MLA-30 Antenna Rotor

prusaprinters

A simple antenna rotor for the MLA-30 or similar small and light antennas. Only a few parts are needed and it is easy to print, preferably in PETG.You can mount it in different ways, on a tripod, with a table clamp or simply with screws.I would still have to work a little on the software, but it works so far.The stepper motor is sufficient in the 5 volt version, it does not require much power and can be operated via usb.The tube is simply attached to the 8mm bolts with a little PVC tape.Mechanical parts5 x M5 Threaded Inserts5 x M5 Screws, longer than 20mm shorter than 50mm2 x M3 Threaded Inserts2 x M3 Screws, longer than 15mm1 x M8 Screws, longer than 100mm2 x 608zz ball bearing1 x  MR128ZZ ball bearing1 x Round tube plastic 12 mmElectronic parts1 x 28BYJ-48 Steppermotor 5 Volts1 x Stepper motor driver (e.g. ULN2003)1 x ArduinoSoftwareArduino Code:https://elektro.turanis.de/html/prj143/index.html and Arduino Example #define PIN_IN1 9 // blue #define PIN_IN2 8 // pink #define PIN_IN3 7 // yellow #define PIN_IN4 6 // orange int incomingByte; // a variable to read incoming serial data into unsigned int lowSpeed = 1600; // max: 16000 unsigned int highSpeed = 1000; void setup() { Serial.begin(9600); pinMode(PIN_IN1, OUTPUT); pinMode(PIN_IN2, OUTPUT); pinMode(PIN_IN3, OUTPUT); pinMode(PIN_IN4, OUTPUT); } void loop() { unsigned long n = millis() / 3000; // 3 seconds if (Serial.available() > 0) { // read the oldest byte in the serial buffer: incomingByte = Serial.read(); if (incomingByte == 'R') { rotateRight(lowSpeed); } if (incomingByte == 'L') { rotateLeft(lowSpeed); } if (incomingByte == 'S') { stopMotor(); } }else{ stopMotor(); } } void rotateRight(unsigned int motorSpeed) { setMotor(LOW, LOW, LOW, HIGH, motorSpeed); setMotor(LOW, LOW, HIGH, HIGH, motorSpeed); setMotor(LOW, LOW, HIGH, LOW, motorSpeed); setMotor(LOW, HIGH, HIGH, LOW, motorSpeed); setMotor(LOW, HIGH, LOW, LOW, motorSpeed); setMotor(HIGH, HIGH, LOW, LOW, motorSpeed); setMotor(HIGH, LOW, LOW, LOW, motorSpeed); setMotor(HIGH, LOW, LOW, HIGH, motorSpeed); } void rotateLeft(unsigned int motorSpeed) { setMotor(HIGH, LOW, LOW, LOW, motorSpeed); setMotor(HIGH, HIGH, LOW, LOW, motorSpeed); setMotor(LOW, HIGH, LOW, LOW, motorSpeed); setMotor(LOW, HIGH, HIGH, LOW, motorSpeed); setMotor(LOW, LOW, HIGH, LOW, motorSpeed); setMotor(LOW, LOW, HIGH, HIGH, motorSpeed); setMotor(LOW, LOW, LOW, HIGH, motorSpeed); setMotor(HIGH, LOW, LOW, HIGH, motorSpeed); } void stopMotor() { setMotor(LOW, LOW, LOW, LOW, 0); } void setMotor(byte in1, byte in2, byte in3, byte in4, unsigned int motorSpeed) { digitalWrite(PIN_IN1, in1); digitalWrite(PIN_IN2, in2); digitalWrite(PIN_IN3, in3); digitalWrite(PIN_IN4, in4); delayMicroseconds(motorSpeed); }Python Code#!/usr/bin/env python3 import PySimpleGUI as sg import serial import sys import glob def serial_ports(): """ Lists serial port names :raises EnvironmentError: On unsupported or unknown platforms :returns: A list of the serial ports available on the system https://stackoverflow.com/a/14224477 """ if sys.platform.startswith('win'): ports = ['COM%s' % (i + 1) for i in range(256)] elif sys.platform.startswith('linux') or sys.platform.startswith('cygwin'): # this excludes your current terminal "/dev/tty" ports = glob.glob('/dev/tty[A-Za-z]*') elif sys.platform.startswith('darwin'): ports = glob.glob('/dev/cu.*') else: raise EnvironmentError('Unsupported platform') result = [] for port in ports: try: s = serial.Serial(port) s.close() result.append(port) except (OSError, serial.SerialException): pass return result sg.theme('DarkRed1') font1 = ("Arial, 16") font0 = ("Arial, 8") layout = [ [sg.Text('Serial Port', size=(10, 1),font=font1)], [sg.Combo(serial_ports(),size= (20,1),font=font1,key='seriel_port')], [sg.Text('Steps', size=(10, 1),font=font1)], [sg.InputText('10',font=font1, size=(10,1), key='steps', enable_events=True)], [sg.Button('Right',font=font1, button_color=('white', 'DarkRed'), key='right')], [sg.Button('Left',font=font1, button_color=('white', 'DarkRed'), key='left')] ] window = sg.Window("Rotator", layout, default_element_size=(14,2), text_justification='r', # auto_size_text=False, keep_on_top = True, auto_size_buttons=False, return_keyboard_events=True, default_button_element_size=(14,1), finalize=True) while True: event, values = window.read() steps = int(values['steps']) ser = serial.Serial(values['seriel_port'], 9600) if event == sg.WIN_CLOSED: exit(69) if event == 'right': for i in range(steps): ser.write(b'R') if event == 'left': for i in range(steps): ser.write(b'L')