astrosathya

23 hours ago, lenscap said:

This is my Wemos R32, CNC V3 build before I put it in a case;

 

The lower board (that the power jack plugs into) is the R32.

The CNC (with all the yellow headers) just plugs into it. It only fits one way.

The two stepper drivers (with the blue heatsinks) plug into the CNC.

Just connect the  power &  the motors & you have a basic functional Onstep controller that can be directed by the Onstep app and/or Skysafari via Bluetooth or by Stellarium/CdC/Kstars etc by USB.

Please could you let me know the size of the pins? Would standard female jumper cables work or maybe JST Connectors? My original HEQ5 steppers came with what look like 0.5mm 4 pin JST type connectors.

8 hours ago, skybadger said:

Just make sure that you get the right stepper drivers , don't get the tmcxxxx ones, you'll need to solder. The wiki pages lay out the driver modules you can use. 

Also you can misalign the R2 and CNC boards by 2 pins, just align the PCBs though and you're fine. 

I have 2 spare DRV8825's at home. I'll check the list if they work. My mind is shuttling between the CNCV3 and STM32 controllers. 

1 hour ago, Xoc1 said:

There are many options on the Onestep Group,io

The WeMos R32 with CNC V3 Shield link should give you the right part references

https://onstep.groups.io/g/main/wiki/19670

 

yes, i've read and bookmarked it. What I need to figure out though is how to attach the wemos to the cncv3. There is not a single schematic to show what goes where, atleast I am not seeing the Idiots Guide to Getting it together.

1 hour ago, skybadger said:

I'd recommend onstep on a CNC v3 hat attached to a wemos R2, about 15£ and no soldering.  I have two of these, on for a skytee and a more powerful stepper version for a dob. 

would these items be the ones you recommended please?

Wemos R2

CNC V3

anything else that i need to get please?

1 hour ago, skybadger said:

I'd recommend onstep on a CNC v3 hat attached to a wemos R2, about 15£ and no soldering.  I have two of these, on for a skytee and a more powerful stepper version for a dob. 

this looks like its right up my alley. I am a total dud with electronics, though i can solder well. Please could you send me a tutorial etc for this version?

Thanks again.

3 hours ago, malc-c said:

Just some observations:

• The Onestep is fully open source by the looks of things.  The design and firmware for whatever off the shelf computer board (tensey , mega wemos etc) is available for download.  This is needed to make the project work
• The firmware for the AstroEQ is not open source, but the compiled hex file does seem available via GitHub, but with so many supporting files and bootloaders installation doesn't appear straight forward and you may still find you have to purchase the firmware (that was what I was told when I asked for the firmware a year or two ago).
• A pre-programmed Atmel chip on a custom PCB has been made for the AstroEQ project, but you can't purchase one, technically this with the point above makes the AstroEQ a non runner as without the firmware it won't work
• The schematics for the AstroEQ have nee made available as PDFs and appear to have been drawn in Eagle.  You can download Eagle for free, but are limited to a small board size that is smaller than a mega, so designing a plug in "shield" wouldn't be an option without purchasing the software.  
• Regardless of which Schematic and PCB layout software you opt for it will need manually drawing as AstroEQ don't appear to make the Eagle files available for import.  Likewise their PCB files are not publicly available.  
• The Onestep project uses off the shelf modules making construction easy - lets face it an EQ mount is no different to a 3D printer or CNC machine just with different firmware.  The concept is the same - controlling two stepper motors

I've designed PCBs for my own projects, the most recent is a 4 layer PCB that plugs into a Mega and provides 8 independent thermostats for control of the heating elements in my reptile enclosures.  It's a long process and can take two or three redesigns before you get it right.  The AstroEQ schematic isn't complicated, but matching components to the BOM listed would take some time and may require custom designing of parts if they have used parts that are not available in all countries.  Once the schematic is drawn and checked you then design the PCB from the schematic, again this can take some time as you are often moving parts around to make for easier routing of the tracks.  

