Well done. I must confess although I have a lot of PCB work experience I tend to avoid scratch building these days, so I have ordered the completed unit as part of a kit including motors, belts, pulleys etc.
Another nice video there (you're going to see more comments from me as I work my way through them!) That... looks like a huge pain in the butt. Not the soldering bit, but the picking all of the right parts to buy part. I might have to send George an email and see if he can give me a hand on that front. I'm sure that this model works perfectly fine and that is no reason to go with the version 4 of it, but I must say that this video series has so far been a great way to let me know what I am getting myself into here.
Thankyou JessieRay. Pretty sure George keeps a stock of most of these bits & bobs, and he knows what alternatives can be used. Can't go far wrong dealing with him. All the best!
Great job Nugsy I'm like you I don't know Onstep all that well either, I've looked in the groups & thought wtf!! But it just works so I'm happy with that, I do wish the kits would have a decent sized USB to connect to a PC instead of using the micro version as they can be quite fragile, a USB C or even a standard type would be better I'd think. So with mine the cable for the pc is left plugged into the kit so I don't keep unplugging it all the time. Years ago I may have tackled the soldering as I used to do it as a job but my eyesight is so crap these days I went for a prebuilt kit. Look forward to the next part clear skies!!
That is a concern I have as I'm often unplugging/plugging in. I'll experiment but have an idea about this for inclusion in another video I have planned...
Definitely made it to the end and on the way to round 3. The 5 misshapen yellow things are capacitors. I'm thinking about adding a goto function to my cg-4 mount - I'm tired of carrying that thing around =) Greetings from the Baltic Sea coast The jack socket is for remote control of a digital camera - as far as I understand
I have an "ancient" EQ mount that came w/ my Selsi 80mm. RA goes 360deg by worm gear, but the Dec is only +/-20deg w/o undoing the lock screw. A few years ago I bodged up a stepper (geared head) mount, worked up a circuit using dev boards & ESP32, and wrote some arduino code to run it and a touch screen. Seems to work well for tracking (not go-to of course) faint fuzzies when I can get good polar alignment. Looking into OnStep (and APT software) when I eventually motorize my 10" Dob. It'll be some form of EQ system; haven't decided on the design yet.
@@Cheapass-tro I did a live unboxing for my diode laser a couple years ago. I never watched it after the stream. Had my wife check levels for me prior. It's funny that I don't mind hearing the same southern accent in others, but mine is like nails on chalkboard. 😅🤷
Thanks for posting this. Got my board soldered today. Not sure if it works though? Would the LED light flash if I plug it in? Going to start serving up the software stuff next. Hopefully this will all come together. Edit, the lights came on while connected to the computer!!
When I first did mine with OnStep I had two LEDs soldered in. The bottom one would light with power on, the top one would light when SWS is connected and flash when tracking. Since uploading OnstepX they light up the same but it doesn't flash when tracking. Either way, whether powered by USB 5v or a 12v adapter an LED should light up. Good luck and clear skies!
Hi Nugsy, thanks for the video. How long did it take your item to ship from George. I've ordered mine, referencing you of course, and its taking a while. Thanks!
He sent it Oct 18th, it was delivered Nov 10th, USA to Ireland. It's not him, it's customs usually. Tracking it, it went via Holland (stayed a week there) and the UK. I did check with George whilst I was waiting. He says some other countries are worse. So yeah it takes a little while... Good luck.
@@mayurramuditHopefully you've a tracking number? I watched zero tracking updates, then they all flooded in in one hit on delivery. Useless. Again good luck.
@@Cheapass-tro Yep I got a tracking number. Doesn’t seem to work well however. I wait 2 days then something shows which was dated for two days ago. I agree, useless.
@@Cheapass-troNugsy! It arrived! About 2 days ago and i put it all together with a mix of your video and the instructions provided. Love it thank you soooo much. Appreciate it greatly.
My MaxESP3 kit didn't come with drivers. I added those to my order - BigTreeTech TMC 2130 was the model I went with. One each for RA/Dec. If buying for a focuser/rotator feel free to buy cheaper, lesser drivers for those. My focuser driver is going to be a BigTreeTech TMC 2225. George cushing did the recommending for me.
Thanks for these videos, you've inspired me! Have ordered a pcb and now spending hours reading through all the info and learning new words :) Do you have to install drivers for on all four places even if you are only using two axis to begin with? And what drivers did you go for? Cheers in advance, Phil :)
Hi Phil and thanks... You only need install the drivers that you will use. At first just the RA & DEC axis'. For these I chose the TMC 2130 from Big Tree Tech. If adding focuser / rotator later, then you could choose a lesser driver for these slots. All the best with your build and if you've not seen it, check out my "Flashing" video too.
