The size and orientation of these segments ensure that the pivot axis of the platform is parallel to the Earth’s axis of rotation; hence we say it is equatorially mounted. Use this small Celestron Motor Drive to automatically track stars as they make their westward movement across the sky. Believe me, we measured considerably more than twice before cutting into A small output gear on the outside will drive the segment. You have to push it around to follow what you're viewing. Half stepping reduces vibration. The knob you see to the left of the motor is the release mechanism that allows me to manually move the scope sideways without damaging the motor. After measuring the diameter of our output gear, we can work out how many times per minute it must turn to create the required movement. Use M3 screws and nuts to hold it all together. On average it draws about 0.1A of current at 6.5V, this allows for some 8 - 12 hours of operation on one battery set. In order to calculate the size and angle of your segments you must know the latitude where the platform will be used and the height of the telescope’s centre of gravity (including its mount). Here is a parts list in Australian dollars inc. postage. DIY MOSFET Motor Controller: This is a simple to build motor controller. In fact, drive components alone can eat up 15 to 20% of the power produced by the engine. The Orion TrueTrack Telescope Drive System offers dual-axis control which is ideal for high-power viewing and astrophotography. scope vertically. It can be used as an Electronic Speed Controller (ESC) and has forward and reverse control. In the end, we decided on a drive mechanism which consists of a stepper motor which drives a worm which drives a worm gear. At the heart of the system is a pair of Maxon Motor precious metal brushed coreless DC motors with 512 cpr encoders and 30:1 reduction gearboxes. You may know the old carpenter's saying "Measure twice, cut Like their flat counterparts, tubular linear motors can be constructed with or without iron in the secondary part (i.e. With servos, the low level servo controller One advantage of a dobsonian over an equatorial is … Tech2000, a reputable company I found on the web. Orion TrueTrack Dual-Axis electronic drive provides motorized dual-axis control for high-power viewing and astrophotography; Drive controller allows sidereal tracking and electronic control of declination; Features 2x, 4x, and 8x speeds and pause mode; Includes two motors, controller and battery pack. Description Additional information Reviews (0) Warranty Description. If your gearbox motor turns at 10rpm or slower, you will probably only need a worm and wheel. DIY MOSFET Motor Controller: This is a simple to build motor controller. This is a bit fiddly, so spend time refining the position. Like the Go-To drive method, it maintains the low, stable centre of gravity of the Dobsonian design. Page 1 ... EQUATORIAL/ALT-AZIMUTH TELESCOPES Newtonian Reflector Telescopes Dual-Speed Parabolic Imaging Newtonian Reflectors Dobsonian Telescopes Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescopes Refractor Telescopes Short Tube Refractor Telescopes Telescope Mountings ED Refractor … HEQ5 UPGRADE SKYSCAN KIT. Motor Drive for Meade LightBridge Dobsonian 16" TNTLB16 $519 Purchase from Farpoint: Train-N-Track™ Motor Drive for Meade LightBridge. I designed and built a clutch mechanism for the interior of the drive roller to make it easy to return to the start position. Telescope Drive Motors - posted in ATM, Optics and DIY Forum: I dont remember what forum I was reading but not too longago there was a discussion on what type of motor is best for telescope drives synchronous or stepper. Hub motor drivetrains will generally be less electrically efficient than an indirect drive system It is certainly true that hub motors bypass practically all the mechanical losses associated with a clutch, transmission, axles, and gears that you typically find in a vehicle powertrain. If I remember correctly the gist of the discussion did not favor steppers.Does anyone remember a discussion along these lines?I … You mount your camera on the “door,” then aim the hinge straight at the North Star, Polaris. Product Code: 20308 SRP: £20.00 More Info. The 4 buttons are used to select which function will Using moments, you can calculate the exact position. The telescope itself was dusty and wet, but the mount was in a good shape, just the driver electronics for the motor were missing. If it is too far above or below, the motor may struggle to drive the platform effectively. Page 1 of 1: 20 Items: SYNSCAN USB ADAPTOR. Screw the north bearing assembly to remaining plywood, which will become the base board. Wherever you point, you're tracking - smoothly, precisely - without losing stability, ease of … Accommodations 1st night (Regina, Saskatchewan) Best Western Plus Eastgate Inn & Suites Address: 3840 Eastgate Drive, Regina, SK S4Z 1A5 Price: CAD 124/night Astrophotography is possible with a Dobsonian and equatorial platform!. … Calculate the combined centre of gravity using the spreadsheet calculator included in the folder here. … Mark around the bearings and arm support to draw a suitable shape for the base. This is what moves the Consult us by email if you have any questions. I am though going to build another EQ Platform as my other one use plywood that was too thin. NEQ6 GOTO KIT SKY-UPGRADE. If you would