Cost... Well lets assume you could purchase a pre-programmed Atment chip and you have designed your PCB.  you have checked it over and feel confident it has no errors, and a printed paper mock up fits the case or mount.  China is the place to have them made.  PCBWAY or JLCPCB are the two popular options.  The minimum order is 5 boards, so you could be looking at $50-70 for the order shipped by DHL.  Not sure about now, but pre pandemic I've uploaded designs on a Sunday and received the PCBs the following Saturday and that wasn't on a premium 24 hrs service...  You will get charged customs duty and VAT so you could end up with five boards costing you £50 - £80.  Lets say the board works and no revisions are required. What do you do with the other four boards?  You could sell them if you can find four other people in a similar situation as yourself, but typically you end up putting the surplus boards away in a draw never to see the light of day again.  In my case I have used three of the thermostat builds in three units, and I could always sell the two remaining boards with the compiled code as there are a lot of people wanting them (but due to legislation and the fact it switches mains voltages I'm not doing that).

So basically you've probably spent more than it might have cost to purchase a ready made PCB form AstroEQ, assuming the shop reopens.  But have also spent hours, days or weeks getting there.  On the other hand, designing a PCB to accept the Onesep design would probably take an afternoon... and basically only consists of header pins or sockets.  I did something like that for a DIY project to motorise a photographic slider.  An arduino nano and a stepper driver board.  A small PCB with rows of pin headers and the two just plug in.... simples !

Anyway... that's my 2p worth.

Hi Malcolm,

Are you the same Malcolm who's been replying to my HEQ5 blown board messages on EQMOD mailing groups?

Either way, thank you for your detailed reply.  Its definetly worth more than 2p. I will explore the OnStep too. The Gerbers for the shield PCB is available online (for the Arduino Mega Board), not just the schematic. I can print 10 PCB's here in Bangalore for 20$, so no more China

We get all components here for dirt cheap prices too you can perhaps but 10 capacitors for a British penny here. Since its the rainy season here and a lockdown's been imposed until month end, I wont be able to get myself out to buy anything. I'll take a call on it and keep this thread going for a while

Thanks again. 

18 hours ago, lenscap said:

Hi Sathya,

Have you considered OnStep;

https://onstep.groups.io/g/main/wiki/3860

The OnStep project is very active and, while you can use  a Mega2560 if you wish, you have the choice of several other boards, most of which which are  more capable than the Arduino.

yes, i'd thought about it, but since a local friend had made his own DIY GOTO mount using AstroEQ (and that I am a dud in electronics), I decided with the latter. Since Tom is not replying to messages anymore, or the astroEQ forum is inactive, I am looking for anyone who can draw me a PCB Gerber file so that I can get it printed and solder the components myself.

Hi John, Looks like I came acroos your writeup after 2 years, ha ha.

The motherboard on my HEQ5-PRO blew and I am planning to DIY the AstroEQ using Arduino Mega. I understand that you used Tom's board, but if you could kindly share pictures and your experiences in the past 2 years, i'd be grateful.

TIA. 

Hi Everyone,

The motherboard on my HEQ5 PRO went bust a couple weeks ago and after trying everything to fix it and looking at the cost of a new one, I've decided to make myself a AstroEQ board based on the Arduino Mega. I would be very grateful if anyone here has built one and your feedback please. The original AstroEQ forum isnt very active.

Background: I flashed a 32GB SD card 1.5 years ago and installed it in my Pi3B. From day 1, the Astroberry was visible as a Wifi Network and I was able to connect to it using my laptop and mobile phone. I have never connected the astroberry to the home wifi.

Yesterday: After a gap of 1.5 years i tried booting it up again and its not visible as a wifi network anymore either in my laptop or my phone. I connected it to my HDTV via HDMI and it works just fine. 

Question: How do i make it work as a wifi network so that i can use it through my laptop wirelessly? I have contacted Radek too, but just in case someone else can give me an answer.

TIA

3 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

You also seem to have changed guiding system?

In first image your guide resolution is 4.75"/px while in the second image 0.58"/px

I think that most of your improvement is from wrong numbers entered. Belt mod can't improve DEC performance as DEC is stationary and depends mostly on seeing. If you examine your numbers on the right - DEC did not change much - it is ~0.21-0.22 pixels in both cases - which is to be expected.

Your RA dropped from 0.16 pixels to 0.12 pixels and if we calculate with 4.75"/px guiding resolution - that is improvement from 0.76" to  0.57" - which is to be expected.

That second graph is not correct, points another clue - HEQ5 simply can't achieve precision of 0.14" RMS. This is territory of 6-10 times more expensive mounts. In best conditions, HEQ5 can go down to 0.5" or just a bit below, but seeing needs to be excellent and there must be no wind. Mount needs to be tuned and modified to achieve this.

