Using a gearbox from an electronic screw driver and a stepper motor from a printer, I’ve built a declination motor drive (direct drive and using gearbox).
The electronic screw driver has a DC motor which I removed and swapped with an old printer’s stepper motor. The gearbox attaches to the declination worm screw using an improvised coupler. I designed it to feature a clutch knob to disengage the motor drive in case I need to slew manually, using the fine adjustment knob.
The stepper motor is driven with an A4988 stepper motor driver board and controlled with an Arduino Uno microcontroller. Two push buttons are used to slew the telescope north or south. I had to perform a field test in order to correctly set the motor’s speed to match the slew speed of the RA motor. The declination motor can be used for declination guiding. I have also tested it to work with a DIY go-to controller.
Related link: View all home-brewed DIY astronomy equipment
Night Sky in Focus © Anthony Urbano | Bacoor, Philippines
Night Sky in Focus 