Celestron Nexstar 4SE Autofocusser Adaptor bracket

thingiverse

This is a remix of the mounting plate for the Stepper Motor focus detailed here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1354009 Software and Arduino Tested with Windows 10 x64 and Sharpcap Auto focus using ASCOM over USB. Total build cost is about £9 using an Arduino Nano clone and the stepper motor listed in the original item this was remixed from. This is the back plate only, please refer to the link above or the original item it was remixed from, for additional information for the project. This enables a motor to automatically focus the telescope using software such as Sharpcap using ASCOM drivers. Really useful for remotely controlling the telescope and for obtaining optimal focus for imaging using an imaging sensor (I use the Altair 385c camera). I also use a usb 2 hub and 10m extension which means I can sit indoors and control the telescope outside using Starry nights software to point the scope, sharpcap for viewing and stacking and checking focus, plate solving for alignment etc. In order to fit the gear to the focusser on my telescope (nexstar 4SE 2017) I am able to gently pull the rubber focus knob off (just the rubber cover part, not the metal) and slide the 3d printed gear on (from the original design). This worked on my Telescope however, I would recommend doing some homework before doing anything which could potentially damage your scope. I didn't need to unscrew anything anyway! Hope this proves useful and please feel free to share any additional modifications or improvements. The Astro image is the Dumbell nebula taken with a 0.5 focal reducer (hence the distortion around the outer edges, the reducer increases the field of view of the sensor) the image is made up of approx 20 images at 10 second exposure and automatically processed in sharpcap - was a quick attempt to test everything so isn’t a masterpiece by any stretch! Ian