strongly recommend starting with that. With regards to pointing/compass, make line on the ground before putting your telescope down, and measure the direction of the line to define azimuth and then put telescope down aligned with that. Azimuth then does not change and best to leave the telescope out all the time so no errors due to movement. If you can’t do this then put some markers on the ground so that the telescope can be aligned exactly the same way each time you put it out.

For altitude measurements, use a digital inclinometer on the same part of the antenna/dish each time.

Both compasses and digital inclinometers are available free of charge as apps on your phone – but they are also so cheap to buy that sometimes easier to get at least the inclinometer as separate device (but not necessary).

The effect of metal on compasses can not be removed by buying expensive devices – only by measurement without the metal present, so you need intermediate markers.

If you really want to be able to point the telescope in different directions or have projects that require this ability then you need to either use a compass some distance from the metal structure (e.g. on a long boom), or use encoders or other means of identifying angle changes without using a compass.

For readers who are starting their journey in amateur radio astronomy, I would emphasise the importance of starting simply and with a smaller dish or antenna and building up, rather than jumping in at the deep end – good chance that will lead to failure and frustration, and might even lead newcomers to giving up on radio astronomy completely.

………..For all those people who are now raising an eyebrow at the above, thinking of how they advised me to do the same thing, and I ignored them and made a fool of myself, my only response is…..I know, and I was wrong!!!

Andy