Using a 3D printer board makes so much sense!! Thank you and Howard for the wonderful work. I am etching to try it out but shipping is still restricted where I am so have to wait a while. I can say that this will only get better from here. Again, thank you!
Yes, 3D printers make sense. Because they already supports stepper motors and drivers for them. As a bonus we get dew heaters and fans too. There are also CNC boards, like the R32 with the CNC V3 shield. No heaters, but very cheap (less than $10 total).
@@khalid_ba Exactly! OnStep is progressing toward a complete observatory control system and not only a mount control. With that many motor controller I can easily see this automating every aspect of astrophotography. Like, mount, focuser for both primary and guide scopes, rotators and maybe even dome/roof control. And if it can gather weather data as well, I dont think there is anything more you need for complete automation :) This got me really excited!
BTW can you control the temperature for the dew heaters? Like if you can sense the ambient temp and then have the heater be 5C higher (this can be user set value) than that?
@@zubuyerkaolin OnStep already supports two focusers and one rotator. Observatory motor is a different story though. Howard has a separate OCS board, which I do not use.
@@zubuyerkaolin Yes, if you have a BME280 sensor (temp/pressure/humidity), it can do that. Also if you have a thermometer on the item being heated, it can keep it at some temperture above the dew point.
love what you guys are doing.. im just throwing out an idea, could the tft/lcd output on the board be used as an ui for onstep controller (touchscreen hc)?
No. OnStep is not written to do that. Also, it is a real time application that needs precise timing, and therefore the microcontroller cannot manage something else. But there are facilities to have a different microcontroller with an LCD which shows status information, and has buttons too. It is called a Smart Hand Controller, and can be built using an ESP32 module and a few other parts. Check the OnStep Wiki for details.
Trying to get my head around Onstep,I have seen lots of you tube videos however where is a fixed file for using an arduino mega with the required motor drive modules ,GPS ,RET, ect /Alt.Ax mount /and a laptop (win) with starrilum call it OnStep ver1heres how to set it up and go for beginners to OnStep, to help get peopleget started and include the location of the code files so you do not have to go to 50 million pages before you get a git hub location. I am not trying to be a smart ass but some of us do not have the bucks to buy the big C8,C15 ect But we are happy with out 80 or 90 mm scope and all we want to do is look or star hop and say wow and as we get more experience we will get more advanced...I really hope you understand.
I would ask you,please, if softwares and installing procedure to get a GoTo by OnStep with a mks gen l v1, are the same as for arduino mega. I would know if i must use and charge arduino IDE before, on a Mks . Thanks
Both the MKS Gen-L and the Arduino Mega 2560 are very old and don't have enough power. Go to the OnStep group for the alternative hardware, and instructions for everything.
@@khalid_ba can you suggest a better microprocessor...drivers....for better results? I read some posts but they all use much complicated board and mks seems so clean and simply to use...
@@massimoborghini9724 There is no simple answer, since there are lots of criteria on what is 'best', what is most suited for the features needed, what is available in your country, and so on ... The OnStep Wiki has a lot of info on what is available Check the first few links on this page onstep.groups.io/g/main/wiki/3861
@@khalid_ba i find very useful info , calculators and solutions but no way for a simple step by step tutorial. I just want to try to build a GoTo system by a board, drivers,stepper motors nema 17 (3d printers) for my self made litle dobson. I have a mks gen L 1 drv8825 and a bag of motors availables in my cave.... I saw your video and i find it interesting to start building . Tell me Mks is mega 2560 with ramp, isn't it?......so i should load arduino IDE to manage Onstep sw set up, right? Thanks for your answers
Just wait till that RCA cable melts and your house burns down. Sorry, but using an audio interconnect designed for 2-4v and a few mA is just straight dangerous.
Umm, so tell me why was the dew shield itself manufactured with RCA connectors? Or why are all dew controllers designed with the same RCA connectors? For example, Kendrick www.kendrickastro.com/dew_controllers.html
It's standard for dew heaters to use RCA, current is under 2A and they don't warm much to minimise impact on the optics (plus you might use PWM), the cable and connectors are spec'd for way more than "a few mA", and being used on cold nights the cables will have plenty of natural cooling if they did warm at all. Now I've got a FLIR I might check to see how much warming if any there is, but it's never been an issue and I've never felt any heating.
Using a 3D printer board makes so much sense!! Thank you and Howard for the wonderful work. I am etching to try it out but shipping is still restricted where I am so have to wait a while. I can say that this will only get better from here. Again, thank you!
