Motorize Your Telescope:
altazimuth and equatorial mounts
...by Mel Bartels
software last updated June 23, 1999
briefly:
- Get two surplus steppers (5 leads or more) and two small gear reducers
of about 50:1
- Switch teflon pads to small bearings
- Replace formica bearing surfaces with sheet metal
- Make one of the bearing points in each axis a small drive shaft that
is attached to the small gear reducer
- Get the circuit board and electronic parts
- Make the handpad and hook up the components
- Get a cheap pc or laptop
- Get optional encoders and encoder interface box
- Configure for your particular combination of parts
- Total cost ~$300 - $500 (see how others have done it by visiting
the links below)
click here for Spanish version
the ultra
light computerized motorized 20 inch
an unguided exposure of M13 using Richard Berry's
cookbook245 camera...
Table of Contents
Why Motorize a Dobsonian Telescope?
Features
Mechanical Aspects of the Drive
Stepper Motors
Circuitry
Field Rotation
Parts List
Parallel Port Interface
The Software
Optional Encoders
Autoguiding
Configuring the Software
Operating the Software
Software Update and Bug Fix Log
Contributors
Special Modifications
Download Software
download the executable program (1999-6-23
100kb)
download the associated data files (1999-6-9 70kb)
download webpages (1999-6-23 90kb)
download circuitry graphics (1999-5-8 420kb)
download scope graphics (1998-9-28 200kb)
download the source code (1999-6-23 90kb)
if you have trouble, e-mail me and I will e-mail you back the
files
Links to and pictures of other amateur computerized newtonians
Al Fressola's motorized dob
Allan Rahill's motorized 22"
Berthold
Hamburger's PCB for the motorized dob
Big Blue - a german equatorial computerized scope
Bill Fries computerized
dob
Bill Prewitt's computerized
12"
Botter's Thailand computerized metal dob
Chuck Shaw's 14" motorized
dob with excellent detailed notes on construction and fine tuning
Dirk Dhoore's
computerized dob webpage
Don Halter's 16" dob converted
to computer control
Eastern Missouri Dark
Sky Observer's 30"
Greg Granville's motorized
dob web page
James Krushlucki's Basic program that uses the
stepper drive circuit to track an equatorial scope in R.A.
twin Spanish automated 14" Schmidt cameras, graphic
by Jaime Nomen
Jay LeBlanc's 17" motorized dob
Jerry Pinter's 13
inch motorized dob construction notes plus astrophotos and CCD images
taken through the scope
Paul Shankland's
computerized 16" webpages
Petr Malon from Praha Czechia computerized cassegrain
Rick Iwanika's 6" f/4 computerized equatorial
Russell Crow's 18" computerized
equatorial, made from surplus material
Alphonse POUPLIER's
computerized drive webpages
Victor Trombotto's unusual computerized observing
arrangement (Argentina)
goto Mel Bartels' home page with
more articles and many more links
send e-mail to Mel Bartels
Further Information
Microelectronics
Industrial ICs - stepper motor application notes
floppy drive steppers
stepper motors controller
Jameco stepper driver kits
Jones on Stepping Motors
Stepper Motor Basics
Stepper Motor Introduction with
lots of links
Tony Mercer's
Basic Stepper Motor Concepts
Electronics page
Electrical enginnering circuits
archive
FC's electric circuits
Electronic schematics
Motion Control
Motion
Online
TERN Inc, single board computers
Intelligent Motion Systems
Laser and Motion Development
Company
Oregon Micro Devices
Performance Motion Devices
Precision Motion Control
CCNC homepage
NeuRobotics Lab: RoboLinks
Robotics
Automation parts
Mechanical Parts Sources
- vendor listing of gear reducers, bearings, and other parts, for PC based
motion control systems
Clear Sky Institute - robotic
astronomical control software for linux
robotic telescopes at Fairborn
Observatory
Bolton's
Group Computer Controlled Telescope using PC-PCS by Dave Harvey of
Comsoft
CTC (COAA Telescope Controller),
a low cost Portugese unit for equatorial mounts with stepper motors ala
a GP
Tech 2000's Dob-DriverII,
a commercial altaz drive system
SkyProbe 1000, a
commercial altaz drive system
Quadrant Engineering, a commercial
drive system
Build Your Own Low-Cost Data Acquisition and Display Devices
by Johnson, publisher Tab
Microcomputer Control of Telescopes by Trueblood and Genet,
publisher Willman-Bell
Disclaimer
Feel free to contact me with questions. For the code, please send an SASE
floppy mailer. Over my 25 years of amateur astronomy I have been helped
by several ATM experts who graciously gave of their time and hard won knowledge.
In the same spirit, the information from this project is being offered
freely. You may use it in any fashion that you wish. Crediting me would
be nice!
Mel Bartels
1294 "B" St.
Springfield, OR 97477 USA