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DIY motorised focuser

rawhead

By rawhead
in DIY Astronomer

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Sam

Sam

Posted
Posted

Jon,

This sounds like a very interesting little project - I'll be very interesting in how you get on as I've had thoughts about doing something similar on my scope.

cheers

Sam

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Naz

Naz

Posted
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I am working on one at the moment, awaiting the worm drive, then I can put it together, will start a new thread when I have all the bits. Don't want to be accused of hijacking :nono:

Look forward to your progress Jon.

naz

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Naz

Naz

Posted
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Maplins, the motor was about £7.99 and I think the worm drive bits about £3. I realise it has a few issues, but I just want use it for the last final fine focus. Hope the last few bits will arrive tomorrow / Saturday.

naz

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rawhead

rawhead

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Jon,

Have you considered fitting an off the shelf SkyWatcher Auto Focuser unit, needs some small tweaks to fit but works perfectly, I fitted one to my Tal2M and it works fine. Some images here http://tinyurl.com/2bp8po.

Brendan

Great set up you have there ! :)

That Auto Focuser does look good. :rolleyes:

I assume it's this one ? http://www.opticalvision.co.uk/astronomical_telescopes/sky-watcher/general_accessories/skywatcher_auto-focuser

Cheers

Jon

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part timer

part timer

Posted
Posted

I've just added my own focuser to the equipment gallery under all my kit.

It looks very like one of the links above exept mine is a 12v motor Which I got from maplins for a Failed home made eq mount for the pst.

I was happy to read the link as that guy clearly has the same design philosophy as me ie use up all your old stuff before spending any money!

Luke

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rawhead

rawhead

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I've just added my own focuser to the equipment gallery under all my kit.

Looks great :lol:

Groovy looking set up you have there. :rolleyes: Would love to have a peek through a PST...

I've also adopted the recycling approach. I am going to use a old automatic screwdriver that conked out years ago. Disconnected the rechargeable batteries, tried normal ones and it fired into life :lol:

Loads of torque, all gearing included :)

Just ordered a DPDT Momentary Rocker Switch from ebay. (£2 inc postage) Father in law found a nut to connect the focuser, just need to attach the screwdriver to the base. I'll post a pic when completed.

Cheers

Jon

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  • 5 months later...
NiteGawper

NiteGawper

Posted
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I've just added my own focuser to the equipment gallery under all my kit.

Looks great :p

Groovy looking set up you have there. :smiley: Would love to have a peek through a PST...

I've also adopted the recycling approach. I am going to use a old automatic screwdriver that conked out years ago. Disconnected the rechargeable batteries, tried normal ones and it fired into life :)

Loads of torque, all gearing included :bino2:

Just ordered a DPDT Momentary Rocker Switch from ebay. (£2 inc postage) Father in law found a nut to connect the focuser, just need to attach the screwdriver to the base. I'll post a pic when completed.

Cheers

Jon

Hi Jon,

Did you finish your electric focuser for your Tal?? If you have any pics I would be interested to see the finished result.

I really like the idea of using an old electric screwdriver - might pinch the idea myself!!

All the best,

Andy...

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haitch

haitch

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I have looked at the no battery type and they appeal, but for now I am going to give this a go.

http://tinyurl.com/35cw47

naz

I found that site. Did you get the bits from MFA-comodrills?

I built one of these for my 6" Helios/Skywatcher which was great for high magnification when it was on an EQ3 with Al. tripod as every time you adjusted manually it took 10 seconds to settle down before you knew if it it was focused or not.

It worked great if a little noisy at 2am. I suppose a little grease may have cured that. The only thing I never really got the hang of was a clutch mechanism.

Once I upgraded to a CG5 on 2" steel tripod it became obsolete as I could focus at high magnification with noticeable vibration.

Btw Maplin stuff is MFAComoDrills (I ordered from MFAComoDrills and found the service excellent and they have a wider range of stock of motors).

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NiteGawper

NiteGawper

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Ah.. Now that you mention it. Best laid plans an all that.... :oops: I still have a box full of bits but relented and bought a skywatcher focuser unit

Works a treat :thumbright:

Nice one!!! LOL!!

Can I ask if there was much adjustment needed to get the skywatcher focuser unit to work on the TAL - or was it fairly easy??

Andy...

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  • 2 months later...
taylortech

taylortech

Posted
Posted

Heres mine...

The motor is a Swiss Escap 12v motor coupled to a 292:1 gearbox, the worm was salvaged from an broken video tape deck which meshed perfectly with the green gear found in one of my "junk" boxes.

I mounted the motor on a swivelling plate using spring clips and added a detent ball to give an audible click when the gears are meshed.

The base and connector mount is just a scrap piece of ally angle. This was mounted on the 'scope using sticky pads and is held very firmly in place.

The focus gear is mounted on a turned piece of ally and even allows the use of the original knob for manual focus.

This is driven by a simple voltage regulator circuit and powered by a 9 volt battery. Control is by a (on)-off-(on) rocker switch and speed is adjusted buy the knob.

On slow setting the worm rotates at about 5 rpm and top speed is about 60 rpm. (Top speed causes a bit of vibration but is useful for roughing in focus)

All parts used have been salvaged from broken and obsolete equipment, this focuser cost nothing apart from my time. grin.gif

My boss suggested that as it was all made from recycled materials I could go totally "green" and make it solar powered... roflmao.gif

10446_normal.jpeg

(click to enlarge)

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themos

themos

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Here's my attempt from this rainy weekend. Description on the ukastronomers site:

http://ukastronomers.com/ext/video_player.swf?config={videoFile: 'http://ukastronomers.com/themos/video/64.flv', splashImageFile: 'http://ukastronomers.com/images/video_player.jpg', autoBuffering: false, initialScale: 'scale', autoPlay: false, }

10668_normal.jpeg

(click to enlarge)

10669_normal.jpeg

(click to enlarge)

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  • 2 weeks later...
themos

themos

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Posted

I've replaced the breadboard "piano" with a rotary 12-way switch. 12 steps per rotation, it takes about 80 rotations to move the focuser from one end of the travel to the other. Tried it last night on the full moon and it works a treat, with anything from 4.5V to 12V. I'll box it up with a battery holder, an external power socket, a switch and a LED and post pictures. Also, some polymorph for mating the motor to the OTA nicely.

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