I have a Shooting Star DRO setup that someone has tried to mount to a
minilathe, so the long scale is cut down. I need to use it with my
millrite so need a longer scale. This uses a fine-tooth rack that the
encoder reads. Shooting Star wants $100 for a 48" length of this rack,
plus $35 shipping. Seems high, but maybe that's the going price. Is
there an alternate source that might be cheaper?

Followup - are there other scales that can be used with this head?
The cables terminate in RJ11 or RJ12 clips at the DRO readout head.

Rex
--
I can see 2012 from my front porch

RBnDFW wrote:
I have a Shooting Star DRO setup that someone has tried to mount to a
minilathe, so the long scale is cut down. I need to use it with my
millrite so need a longer scale. This uses a fine-tooth rack that the
encoder reads. Shooting Star wants $100 for a 48" length of this
rack, plus $35 shipping. Seems high, but maybe that's the going
price. Is there an alternate source that might be cheaper?

Followup - are there other scales that can be used with this head?
The cables terminate in RJ11 or RJ12 clips at the DRO readout head.

Rex
--
I can see 2012 from my front porch

What protocol do the heads you have transmit ? Once you know that , we can
determine what will work . F'r instance , the Chinese scales sold by Shars
mostly transmit 24 bit binary code , glass scales use quadrature encoding
....
My cables are soldered to the contact pads on the PC board in the reader
head , because that was the most reliable ... BTW , I'm using Chinese scales
and a Shumatech DRO350 . --
Snag
Learning keeps
you young !

On 12/8/2010 2:40 PM, Snag wrote:
RBnDFW wrote:
I have a Shooting Star DRO setup that someone has tried to mount to a
minilathe, so the long scale is cut down. I need to use it with my
millrite so need a longer scale. This uses a fine-tooth rack that the
encoder reads. Shooting Star wants $100 for a 48" length of this
rack, plus $35 shipping. Seems high, but maybe that's the going
price. Is there an alternate source that might be cheaper?

Followup - are there other scales that can be used with this head?
The cables terminate in RJ11 or RJ12 clips at the DRO readout head.

Rex

What protocol do the heads you have transmit ? Once you know that , we can
determine what will work . F'r instance , the Chinese scales sold by Shars
mostly transmit 24 bit binary code , glass scales use quadrature encoding
...
My cables are soldered to the contact pads on the PC board in the reader
head , because that was the most reliable ... BTW , I'm using Chinese scales
and a Shumatech DRO350 . --
Snag
Learning keeps
you young !

Snag, I have no idea what protocol they use.


--

RBnDFW wrote:
On 12/8/2010 2:40 PM, Snag wrote:
RBnDFW wrote:
I have a Shooting Star DRO setup that someone has tried to mount to
a minilathe, so the long scale is cut down. I need to use it with my
millrite so need a longer scale. This uses a fine-tooth rack that
the encoder reads. Shooting Star wants $100 for a 48" length of
this rack, plus $35 shipping. Seems high, but maybe that's the going
price. Is there an alternate source that might be cheaper?

Followup - are there other scales that can be used with this head?
The cables terminate in RJ11 or RJ12 clips at the DRO readout head.

Rex

What protocol do the heads you have transmit ? Once you know that ,
we can determine what will work . F'r instance , the Chinese scales
sold by Shars mostly transmit 24 bit binary code , glass scales use
quadrature encoding ...
My cables are soldered to the contact pads on the PC board in the
reader head , because that was the most reliable ... BTW , I'm using
Chinese scales and a Shumatech DRO350 . --
Snag
Learning keeps
you young !

Snag, I have no idea what protocol they use.


--

I poked around a little , didn't find it with a google search . I can ask
if anyone over at the shumatech group knows if you'd like . Chances are that
since it's a rotary encoder it's quadrature . Or this might be one more of
the many times I've been wrong ...

--
Snag
Learning keeps
you young !