@@Cheapass-tro Superstar, many thanks. Watching that one as we speak! So much to learn, but looked at all the turnkey packages and they are either too expensive or going to be a disappointment. Hoping all the work will pay off.......and we get the occasional clear sky!! :)
Hello, love the video. Was wondering if I could get some advice please. I have a MaxESP3 that I populated and flashed that is behaving weirdly. I have a TMC5160T v1.0 in U2/AXIS1 and U3/AXIS2. AXIS1 slews in Stellarium and AXIS2 does not. I swapped stepper drivers and stepper motors and they all work in AXIS1. Although you show the jumpers laying on the table at the beginning of the video, I noticed you had no jumpers installed on your board, except for J1 and the one you soldered into U6 at the end of the video. Are both of your axes of your mount working for you?
Hmmm... Sorry to hear you're having troubles. Firstly, yes both axis' work on mine with TMC2130's and they do so with no jumpers beneath. I've since used jumpers on the focuser with an A4988 but didn't need them for the main RA & DEC. Having swapped the drivers and motors, you know them to be good. I would next swap cables. Just plugging them in the wrong way would do (RA in DEC & vice-versa). Does the RA signal go to the DEC motor (& vice-versa)? If using old, non-matching ethernet cables, they may be wired differently. If you do verify that the drivers, motors and cables are good, then it's gotta be in the configuration somewhere. All the best and don't be afraid to come back.
Thank you for your kind reply. I actually figured it out. I reflowed all the solder connections on that channel or axis and found I must've had a poor solder connection. It works now. If only I had connected the harmonic drive properly.....but that is another story...@@Cheapass-tro
Hi! Can you send me links from where you ordered the things separately? Separate for all the parts, right? Or did you order it all at once? Maybe you can send a link to it as well? Clear skies! Albert
Hi Albert. It's actually in the description : To purchase kits (pre-MaxESP4), contact George Cushing : stm32bluepill@gmail.com I ordered the OnStep controller kit, the stepper drivers and pulleys/belts from George, but had to buy the motors, brackets and enclosure separately. He can supply it all but it's cheaper if you source the motors. Assuming you're in the UK : The 1.7A 0.9° Nema 17 stepper motors were from ebay but wouldn't ship to the UK. Any of those specs will do you. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/252383525398 Brackets were generic Nema17 brackets from Amazon but if you can make your own aluminium ones they'd be better than my steel ones. i.imgur.com/iXDoTpe.png The enclosure is this : www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09C8SHZ6L/?coliid=I2WI5RLEGQBQWC&colid=2ZCGEJV47GU5X&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it
You shouldn't advise beginners at soldering to worry with flux. Just use thin rosin-core solder for these small component boards. Flux is important when reflowing solder joints on surface mount objects and soldering large connectors for mains and such, even there, it is hardly necessary on first assembly.
I have a 12" dob and would love to add goto on it, howver I am scared to death of Electronics, its not my thing and its a black art, would you mate in the states help?
George will do all the soldering for you before shipping out the controller, but still you'd usually need to put it together into a box. I'm pretty sure he'd go further and send out a working, tested unit if asked. He may charge but he won't bite if asked... stm32bluepill@gmail.com (George Cushing). Failing that, at the end of my Onstep Configuration video I give details of the Onstep groups pages ( onstep.groups.io ) where you can sign up and ask the Onstep community. Someone there may help you out?
@@Cheapass-tro Thats fantastic, I'll make a start with using your steppers and jerry rig the belt and pulley system first, guess the ratio will be massive.
@@ScrapYardDog64 I honestly don't know but the good people at wiki will. Have a look through for dob examples and you may find people that have been there to help advise. onstep.groups.io/g/main/search?q=%23dob&ct=1
Well, I'm stil here. Thanks for this.
...and thank you for saying (& staying).
Great work Nugsy, its the sound of your voice that sells it.
Ha ha! I love the Welsh accent - On others! I sound awful to myself.
Well done. I must confess although I have a lot of PCB work experience I tend to avoid scratch building these days, so I have ordered the completed unit as part of a kit including motors, belts, pulleys etc.
Fair enough. If I wasn't stretching my money out so thinly, I'd have done too. Hope your build goes well.
Another nice video there (you're going to see more comments from me as I work my way through them!) That... looks like a huge pain in the butt. Not the soldering bit, but the picking all of the right parts to buy part. I might have to send George an email and see if he can give me a hand on that front. I'm sure that this model works perfectly fine and that is no reason to go with the version 4 of it, but I must say that this video series has so far been a great way to let me know what I am getting myself into here.
Thankyou JessieRay. Pretty sure George keeps a stock of most of these bits & bobs, and he knows what alternatives can be used. Can't go far wrong dealing with him. All the best!
