Hi, New AstroEQ owner saying Hi. Peter. South Manchester area.
Just purchased AstroEq for a project with a Vixen Super Polaris. It must be 30 years old but it's in lovely condition and feels like typical grey made in japan quality. I just got it in an auction bundled with a telescope i was bidding on. I didn't know much about the SP before or that is morphed into the GP and then was cloned in EQ5 etc etc.
Anyway it cam with the MT-1 and hand controller, which by general consensus are decent for tracking aren't great for goto.
So the MT-1 are going and a NEMA 17 based conversion is planned.
These were the motors. Not the cheapest but if I've done my homework correct the right mix of Amps, Volts and Inductance.
https://www.omc-stepperonline.com/hybrid-stepper-motor/nema-17-bipolar-09deg-36ncm-51ozin-09a-54v-42x42x40mm-4-wires-17hm15-0904s.html?search=nema%2017I Like the idea of 3D printing the brackets so I have some of those on order. There are a few on Thingverse. I chose some that had a captive nut to attach the long bolt to the mount rather than relying on thread in the bracket itself. This is all a bit of an experiment. they were £15 delivered printed in ABS. When they come I'll give an update about whether they are junk or work well.
I'm going to use RJ11 cables ordered from Tom with the AstroEQ. To attach the stepper motors to the RJ11 socket I'm going to use an RJ11 break out board with screw terminals (lots on eBay or amazon) So no need to solder and burn my fingers :-)
Belts and gears will follow Tom's lead and use the MXL type. I've not ordered those yet. I want to get the motors and brackets mounted to check the centre to centre of the two spindles and then get a pair of gears and belt that work well together in terms of the slack.
Once its all working the mount will be for C5, C8 and TV Oracle so visual stuff and potentially a dabble in AP.
Thanks for making this available Tom.