On Wed, 08 Dec 2010 13:25:23 -0600, RBnDFW wrote:

I have a Shooting Star DRO setup that someone has tried to mount to a
minilathe, so the long scale is cut down. I need to use it with my
millrite so need a longer scale. This uses a fine-tooth rack that the
encoder reads. Shooting Star wants $100 for a 48" length of this rack,
plus $35 shipping. Seems high, but maybe that's the going price. Is
there an alternate source that might be cheaper?

Followup - are there other scales that can be used with this head?
The cables terminate in RJ11 or RJ12 clips at the DRO readout head.

Rex

Count your blessings. Most DRO makers will charge you $1400 for a 48"
scale.

Really

Gunner

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Racism!
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1. Making everything in this country free, except you.

I installed the Shooting Star on my Bridgeport mill.... I really like
it, and I think if I was in your shoes I would just bite the bullet
and buy the scale.... the seem to work very well. Do you really need
48 inches? They may have shorter lengths for less money,
if you can use them.
Ken.



On Wed, 08 Dec 2010 13:25:23 -0600, RBnDFW
wrote:

I have a Shooting Star DRO setup that someone has tried to mount to a
minilathe, so the long scale is cut down. I need to use it with my
millrite so need a longer scale. This uses a fine-tooth rack that the
encoder reads. Shooting Star wants $100 for a 48" length of this rack,
plus $35 shipping. Seems high, but maybe that's the going price. Is
there an alternate source that might be cheaper?

Followup - are there other scales that can be used with this head?
The cables terminate in RJ11 or RJ12 clips at the DRO readout head.

Rex

I have one - for maybe 10 years now - on my 11" Sheldon 11-44 lathe.

It is nice when boring or turning down a length.

I saw a 24" caliper with ?sps? cable to computer.
It was on a massive Industrial drill press. Creative some machinists are.
Martin

On 12/8/2010 1:25 PM, RBnDFW wrote:
I have a Shooting Star DRO setup that someone has tried to mount to a
minilathe, so the long scale is cut down. I need to use it with my
millrite so need a longer scale. This uses a fine-tooth rack that the
encoder reads. Shooting Star wants $100 for a 48" length of this rack,
plus $35 shipping. Seems high, but maybe that's the going price. Is
there an alternate source that might be cheaper?

Followup - are there other scales that can be used with this head?
The cables terminate in RJ11 or RJ12 clips at the DRO readout head.

Rex

On 12/11/2010 8:11 PM, Ken wrote:
I installed the Shooting Star on my Bridgeport mill.... I really like
it, and I think if I was in your shoes I would just bite the bullet
and buy the scale.... the seem to work very well. Do you really need
48 inches? They may have shorter lengths for less money,
if you can use them.
Ken.

Actually the X travel is only about 24", but I believe they only show
two lengths, 48" and something like 15" IIRC

The rack looks like a piece of 1/4" drill rod with sawteeth milled into
one side.

I actually have almost nothing in the DRO setup. I bought a minilathe at
a bargain price and the DRO kit was included. So another $135 would
represent my total investment. But what made me reconsider is that I
found the resolution to be .001", where others for less money claim .0002"

Of course, the sorts of projects I have done in most cases one thou
would have been fine. For many a yardstick would have given me enough
accuracy



On Wed, 08 Dec 2010 13:25:23 -0600,
wrote:

I have a Shooting Star DRO setup that someone has tried to mount to a
minilathe, so the long scale is cut down. I need to use it with my
millrite so need a longer scale. This uses a fine-tooth rack that the
encoder reads. Shooting Star wants $100 for a 48" length of this rack,
plus $35 shipping. Seems high, but maybe that's the going price. Is
there an alternate source that might be cheaper?

Followup - are there other scales that can be used with this head?
The cables terminate in RJ11 or RJ12 clips at the DRO readout head.

Rex


--
I can see 2012 from my front porch