Well done mate yes was there till the end very good vid gotta say you got more patience then o have to do something like that
Thanks Derry for watching through. I'm collecting watch hours! I always did have patience. As a former motorcycle instructor I was often told this.
Wow this is quite the project! I’m not sure I’m ready to tackle something like this though lol
Last year he was charging only $35 to put it together for you. I can't quote for this year.
Cool Stuff man! I love the idea of Maximizing the Performance of a Modest Rig! It was Informative And Fun to watch!
Glad to hear that, thanks!
Great job Nugsy I'm like you I don't know Onstep all that well either, I've looked in the groups & thought wtf!! But it just works so I'm happy with that, I do wish the kits would have a decent sized USB to connect to a PC instead of using the micro version as they can be quite fragile, a USB C or even a standard type would be better I'd think. So with mine the cable for the pc is left plugged into the kit so I don't keep unplugging it all the time. Years ago I may have tackled the soldering as I used to do it as a job but my eyesight is so crap these days I went for a prebuilt kit.
Look forward to the next part clear skies!!
That is a concern I have as I'm often unplugging/plugging in. I'll experiment but have an idea about this for inclusion in another video I have planned...
Very interesting build. Keep up the great work.
Thanks again Linux Astro!
Definitely made it to the end and on the way to round 3.
The 5 misshapen yellow things are capacitors.
I'm thinking about adding a goto function to my cg-4 mount - I'm tired of carrying that thing around =)
Greetings from the Baltic Sea coast
The jack socket is for remote control of a digital camera - as far as I understand
Thanks for the info! ... I nearly questioned the "carrying the CG-4 around" thing. 😆
Thanks mate 👍👍
Hope it helps!
I have an "ancient" EQ mount that came w/ my Selsi 80mm. RA goes 360deg by worm gear, but the Dec is only +/-20deg w/o undoing the lock screw. A few years ago I bodged up a stepper (geared head) mount, worked up a circuit using dev boards & ESP32, and wrote some arduino code to run it and a touch screen. Seems to work well for tracking (not go-to of course) faint fuzzies when I can get good polar alignment. Looking into OnStep (and APT software) when I eventually motorize my 10" Dob. It'll be some form of EQ system; haven't decided on the design yet.
Well done on what you've done. That's some clever sh**. Good luck with the Dob project. You should video that project. It'll go down well.
@@Cheapass-trothanks. had thought about it, but the editing would kill me (hate my recorded voice unfortunately).
@@OldCurmudgeon3DP Me too. Did you hear my first videos? I got over it, but I still don't want to appear on camera!
@@Cheapass-tro I did a live unboxing for my diode laser a couple years ago. I never watched it after the stream. Had my wife check levels for me prior. It's funny that I don't mind hearing the same southern accent in others, but mine is like nails on chalkboard. 😅🤷
Thanks for posting this. Got my board soldered today. Not sure if it works though? Would the LED light flash if I plug it in? Going to start serving up the software stuff next. Hopefully this will all come together. Edit, the lights came on while connected to the computer!!
When I first did mine with OnStep I had two LEDs soldered in. The bottom one would light with power on, the top one would light when SWS is connected and flash when tracking.
Since uploading OnstepX they light up the same but it doesn't flash when tracking.
Either way, whether powered by USB 5v or a 12v adapter an LED should light up.
Good luck and clear skies!
Well done
Thanks but I was merely following the good work of others.
Hi Nugsy, thanks for the video. How long did it take your item to ship from George. I've ordered mine, referencing you of course, and its taking a while. Thanks!
He sent it Oct 18th, it was delivered Nov 10th, USA to Ireland. It's not him, it's customs usually.
Tracking it, it went via Holland (stayed a week there) and the UK.
I did check with George whilst I was waiting. He says some other countries are worse.
So yeah it takes a little while... Good luck.
@@Cheapass-tro I’m sending it to England, George said 5-8 days. It’s been two weeks. Thanks.
@@mayurramuditHopefully you've a tracking number? I watched zero tracking updates, then they all flooded in in one hit on delivery. Useless.
Again good luck.
@@Cheapass-tro Yep I got a tracking number. Doesn’t seem to work well however. I wait 2 days then something shows which was dated for two days ago. I agree, useless.
@@Cheapass-troNugsy! It arrived! About 2 days ago and i put it all together with a mix of your video and the instructions provided. Love it thank you soooo much. Appreciate it greatly.
Hi Nugsy, what are the motor drivers included with the kit?
My MaxESP3 kit didn't come with drivers. I added those to my order - BigTreeTech TMC 2130 was the model I went with. One each for RA/Dec.
If buying for a focuser/rotator feel free to buy cheaper, lesser drivers for those. My focuser driver is going to be a BigTreeTech TMC 2225.
George cushing did the recommending for me.
