Motor controller for super polaris eq mount

[hazza001]

Evening all, 

Some of you may be aware but I recently acquired a super polaris mount, originally I was going to get rid of it but I thought it would actually be a better idea to get it all kitted out and make use of it. 

As you can see the mount came with the R.A and Dec motors but no control unit. 

My only experience with this type of drive system is with one of my first scopes, which came with a tracking motor (I believe it was the skywatcher eq2 I might be wrong) however it came with a simple 6v control box which I'm assuming is something similar to what I need to get this thing running. 

I did a quick search and have been trying to find dd1 dd2 and dd3 controllers which are supposed to be compatable but they are either not available or really expencive. 

I did toy with the idea of making it go to compatable which would be a bonus. 

Anyway after all that waffel I'm basicly asking for advice, what I can use to drive this thing, be it goto, simple tracking or some home made controller device/ computer interface.

any and all advice welcome 

Look forward to hearing 

Harry 

[mikeDnight]

Hi Harry,

I'm not sure if the gearing of the Polaris is identical to the Great Polaris, but if it is you could use the Skywatcher dual drives for the EQ5. The SW EQ5 dual drives fit the Great Polaris and drive the mount perfectly. And is vastly cheaper than buying new Vixen drives.  Sorry the pic below isn't more detailed but it shows the SW drives on my GP. 

[lenscap]

Hi Harry,

If you are into DIY you could build a full Goto system for that mount using;

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

or,

https://astroeq.co.uk/tutorials.php

I built an Onstep Goto system for an old EQ3-2 for less than £100 including motors & WiFi, so I can control it with SkySafari from my phone.

There is a lot to get your head round but once you decide exactly what features you want, the actual build is not that difficult & the result can be as good or even better than a commercial system.

 

 

[hazza001]

Cheers guys, 

Lenscap, thoes both look promising, I'll have a look at them both when I get on my pc. I do like the idea of building something tho 🤔

mikeDnight, ah that's good there is something commercial avaliable that's not impossible to find (and if my DIY skills fail me) 

Harry