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AstroEQ for EQ mounts

Oily

By Oily
in DIY Astronomer

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Gonzo

Gonzo

Posted
Posted

Ok I've set the speed in the config and uploaded it to the box, somehow the slew speed doesn't seem to take effect.

Had this problem before.

no noisy motors so far, but it's not at 800x speed.

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TCWORLD

TCWORLD

Posted
Posted

I've programmed my test controller with the latest version and your numbers and it is working properly - I'm looking at the output on an oscilloscope and the step frequency properly corresponds with the requested speed in EQMOD, as does the step mode.

I have a sneaking suspicion that what you are seeing as a glitch in the latest version is actually a glitch in the old version. There was a lot of work done to improve the go-to speed setting in the latest version and I recon that now when you request 800x you get it, whereas in the old version, 800x was actually much slower. In fact I know that to be the case, in the old version the maximum speed was not coincidentally the same as the 'IVal' number, so on your mount you would have been limited to 406x on the RA and 808x on the DEC axis, which nicely explains why the DEC mostly works but the RA stalls.

Try setting them both to 400z with the latest version of the config utility and see if that works reliably. The limit of your setup (mount/motors) may well be somewhere around 400x to 500x (which is still pretty darn quick!).

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Gonzo

Gonzo

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Posted

I've programmed my test controller with the latest version and your numbers and it is working properly - I'm looking at the output on an oscilloscope and the step frequency properly corresponds with the requested speed in EQMOD, as does the step mode.

I have a sneaking suspicion that what you are seeing as a glitch in the latest version is actually a glitch in the old version. There was a lot of work done to improve the go-to speed setting in the latest version and I recon that now when you request 800x you get it, whereas in the old version, 800x was actually much slower. In fact I know that to be the case, in the old version the maximum speed was not coincidentally the same as the 'IVal' number, so on your mount you would have been limited to 406x on the RA and 808x on the DEC axis, which nicely explains why the DEC mostly works but the RA stalls.

Try setting them both to 400z with the latest version of the config utility and see if that works reliably. The limit of your setup (mount/motors) may well be somewhere around 400x to 500x (which is still pretty darn quick!).

I think I understand, let try to the new version (v7.3) set to 400 and see how it goes.

I really do appreciate the help :)

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TCWORLD

TCWORLD

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The other thing is that now when you press 'Update', the speed in the goto box is updated to show what it will actually be (not all speeds are possible due to the synta protocol itself), whereas the old version didn't do the rounding until after you clicked upload so it was hidden from view (not intentionally, just through bad design of the utility). I've put a lot of effort into making the new version much more clear as to what is going on.

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Gonzo

Gonzo

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all right, so I've loaded up the v7.3 back onto the AstroEQ, set my parameters as normal. Gives me a calculated 403 on RA and 806 on DEC.

Started up Kstars and made a successful connection to the box, slew to target at speed of 400RA x 800DEC and it worked fine. No motor grinding.

If I force the RA to 800x speed, then there is grinding. Which I guess it's expected.

Thanks for the help, much appreciated.

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GigiG

GigiG

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Hi all, I found some topics on this thread but I've not well understood yet so sorry for my question that probably has already been made. Basically, I was wondering if it is possible (and which applications to use in this case) to set up an AstroEQ DIY board and control it with a Linux box with Linux native software only. I read something about EQMOD with INDI and KStars. I have currently a NEQ3 motorized with a couple of little and cheap chinese geared steppers (my web page here), controlled by a PicGoto board in Windows, via an ASCOM dedicated driver. Using this system under Linux is not trouble free, almost all software should be used under Wine. So I'd like to know if AstroEQ can be controlled effectively with Linux native software to control my motorized NEQ3 (I don't have SynScan or other intermediate controllers). Thanks for your attention.

Gigi

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TCWORLD

TCWORLD

Posted
Posted

AstroEQ is fully compatible with EQMOD-Indi and KStars. The configuration utility also has a native Linux version. The trouble is, those motors are a 5 wire Unipolar type which is not compatible with the drivers used for AstroEQ. You would have to find a circuit which would allow that sort of stepper motor to be controlled using a 'step' and 'direction' pin if you wanted to use them with AstroEQ. 

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Gonzo

Gonzo

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Posted

Hi all, I found some topics on this thread but I've not well understood yet so sorry for my question that probably has already been made. Basically, I was wondering if it is possible (and which applications to use in this case) to set up an AstroEQ DIY board and control it with a Linux box with Linux native software only. I read something about EQMOD with INDI and KStars. I have currently a NEQ3 motorized with a couple of little and cheap chinese geared steppers (my web page here), controlled by a PicGoto board in Windows, via an ASCOM dedicated driver. Using this system under Linux is not trouble free, almost all software should be used under Wine. So I'd like to know if AstroEQ can be controlled effectively with Linux native software to control my motorized NEQ3 (I don't have SynScan or other intermediate controllers). Thanks for your attention.

