Category Archives: Astronomy

Robert Brown Focuser Controller build, step by step #6

Posted on June 8, 2020 by james

Having finished the circuit board I plugged in the Nano and motor controller and connected it to a USB port (without any other power source connected). The power LED lit on the Nano, but nothing else happened and I wasn’t … Continue reading →

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Robert Brown Focuser Controller build, step by step #5

Posted on June 8, 2020 by james

I now have almost all the components in place. The large diode at the top left wasn’t in the original plan I worked from. That’s the reverse voltage protection diode. Obviously no-one, least of all me, is ever going to … Continue reading →

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Robert Brown Focuser Controller build, step by step #4

Posted on June 8, 2020 by james

In the end I couldn’t find a single application that would do what I wanted, so I just decided to start cutting tracks and see where I ended up 🙂 And then spent a happy hour or two soldering in … Continue reading →

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Robert Brown Focuser Controller build, step by step #3

Posted on June 8, 2020 by james

All the parts that I didn’t already arrived, so I need to get on with laying out the stripboard. I found what looks to be quite a handy tool for doing that last night (it’s probably simple enough to do … Continue reading →

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Robert Brown Focuser Controller build, step by step #2

Posted on June 8, 2020 by james

The first parts have arrived: a pair of NEMA17 stepper motors with 27:1 reduction gearboxes.

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Robert Brown Focuser Controller build, step by step #1

Posted on June 8, 2020 by james

I’ve done a bit of reading and messing about with GIMP and this is what I think I plan to build: I believe I understand pretty much all of the circuit now. The resistor network to the left of the … Continue reading →

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Darkstar restoration, part 3

Posted on June 8, 2020 by james

Whilst sorting out a holesaw to enlarge the focuser port I made a decision regarding which focuser I was going to use and then set to with FreeCAD to design a new mounting plate for it. I’d measured the outside … Continue reading →

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Darkstar restoration, part 2

Posted on June 8, 2020 by james

The new world in which we find ourselves has brought other priorities to the fore over the last few months, but now things seem to be settling down a little, at least for a while, it’s time to get back … Continue reading →

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Darkstar 12″ f/6 dobsonian telescope restoration

Posted on February 26, 2020 by james

As I posted previously I am now the keeper of a 12″ f/6 Darkstar dob that’s in need of a reasonable amount of work to get it usable again. Having left it to loom over the power tools in the … Continue reading →

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New (to me) Darkstar telescope in need of TLC

Posted on February 25, 2020 by james

Over the weekend I went to collect this monster from someone who had been given it “in need of some repair work”, but was struggling to find the time to do it. The consensus seems to be that it’s a … Continue reading →

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