Hello, Well, my CNCTRK is not based on Orbitron but does work with 12 VDC. I'm still looking at a short run of units during the current quarter. See the site below for current information. And, yes, a sturdy tripod workd best. http://ki4sbl.dodropin.org/CNCTRK/CNCTRK_system_home.html Regards, Bob Freeman KI4SBL