Gigi

I use Indi/Kstars/Ekos , no issues with the AstroEQ under Linux :)

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hippie

hippie

Posted
Posted

:iamwithstupid:  EQMOD ascom setup Help needed!

I'm trying to set up my EQ5 mount & software to run on a  laptop, Running Vista home edition.

I can't set the port setting in the ascom setup!, every time I try to find the port it comes up saying port not found?

Each time I plug the AstroEQ mount controller in it reports device installed & working, Yet Device manager is reporting Unknown device?  When I goto Properties under general tab status it reports No Drivers are installed?, When I run update driver it reports driver already installed & working???, :huh:  

I have uninstalled & reinstalled with the same problem half a dozen times now with the same outcome  each time Grrrr :confused: ,

​Any help & advice to my dilemma will be much appreciated from you more knowledgeable people out there!,  As I don't know what I am doing really :eek: !,   :iamwithstupid:  

Ian.

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  • 2 weeks later...
S33kAt

S33kAt

Posted
Posted

Hello,

I'm new here and have just finished building and AstroEQ Controller. Thanks Tom for your tutorials!

But now I'm facing a problem where I don't know how to solve it..

I've built the AstroEQ Controller all by myself, including etching the PCB. Since yesterday I am trying to get the Bootloader and Firmware onto the Controller. I'm using Ponyprog and the standard Ponyprog siprog programmer. The Fuse bits are already set as described in the bootloader/readme on Toms project site.

And at this point I'm either missing any information on your site or I am doing something wrong. I used Ponyprog to write the modified optiboot bootloader to the avr flash. And as I understand, that should be all I have to do, before I can plug the controller into my USB port, or is that not correct?

My pc does nothing when I plug it in. Also, the USB LED on the controller is not lighting up. No driver installation, no new COM port, nothing..

Then I tried to write the firmware to the eeprom with ponyprog. After that sometimes the USB led lights up, but not as described on your site. It turns on when I plug my 12V supply in and either it turns off again after abaout a second or I stays on. After plugging the 12V supply and the USB in and off a few times the USB LED stops lighting up, till I write the firmware to the eeprom again.

I even tried writing the firmware directly to the flash, same behaviour as above.

I checked all the connections on my PCB again and again. The USB port is definitely connected on all pins and the avr is supplied with power.

Can anybody give me any tips or hints, what could be my problem or what I am doing wrong?

Thanks,

S33kAt

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S33kAt

S33kAt

Posted
Posted

Thanks for your fast reply!

The PIC was not yet programmed, but now it is (I hope so). But It's still not working.

The first LED lights up after in plug in the 12V supply and thats it. The other LEDs stay off.

I used this two sources for my an arduino PIC programer:

https://sites.google.com/site/thehighspark/arduino-pic18f

http://pleasantlyclueless.blogspot.de/2013/11/using-arduino-as-pic-programmer.html?showComment=1408361374107

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TCWORLD

TCWORLD

Posted
Posted

I haven't tried that before, and I'm not entirely sure it is designed for a pic18f14k50. If it had programmed properly, the link led would be flashing when the usb cable was plugged in.

I can send you a pre-programmed chip if that would make things easier. Send me a PM if you would like me to.

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orly_andico

orly_andico

Posted
Posted

Will the AstroEQ code work OOTB with the V1 Adafruit motor shield?

These shields are $5 shipped from China on ebay and can drive two motors.  Of course micro-stepping is out, but for a crude and cheap GoTo setup it might suffice?

IMG_8397.JPG

I did put a heat sink on the L293 to address some heating issue (this is from my Moonlite-compatible robofocus controller)

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TCWORLD

TCWORLD

Posted
Posted

Also, a word of caution about 'cheap from China on eBay'. A large part of the electronics you can find on eBay are cheap for a reason, they are usually poorly designed, poor quality knockoffs which either don't work as advertised or fail quickly - advice which several people building their own AstroEQ didn't listen too and then regretted it.

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orly_andico

orly_andico

Posted
Posted

I've had good luck with China Arduino stuff. But then I always buy several of everything I order. So far so good. Does AstroEQ use AccelStepper? That library provides step/direction control for just about anything.

In any case reliability doesn't bother me.. That's what my "real" mount is for...

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TCWORLD

TCWORLD

Posted
Posted

AstroEQ uses its a highly optimised set of routines that I wrote specifically for the DRV8825 and A4988 driver boards. Although it uses the Arduino to IDE to compile it, there isn't really anything Arduino left in the code.

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Blacksheep79

Blacksheep79

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Posted

Hi all! And greetings from rainy Finland. Sorry about my bad English, but I think you all understood enough  :smiley: I have bought an AstroEQ controller from Tom, and I have read this whole thread through. I have made my own Motor Brackets, and I have ordered nema 14 motors and timing pulleys and belts. Pulleys and belts is still on the way here..But.. When I get my last stuff, and if I had any questions, you guys probably will help me? Thanks in advance!

-Esa-

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