telescope pushto Digital Setting Circles (DSC) wireless

thingiverse

Yet another pushto !Yes, but this one is very very simple and fully wireless.This wireless DSC is a telescope guidance system that, in combination with an astronomical application, helps to quickly locate any object in the sky as displayed on the application sky map. The system monitors in real time the accurate angular position of the telescope using the magnetic encoders located in its two axes. The position information is transferred to a computer or mobile device using Bluetooth Serial Protocol and is processed by the application.The telescope position indicator is displayed on the screen in real time as a target.Just select an object by its name or tap it on the screen, and the application will indicate exactly towards which direction you should point the telescope. You just have to "push to" the direction of an arrow !(The 3rd picture is the 12P Pons-Brooks comet easily found with this device!)As my DSC is wireless, Each axis is independant of the other, You do not have to manage the messy wires when rotating your telescope (especially the Azimuth axis is then fully free to rotate in any direction and can even make several turns if you like) !Each axis (Az, Alt) includes an AS5600 magnetic rotation Hall effect sensor, an ESP32 and a battery power supply (a powerbank directly plugged into the micro USB socket of the ESP32)).That's all, no fancy things but a KISS (Keep It Smart and Simple) pushto system that anybody can reproduce.There is no PCB as the ESP32 is plugged in mezzanine over the sensor.The sensor is screwed into it's casing, the AS5600 sits right in front of the magnet.The sensor is directly powered by the ESP32 GPIO pins.To get a very good accuracy, there is a gear train on each axis but I think it could work with the magnet right on the telescopes axis.With my telescope and the size of the gears, I get around 15500 steps in Azimuth and around 14000 steps for Altitude for a rotation of 360°.Here it is in video : https://youtu.be/7Xd7NDvk3_U A news on hackaday: https://hackaday.com/2024/02/27/wireless-telescope-guidance-you-can-build-on-the-cheap/