Thanks for these videos, you've inspired me! Have ordered a pcb and now spending hours reading through all the info and learning new words :)
Do you have to install drivers for on all four places even if you are only using two axis to begin with? And what drivers did you go for?
Cheers in advance, Phil :)
Hi Phil and thanks... You only need install the drivers that you will use. At first just the RA & DEC axis'. For these I chose the TMC 2130 from Big Tree Tech.
If adding focuser / rotator later, then you could choose a lesser driver for these slots. All the best with your build and if you've not seen it, check out my "Flashing" video too.
@@Cheapass-tro Superstar, many thanks. Watching that one as we speak! So much to learn, but looked at all the turnkey packages and they are either too expensive or going to be a disappointment. Hoping all the work will pay off.......and we get the occasional clear sky!! :)
Hello, love the video. Was wondering if I could get some advice please. I have a MaxESP3 that I populated and flashed that is behaving weirdly. I have a TMC5160T v1.0 in U2/AXIS1 and U3/AXIS2. AXIS1 slews in Stellarium and AXIS2 does not. I swapped stepper drivers and stepper motors and they all work in AXIS1. Although you show the jumpers laying on the table at the beginning of the video, I noticed you had no jumpers installed on your board, except for J1 and the one you soldered into U6 at the end of the video. Are both of your axes of your mount working for you?
Hmmm... Sorry to hear you're having troubles.
Firstly, yes both axis' work on mine with TMC2130's and they do so with no jumpers beneath.
I've since used jumpers on the focuser with an A4988 but didn't need them for the main RA & DEC.
Having swapped the drivers and motors, you know them to be good. I would next swap cables. Just plugging them in the wrong way would do (RA in DEC & vice-versa). Does the RA signal go to the DEC motor (& vice-versa)?
If using old, non-matching ethernet cables, they may be wired differently.
If you do verify that the drivers, motors and cables are good, then it's gotta be in the configuration somewhere.
All the best and don't be afraid to come back.
Thank you for your kind reply. I actually figured it out. I reflowed all the solder connections on that channel or axis and found I must've had a poor solder connection. It works now. If only I had connected the harmonic drive properly.....but that is another story...@@Cheapass-tro
👍
Hi! Can you send me links from where you ordered the things separately?
Separate for all the parts, right? Or did you order it all at once? Maybe you can send a link to it as well?
Clear skies!
Albert
Hi Albert. It's actually in the description : To purchase kits (pre-MaxESP4), contact George Cushing : stm32bluepill@gmail.com
I ordered the OnStep controller kit, the stepper drivers and pulleys/belts from George, but had to buy the motors, brackets and enclosure separately.
He can supply it all but it's cheaper if you source the motors.
Assuming you're in the UK :
The 1.7A 0.9° Nema 17 stepper motors were from ebay but wouldn't ship to the UK. Any of those specs will do you. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/252383525398
Brackets were generic Nema17 brackets from Amazon but if you can make your own aluminium ones they'd be better than my steel ones.
i.imgur.com/iXDoTpe.png
The enclosure is this : www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09C8SHZ6L/?coliid=I2WI5RLEGQBQWC&colid=2ZCGEJV47GU5X&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it
Then there's the power supply too. Mine is 12v, 5A but that depends on your kit.
Does George still offer the service to supply the PCB and components?
As far as I know he does (excluding MaxESP4).
Thanks bro 😊
Ah, you know I only did it for you!
Oh thanks a lot
@@HyperX07 Well, I did it for the greater good but you'd mentioned it.
You shouldn't advise beginners at soldering to worry with flux. Just use thin rosin-core solder for these small component boards. Flux is important when reflowing solder joints on surface mount objects and soldering large connectors for mains and such, even there, it is hardly necessary on first assembly.
Soldering is a thing I can do, not a thing I trained in so I'll take that advice, but I was told to use it and always have, so I passed it on.
I have a 12" dob and would love to add goto on it, howver I am scared to death of Electronics, its not my thing and its a black art, would you mate in the states help?
George will do all the soldering for you before shipping out the controller, but still you'd usually need to put it together into a box. I'm pretty sure he'd go further and send out a working, tested unit if asked. He may charge but he won't bite if asked... stm32bluepill@gmail.com (George Cushing).
Failing that, at the end of my Onstep Configuration video I give details of the Onstep groups pages ( onstep.groups.io ) where you can sign up and ask the Onstep community. Someone there may help you out?
@@Cheapass-tro Thats fantastic, I'll make a start with using your steppers and jerry rig the belt and pulley system first, guess the ratio will be massive.
@@ScrapYardDog64 I honestly don't know but the good people at wiki will. Have a look through for dob examples and you may find people that have been there to help advise.
onstep.groups.io/g/main/search?q=%23dob&ct=1