Autofocuser ordered

[bottletopburly]

3 minutes ago, tooth_dr said:

Thanks! I’m doting. Thought it was €99, maybe I done the conversion into £ and rounded it down (man maths) ?

Original price 99 without adapter 

[mark skelton]

I too ordered one of these.

[bottletopburly]

44 minutes ago, mark skelton said:

I too ordered one of these.

Mine came today 

[Uplooker]

On 21/07/2018 at 21:05, Gina said:

It's my birthday today and nobody has given me any money!! ?

Happy Birthday @Gina, sorry it’s a bit late, but best wishes all the same. Hope you had a good day, regardless of wedges of money in brown envelopes.

[bottletopburly]

All connected and working now though did have problems connecting in apt, user error needed to shift and click to choose auto focuser. 

[sunka]

On 27/07/2018 at 17:17, adyj1 said:

I wondered whether the stepper motor would freewheel if no power was applied, perhaps aloowing you to manually adjust focus with the focus knob at the other end of spindle. 

Can anyone confirm this? 

Thanks, 

Ady

Hi, Pavle aka deep.sky.dad here  

Yes, it can be freewheeled if no power is applied. You can configure "always on" option in ASCOM settings (if its unchecked, motor is not powered, unless autofocus is in progress).

Best regards,

Pavle

[adyj1]

2 hours ago, sunka said:

Hi, Pavle aka deep.sky.dad here  

Yes, it can be freewheeled if no power is applied. You can configure "always on" option in ASCOM settings (if its unchecked, motor is not powered, unless autofocus is in progress).

Best regards,

Pavle

Thanks Pavle

[tooth_dr]

I have a couple of questions - which timing belt is needed, and does the 200P bracket work with the ED80 - looks like the same focuser?

[bottletopburly]

4 hours ago, tooth_dr said:

I have a couple of questions - which timing belt is needed, and does the 200P bracket work with the ED80 - looks like the same focuser?

 Same belt 87  see  this post https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/14962-power-focuser/?tab=comments#comment-150258

[tooth_dr]

@bottletopburly thanks. I’m just debating whether to 3D print a holder! Now that I can see yours in action it looks straightforward. 

[bottletopburly]

Mines on a 200 pds,  Alec has his on a ed80  same belt though ,

36 minutes ago, tooth_dr said:

@bottletopburly thanks. I’m just debating whether to 3D print a holder! Now that I can see yours in action it looks straightforward. 

 

[sunka]

Hi,

I have updated the website with the list of adapters with belt info.

Regarding ED80/200PSD - focusers are the same, but bolts on ED80 are raised above the focuser flat surface, so I have designed it with neccessary hole.

Best regards,

Pavle

[sunka]

Hi all,

There is quite some interest in the focuser with hand controller. I was thinking about it and making cable hand controller is more expensive hardware wise and would increase the price.

So i had a different idea - what if the hand controller would be via phone? Focuser would act as access point, you connect the phone to it and open the hand controller in browser on specific IP. Thoughts?

Best regards,

Pavle

[bottletopburly]

1 hour ago, sunka said:

Hi all,

There is quite some interest in the focuser with hand controller. I was thinking about it and making cable hand controller is more expensive hardware wise and would increase the price.

So i had a different idea - what if the hand controller would be via phone? Focuser would act as access point, you connect the phone to it and open the hand controller in browser on specific IP. Thoughts?

Best regards,

Pavle

Sounds an excellent simple solution Pavle ?

[mikeyj1]

i would agree, whilst i do most of it via APT, being able to stand at the scope and focus 'manually' with an app would be a good alternative

[iapa]

On ‎21‎/‎09‎/‎2018 at 09:54, sunka said:

Hi, Pavle aka deep.sky.dad here  

Yes, it can be freewheeled if no power is applied. You can configure "always on" option in ASCOM settings (if its unchecked, motor is not powered, unless autofocus is in progress).

Best regards,

Pavle

Do you not run the risk of the motor becoming a generator and possibly causing damage?

[sunka]

23 minutes ago, iapa said:

Do you not run the risk of the motor becoming a generator and possibly causing damage?

I hope I understood your question correctly - if you mean BEMF, it is handled with the stepper driver. Heat-wise it is also not an issue, because I lower the current while the motor is only holding the position.

Generally, it is quite common use case, for example telescope mounts also power the motors even when not moving.

[sunka]

HI all,

In case you are interested - first HC test:

Best regards,

Pavle

[bottletopburly]

 Looking good Will it work on IOS  devices   @sunka 

[sunka]

4 hours ago, bottletopburly said:

 Looking good Will it work on IOS  devices   @sunka 

Yes, it will work on any device, because it is browser based. You can use it on mobile phone, laptop, tablet etc. You will just have to connect to the wifi SSID "DSD - Autofocuser" and browse to the http://autofocuser.local

That is it

[bottletopburly]

4 hours ago, sunka said:

Yes, it will work on any device, because it is browser based. You can use it on mobile phone, laptop, tablet etc. You will just have to connect to the wifi SSID "DSD - Autofocuser" and browse to the http://autofocuser.local

That is it

Good work Pavel  when do you expect finished product to be ready ?

[sunka]

On 03/11/2018 at 15:02, bottletopburly said:

Good work Pavel  when do you expect finished product to be ready ?

Probably in a month or 2, a lot depends on weather for field testing.

[sunka]

Hi all,

 

A little update, there will also be a physical hand controller available as an extra:

 

Best regards,

Pavle

[mikeyj1]

Hi Pavle,

will this work with the existing autofocusers, or are you modifying that also, as i dont have a 3.5mm jack on my unit

thanks

Mike

[bottletopburly]

1 hour ago, mikeyj1 said:

Hi Pavle,

will this work with the existing autofocusers, or are you modifying that also, as i dont have a 3.5mm jack on my unit

thanks

Mike

 If i am   correct this will be on the new autofocus unit yet to be released