 

you're absolutely correct there. I just found out that the equipment profile selected was OAG (1350mm) while i was guiding with Finder Guider. My mistake..

1 minute ago, mbalkham said:

Suggest you look at pixel resolution. Maybe the guidescope focal length is incorrect in one set of guiding. Iwould think this amount of change is unlikely to be down to the belt mod.

i'll recheck all the internal settings. I actually did not change any including guidescope params. Mine is the standard finder guider. I'll check the next time i get clear skies.

Just now, mbalkham said:

Something funny going on with these results. Error in pixels about the same top and bottom (0.27-0.24). Looks like something else has changed?

the parameters seem to be almost the same. the guiding exposure was 3s to beat the seeing which is usually 1.5".  I am myself finding it hard to digest.

Recently I had belt modded my HEQ5-PRO and last night i gave it a full run and i was absolutely stunned to say the least about the guiding results I achieved. I was left wondering if its even too good to be true! 
Below are Before and After images of guiding.

Recently I had belt modded my HEQ5-PRO and last night i gave it a full run and i was absolutely stunned to say the least about the guiding results I achieved. I was left wondering if its even too good to be true! 
Below are Before and After images of guiding.

Hello Everyone,

I am looking to purchase 14-16" glass blanks. Would anyone know of a reliable supplier in UK?

2 hours ago, JeremyS said:

Great image @astrosathya.

where in Bangalore did you take it? I presume outside the city. I spent 3 months in BLR earlier this year and observed with my 75mm refractor.

also, you're in Cheshire! I used to work for Opticstar Ltd, Sale, after my MSc at Salford. 

11 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Great image @astrosathya.

where in Bangalore did you take it? I presume outside the city. I spent 3 months in BLR earlier this year and observed with my 75mm refractor.

Great to know you've spent good time in Bangalore.

I live in a place about 4 kilometers from Hebbal (the huge lake half way from the city to the new international airport). I hope you come back to bangalore and we could catch up.

Finally I processed the Comet Neowise captured from Bangalore.
Simple Set-up:
Canon80D, Sigma 70-300 DG APOII @100mm F/4.
ISO2000, 50x5s
Stacked in Deep Sky Stacker
Processed in Pixinsight.
Lots of noise as I wanted to pull out both tails

Hi Everyone,

I am thinking of re-starting mirror grinding at home. I used to grind by hand and in this method, when we use the 1/3rd off-centre strokes for hogging out the sagitta, the upper glass becomes concave and would be polished into a mirror. 

However, this time I'd like to build a Mirror-O-Matic or something similar and do not understand that if the tool is on top, how will the bottom glass become concave? 

Or am I mistaken?

Please advice.

Hi Everyone,

I am trying to setup the off axis guider in stellarium I've entered all details for my QHY5L II and checked the off axis guider box in the config. However, for the love of God I am not able to make the OAG red box appear in the display. No clue whats happening. My main imaging camera is a QHY9M.

Any help will be appreciated.

Dont go for the CG-5GT, especially if its a 2011-12 model. That was the final batch of production and 9 out of 10 mounts would be returned. The HEQ5-PRO any day. I've has both mounts. The CG-5 I disposed off within two weeks of purchase owing to faulty gears. The HEQ5-PRO i've had for 8 years and last week I modded it to a belt drive too.

2 hours ago, carastro said:

I am sure many with find this useful Sathya, but I for one have looked at the first 5 minutes of your video and confirmed with myself that I made the right decision to Pay FLO to do the Mod for me, looks far too complicated for me to do something like that, but well done for making this video to help others.

Carole 

 

Thank You Carole.  Its actually not difficult, but yes, a bit intimidating at the beginning perhaps. The only fiddly bit was unplugging the DEC motor wire. Otherwise much of it was a breeze. 

Friends, I am back with a tutorial video on how to modify your Sky Watcher HEQ5-PRO mount or its American twin, the Orion Sirius EQ-G into a belt driven mount.
The benefits of converting to a belt drive is that you don't have to worry about Backlash. The procedure took me about an hour to complete.

Link is below
https://youtu.be/PjDZiXaN5KM

On 18/05/2020 at 00:44, RyanParle said:

I think @astrosathya was saying he was concerned that rotating his camera / oag might upset the balance of the scope. 

this is correct, because of the filter wheel.