Print

[PhilCrompton]

Hello all,

Has anyone ever converted an early (pre-goto) EQ6 mount to be driven by an AstroEQ box? Do you throw away the existing handset and mother board and connect the AstroEQ unit directly to the existing stepper motors? Possibly by making a new motor cover plate with sockets for the stepper motors.

Or, do I need to replace the stepper motors as well. If you have successfully done this which stepper motors did you use.

Kind regards,

Phil

[telfish]

I am doing this very thing. I am waiting for my mount to arrive. I believe you can use the existing steppers but they will be very slow. It's best to replace them if you can do the surgery required.

[PhilCrompton]

Thanks,

I had no option but to replace the original stepper motors as they did not work. In case anyone finds this because they are thinking of doing the same thing I used the following new NEMA 17s stepper motors.

https://www.omc-stepperonline.com/hybrid-stepper-motor/nema-17-bipolar-18deg-40ncm-566ozin-04a-12v-42x42x39mm-4-wires-17hs15-0404s.html?search=17HS15-0404S

[UPDATE: I am having problems with the above stepper motors so do not use these. I think I should have ordered stepper motors with a much lower voltage rating.]

I am going to scrap the motherboard and hack the handset to use with the AstroEQ. It has the correct RJ12 plug and all the necessary buttons and switches.

I am replacing the cover plate with a new one made from 2mm aluminium sheet exposing two RJ11 sockets for direct connection to the stepper motors. I wish I had found the following RJ12 sockets when I was putting custom drives and pulleys on my EQ5 it would have been much neater than what I ended up with.

http://uk.farnell.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&langId=44&urlRequestType=Base&partNumber=2534577&storeId=10151

(You need to matching mounting plates as well)

http://uk.farnell.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&langId=44&urlRequestType=Base&partNumber=2534566&storeId=10151

I'll probably also add the necessary bits to put a red LED in the housing to illuminate the polar alignment scope.

I have the Rowan Engineering belt and pulley conversion too to replace the gear wheels.

http://www.rowanastronomy.com/productsa2.htm

[telfish]

Just got my  new to me no goto early Atlas mount and took it apart. The original motors have one large toothed cog and appear to have an internal gearbox attached to the motor.

The Goto mount (I have one) has two tooted cogs in an external gearbox. How are you mounting the NEMA motors as if you just bolt them to the old plates and use the single cog it looks as though it will miss the internal tooted cog in the mount. Plus I am not sure the mount would track accurately.

I tool the motors and control board out of my goto mount to try in the early non goto and it worked perfectly. So I am now thinking about how I fabricate the exact same setup in the non goto mount without spending 200 bucks on skywatchers motors which are way overpriced.

[doramason]

Just got my  new to me no goto early Atlas mount and took it apart. The original motors have one large toothed cog and appear to have an internal gearbox attached to the motor.

The Goto mount (I have one) has two tooted cogs in an external gearbox. How are you mounting the NEMA motors as if you just bolt them to the old plates and use the single cog it looks as though it will miss the internal tooted cog in the mount. Plus I am not sure the mount would track accurately.

I tool the motors and control board out of my goto mount to try in the early non goto and it worked perfectly. So I am now thinking about how I fabricate the exact same setup in the non goto mount without spending 200 bucks on skywatchers motors which are way overpriced.

why would you need skywatcher motors? any stepper motor would work with astroeq. You just need to find a way to attach the steppers to the mount so that the pulley on the worm shaft could be aligned with the pulley on the stepper. You can make brackets from aluminum or try to use the existing plates after machining them. 

I actually wanted to do this too, but there is no old used eq6 on sale where I live. I think this would be very nice because you can fit all the motors and the board inside mount cuz there is enough space. A few new holes on the front plate for a usb attachment and maybe for a switch, other than that it would look like the original. You can even use the existing power jack and st4 port.

[PhilCrompton]

Photo of NEMA 17 motors with Rowan belt and pulley conversion installed in EQ6.

[PhilCrompton]

How are you mounting the NEMA motors as if you just bolt them to the old plates and use the single cog it looks as though it will miss the internal tooted cog in the mount.

The Rowan Astronomy belt conversion bolts to the same mount holes as the original stepper motor mounting plates. That bit of the project went like a dream. See my picture else where in this thread.

[PhilCrompton]

Photo of the mount showing the replacement cover plate with sockets for the RA and Dec cables.