Yes, 3D printers make sense. Because they already supports stepper motors and drivers for them. As a bonus we get dew heaters and fans too.
There are also CNC boards, like the R32 with the CNC V3 shield. No heaters, but very cheap (less than $10 total).
@@khalid_ba Exactly! OnStep is progressing toward a complete observatory control system and not only a mount control. With that many motor controller I can easily see this automating every aspect of astrophotography. Like, mount, focuser for both primary and guide scopes, rotators and maybe even dome/roof control. And if it can gather weather data as well, I dont think there is anything more you need for complete automation :) This got me really excited!
BTW can you control the temperature for the dew heaters? Like if you can sense the ambient temp and then have the heater be 5C higher (this can be user set value) than that?
@@zubuyerkaolin OnStep already supports two focusers and one rotator. Observatory motor is a different story though. Howard has a separate OCS board, which I do not use.
@@zubuyerkaolin Yes, if you have a BME280 sensor (temp/pressure/humidity), it can do that. Also if you have a thermometer on the item being heated, it can keep it at some temperture above the dew point.
love what you guys are doing.. im just throwing out an idea, could the tft/lcd output on the board be used as an ui for onstep controller (touchscreen hc)?
No.
OnStep is not written to do that. Also, it is a real time application that needs precise timing, and therefore the microcontroller cannot manage something else.
But there are facilities to have a different microcontroller with an LCD which shows status information, and has buttons too. It is called a Smart Hand Controller, and can be built using an ESP32 module and a few other parts. Check the OnStep Wiki for details.
Trying to get my head around Onstep,I have seen lots of you tube videos however where is a fixed file for using an arduino mega with the required motor drive modules ,GPS ,RET, ect /Alt.Ax mount /and a laptop (win) with starrilum call it OnStep ver1heres how to set it up and go for beginners to OnStep, to help get peopleget started and include the location of the code files so you do not have to go to 50 million pages before you get a git hub location. I am not trying to be a smart ass but some of us do not have the bucks to buy the big C8,C15 ect But we are happy with out 80 or 90 mm scope and all we want to do is look or star hop and say wow and as we get more experience we will get more advanced...I really hope you understand.
Start by reading the Wiki.
onstep.groups.io/g/main/wiki/3884
Good job man you should try to get to night vision astronomy
What is night vision astronomy?
Khalid Baheyeldin I took my celestron 11 inch and bushnell equinox night vision put it together and I get to see vary vary far
I would ask you,please, if softwares and installing procedure to get a GoTo by OnStep with a mks gen l v1, are the same as for arduino mega. I would know if i must use and charge arduino IDE before, on a Mks . Thanks
Both the MKS Gen-L and the Arduino Mega 2560 are very old and don't have enough power.
Go to the OnStep group for the alternative hardware, and instructions for everything.
@@khalid_ba thanks! 👍
@@khalid_ba can you suggest a better microprocessor...drivers....for better results? I read some posts but they all use much complicated board and mks seems so clean and simply to use...
@@massimoborghini9724
There is no simple answer, since there are lots of criteria on what is 'best', what is most suited for the features needed, what is available in your country, and so on ...
The OnStep Wiki has a lot of info on what is available
Check the first few links on this page
onstep.groups.io/g/main/wiki/3861
@@khalid_ba i find very useful info , calculators and solutions but no way for a simple step by step tutorial. I just want to try to build a GoTo system by a board, drivers,stepper motors nema 17 (3d printers) for my self made litle dobson. I have a mks gen L 1 drv8825 and a bag of motors availables in my cave.... I saw your video and i find it interesting to start building . Tell me Mks is mega 2560 with ramp, isn't it?......so i should load arduino IDE to manage Onstep sw set up, right? Thanks for your answers
Just wait till that RCA cable melts and your house burns down. Sorry, but using an audio interconnect designed for 2-4v and a few mA is just straight dangerous.
Umm, so tell me why was the dew shield itself manufactured with RCA connectors? Or why are all dew controllers designed with the same RCA connectors?
For example, Kendrick
www.kendrickastro.com/dew_controllers.html
It's standard for dew heaters to use RCA, current is under 2A and they don't warm much to minimise impact on the optics (plus you might use PWM), the cable and connectors are spec'd for way more than "a few mA", and being used on cold nights the cables will have plenty of natural cooling if they did warm at all. Now I've got a FLIR I might check to see how much warming if any there is, but it's never been an issue and I've never felt any heating.