rather avoid that, you can download our spreadsheet calculator from the link at the top of this artcile to generate the dimensions you need for the wooden parts after you enter some key values relating to your telescope. Typical Dobsonian … CONSTRUCTION. This is eqatorial platform with stepper motor drive for Dobsonian telescopes. scope. I began building it in the spring of 2008, but the bulk of the work was done in July of 2008 with first light occurring on July 25. Here is a closer iron core or ironless). Shape the wooden blocks using a plane or saw set to appropriate angles. The steppers are made to track smoothly by microstepping and to slew at high speed by overvoltage halfstepping. Since we know the radius of our north segment (from Part 1) we can work out the length of a 15° section of the circumference. Hold pieces safely in a vice or clamp when drilling. Feb 13, 2020 - Explore Gary Zapotoczny's board "homemade telescope mounts" on Pinterest. If possible, take at least 5 days to drive from Calgary to Toronto so that you will have plenty of rest and time to explore. I put it on the tube so that the eyepieces would be closer at hand. Make a gearbox using offcuts of the aluminium angle. They use sophisticated stepper motors, which move by very small, predictable increments. Product Code: 20325 SRP: £23.99 More Info. Well, I recently (as of November 2001) motorized my Dob. The DC motor you need to buy should come with a built-in gearbox with a published speed of 10rpm or less. These have slop as you change direction, you can't do fine adjustments, they weigh a ton, and can flex alarmingly over time. In 24 hours this is only slightly more than one full revolution (360°), so in one hour the platform should turn 360/24 = 15°. be used (tracking, manual slew, etc.) Share this post. Sky-Watcher Dobsonian Upgrade Kits for GOTO upgrades your Standard Dobsonian to Full GoTo and Tracking Mount. Dobsonian Upgrade Kits for GOTO. It features unmatched stability and smoothness of motion. Assemble the plywood parts with glue and screws. Find an Outlet. Why Build a Dobsonian Telescope Yourself? Below are some pictures of my scope with the motors. The kit … The driver is powered by 6 AA batteries. Use the spreadsheet calculator in the downloadable materials to select appropriate gears. One advantage of a dobsonian over an equatorial is that gravity naturally tensions the rollers and drive shafts. Our spreadsheet calculator (also at the link) once again comes to the rescue when it comes to working out gear ratios so all you need to do is input your values and experiment with the numbers until the ratios match your needs. Rather than have these running directly on the surface of the plywood, we added thin plastic sheets to the undersides of the segments with aluminium strips on the edges, providing tougher, smooth surfaces. But set a Dobsonian on an Equatorial Platform and … Since the rollers are very large, the scope has a very high inherent stiffness. We all know the problems with focusing. For DC Motors. Product Code: 20449 SRP: £32.99 More Info. Excludes bulk, large and Sunday delivery. The slanted bracket with the holes in it is the eyepiece Make three jacking screws from M8 coach bolts with captive nuts pressed into holes in the underside of the base. This can get to be a hassle. Charges refer to the value of goods being delivered and excludes delivery from stores or services. white square (marked "PC Link") is where a cable from a personal computer can be SKU: N/A Categories: Accessories, Motor Drives & GoTo Kits. Plus it is eminently compact and transportable. We created this ‘rack’ by making a mould from modelling clay (rolling the output gear along a strip of clay to create the profile) then filling the mould with glue from a hot glue gun. Save over 30% when you subscribe to BBC Sky at Night Magazine today! Because stepper motors can be used in a variety of ways and are driven by a variety of devices, than the PC or the control paddle. Works with Celestron AstroMaster and PowerSeeker equatorial telescope systems, as well as any setup that employs Celestron CG-2 or CG-3 equatorial mounts. The upper, movable platform has two curved segments on its underside, which run in the bearing sets below. Drive a Stepper Motor by: Matthew Grant 16-Bit Automotive Applications Microcontroller Division Introduction This application note is for novices who want a general quick-start guide showing how to control a stepper motor. Description Additional information Reviews (0) Warranty Description. The motor opens the door very slowly to match the sky’s rotation, for blur-free exposures of minutes or even hours. Their internal diameter is 8mm, so they are easy to mount using standard M8 screws. EQ3 Upgrade Kit for GOTO. SainSmart L293D Motor Drive Shield(9.99$) This two-part project aims to deal with this inconvenience. HEQ5 UPGRADE SKYSCAN KIT. EQ3 RA DRIVE. Here is a closer shot of the azimuth motor. Compatible Brands: GSO manufactured Dobsonian, such as Zhumell Z, Apertura AD, Astro-Tec (older version), Orion Skyline etc. One of these would be ideal but it is possible to build a cheaper (albeit slightly noisier) alternative. After separately weighing your telescope and mount/base, balance the base on an offcut of tube to find its centre of gravity. Set a Dobsonian on an Equatorial Platform and experience instant motorized tracking! shot of the control paddle. I found rounding the drive flat instead of a more complex jig to make the angle. With it you can continue to use the normal push-to altaz movements of the Dobsonian mount that are so much more in tune with the human frame of reference, but as soon as you have found the target it stays put in field as the equatorial platform tracks it. Mark out and cut the aluminium angle sections. As if I didn't have enough projects going on all at once I have started yet another, an equatorial mount for my telescope. This way, I still have full manual control over the mount if I wish. A simple two-star alignment procedure is all it takes to orient the telescope to the sky for GoTo … Jun 3, 2015 - 10 inch f/4.5 Newtonian - #Dobsonian #Telescopes (trust me on this). Controller: The controller can be a microprocessor or a microcontroller. I’d been frustrated by the lack of ability for my Zhumell Z10 10″ Dobsonian reflector telescope to track the night sky. connected. Mark Parrish is a consummate craftsman. Orion has heralded another giant leap in Dobsonian evolution with the SkyQuest XTg series of fully motor driven GoTo Dobsonians. Train-N-Track™ Motor Drive including Pre-drilled Meade LightBridge Telescope. Here you The telescope optical tube drops into the GoTo base on a dovetail trunnion and conveniently locks in place with a single hand knob. Features 2x, 4x, and 8x speeds, plus pause mode. EQ3 RA DRIVE. For 8" to 16" Dobsonian GOTO mounts. A worm gear with a wheel (ours has 57 teeth) will do the job nicely and these can be bought online. Solder wires to the motor terminals and connect to the controller, which should be protected in a suitable case. Buy Furnace Repair Part at Amre Supply - Property Performance Centres with 13 locations across Canada It can be used in robotics, remot… The motor in your pictures is the same motor that Celestron supply for their lower priced mounts ( such as my Astromaster 130 EQ ). By the time I added the off axis guider, the filter wheel, focuser, and finally a camera on the scope I lost a lot of sky due to everything hanging off the back. The cradle adapts the tube to the mount - it firmly holds the round tube and provides flat, square surfaces to attach the altitude bearings to the side. This permanent full time Automotive Service Technician job from Unlimited Performance & Exhaust is offering $30.00 to $40.00 hourly (to be negotiated) for 40 hours per week. EQ3 DA DRIVE. Motor Drives and GOTO Upgrades. One of the special features of our OD Dobsonian Mount is the ability for existing owners of our OTA's (or even competitor's OTAs) is to be able to just drop their tube straight into one of our mounts. By tightening the knob, a teflon pad is pushed against the baseboard, lifting the knurled wheel of the motor off of contact with the baseboard. crooked, since the scope is usually operated with the tube somewhere near a 45° SYNSCAN USB to SERIAL (RS232) CONVERTER CABLE. Electronic hand controller allows sidereal tracking in right ascension and electronic control of declination. SainSmart L293D Motor Drive Shield(9.99$) The principle behind our motor drive is simple: the telescope’s platform should rotate very slowly at the same rate as the Earth is spinning – the sidereal rate – but in the opposite direction. My drive system uses a 4 wire, bipolar stepper motor, driven by an A4988 stepper driver and an Arduino Nano, all powered using a 12V battery. Smaller ‘jacking’ screws make it easy to align the guide bearings, so they run freely without scrubbing, before fully tightening the M8 nuts. Cutting out the plywood parts is quite straightforward, but the curves do need to be smooth. This stems from trying to set up my 10" Meade LX200 for astrophotography. EQ5 DA DRIVE. The final driver in an enclosure looks like this the addition of some software on a laptop, I am able to tell the scope to look EQ2 RA DRIVE. Back to the Build a tube are almost impossible to calculate without the actual tube and Cradle Use the calculated values and plans to mar Tools – Jigsaw, router, hacksaw, drill and bits, plane, spanner, Allen key, screwdriver, hot glue gun, file, Materials – Remainder of 18mm plywood and 30x30x2mm aluminium angle from earlier in the build, Sundries – Modelling clay, worm, wheel, small spur gear, suitable axle (4mm rod), three M8x75 coach bolts with six M8 nuts, motor/gearbox (ours was 12V and 10rpm output speed), DC motor controller, M3 screws and nuts, M6 screw, Nylock nut and washers, Finish – Preservative wood stain or paint. If you find this too fiddly, you can buy toothed belts with matching small gears instead. EQ2 RA DRIVE. 16’ polaris axys 800 -155” track with no missing lugs - walker evans clicker shocks -Trenchers 36” front end with extra ball joints -Polaris front and rear bumpers and skid plate -Munster finger throttle and pro armour teather -Skins windshield and underseat bag -Muff pot under hood -GGB can - durapro ski rubbers -Comes with stock bumpers, can, window and hand guards -comes … Ascertain best position for the south bearing and fix it with a central pivot screw. The principle behind it is quite straightforward: there is a fixed lower base board on which two sets of bearings are mounted, one set to the north and the other set to the south. They also control the manual slew. EQ5 RA DRIVE. Voltage for the motor is provided by an adjustable switching DC-DC converter based on LM2596 (a cheap Chinese module off ebay).