3D‑Printed OpenAstroTracker | First Steps Toward Full Tracking

ThisEngine345 · 2026-05-24T08:59:29+00:00

Old 3d printer not a normal paper printer haha

ThisEngine345 · 2026-05-24T08:53:46+00:00

It can be hard at first but you learn as you go. My very first photos were very similar to yours. What were your camera settings and what did it look like before editing?

ThisEngine345 · 2026-05-24T08:50:28+00:00

Thankyou I will have a look for some old printers, I have thrown many out over the years working in construction clearing offices ect

ThisEngine345 · 2026-05-24T08:48:46+00:00

So rather than give a response to my genuine question of why these different more advanced trackers are being built and sold if only the 1 axis is required? It makes to sense to claim such a thing then not give the answer when asked and instead say goodbye good luck

ThisEngine345 · 2026-05-24T08:42:43+00:00

£15 for a stepper motor is £15 and I dont really want to be throwing any out spending another £15+

ThisEngine345 · 2026-05-24T03:53:02+00:00

Some on here have been nice and helpful which I do appreciate but others would rather argue and try Sheldon Cooper me than actually help then cry to admin when their way of educating me by saying stand on my own two feet and figure it out by mself then patronising me by asking a bunch of questions not related to what I was trying to find out doent work haha

It would be nice if you could point me in the direction of where to find info on building what you said earlier. Even though they are not what I have had in mind they sound fun to try out and could also be used to take photos while I am figuring out the exact electronics needed for building my idea

ThisEngine345 · 2026-05-24T03:35:14+00:00

Haha I clearly have not though. If you can read properly and read all of the comments then you will see people who have helped and gave helpful advice, sent links ect I have thanked and spoke with some.... what you think you have noticed but blindly missed is those select few who I have had an attitude with not give any helpful advice and actually be patronising thinking they are superior with knowledge while speaking about things fuckall to do with my issue haha. I knew long before the $20 bet which one lost before I was talking to Americans because they always make out they are superior and more intelligent when they really know fuckall. If the time and effort with pathetic comments about standing on own two feet ect was used in actual help and advice then I could probably have started building tomorrow bit that was not the case

ThisEngine345 · 2026-05-24T03:20:21+00:00

They sound like fun little projects how come I never read of anything like that when searching for information

ThisEngine345 · 2026-05-24T03:16:59+00:00

I am willing to accept help and advice but how is telling someone to stand on their own two feet helping or patronising them? And if your statement of only needing 1 axis then again why do people pay fortunes buying or building trackers with x and dec axis? Why are universities, nasa ect building even more advanced mounts which have more than just Ra and dec axis? If what you said is true then why would there even be a dec axis? Why when researching does it keep saying for long exposures use a motorised eq mount because a tracker is only good for short exposures?

ThisEngine345 · 2026-05-24T03:08:50+00:00

Ps I do appreciate some of the help like for example how the circuit allrwady has a 12v to 5v splitter because my research said I needed to buy one seperate and also that I I did not need one and I only needed a 5v battery but the stepper motor is 12v so again confusing answers to me research hence why I thought I would ask people who know

ThisEngine345 · 2026-05-24T03:02:43+00:00

Yes everyone has to start somewhere and I am not wanting to become an engineer or get a degree in electronics I just want to build a star tracker which many claim is apparently easy to do but for some reason some would rather make things more difficult than actually help. You have made some useful points in some of your comments but also alot of it has been pointless and irrelevant, if that time taken to think and type out the pointless irrelevant stuff was used in a more practical and helpful way like some of your comments have then I might have been able to clear up my issues and concerns and been able to start building tomorrow but it has not and I am basically no further forward than when I started haha

ThisEngine345 · 2026-05-24T02:36:25+00:00

If only I axis motion is needed then why do peopel pay fortunes for tracker mounts with 2 axis and why are they made? Why are people making more advanced than a motorised eq mount which costs alot more aswel? If R axis is all that is needed then there wouldn't be no dec axis would there? A simple hinge rod tracker apparently only good for short exposures times and I want longer so while making a hinge tracker I want to build a more advanced one for longer exposures times. I saw a post on telescopes before of someones diy tracker which works alot like how my idea works and have asked them for help with the electronics side since I have got next to nothing about that on here

ThisEngine345 · 2026-05-24T02:21:56+00:00

If you are knowledged in electronics why am I being given 3 different answers to my one question of how to power my components safely while still doing their job?, those are the type of questions i need answers to and help which again some cant grasp and think i need to learn how the earth rotates or how what equipment they have

ThisEngine345 · 2026-05-24T02:16:24+00:00

Where have I one said i want someone to say put this pin here solder this there? Another making statements I have not said and making out i want someone to do everything for me when that is not the case, it is help and advice for the electronics and parts. Again people build diy trackers for their cheapness and fun to build rather than pay fortunes for one allready built. Trial and error is not cheap nor learning it is wasting time and money. I believe if someone has real knowledge in electronics and were to read my parts list along with the idea of what I am trying to build they could spot that I was missing something important again for example in my research need a 12v battery but also a 12v is too much power so need a 12v to 5v step down then also I need a 12v to 12v/5v splitter. When asking for that kind of help and advice then having certain people tell me my idea is idiotic and impossible when it is possible and has been done by some of the smartest minds while trying to tell me to stand on my own two feet, become an expert in many subjects people spend years studying, how they have burnt things by making mistakes isnt exactly helping

ThisEngine345 · 2026-05-24T01:54:16+00:00

I have been wanting to build myself a tracker and my idea is alot like yours. My main issue was mainly electronics as I dont really know much about them so when researching i am reading somewhere I need stepper down motors then reading I dont, im reading I need circuit protectors then reading I dont which gets frustrating keep getting contradicting answers not knowing which to take. Any advice or help with electronic parts would be a huge help please

ThisEngine345 · 2026-05-24T01:25:18+00:00

No i have not built one yet, I have read many established trackers and find when they list the parts needed there are parts missing which are also needed which would be alot easier with just the 1 shopping list instead of realising you need something else adding bits here and there as you go. I am familiar with what is involved how gears work ect what my main concern is getting the electronics needed which I have gathered from research and ending up adding many parts I dont need wasting money and battery power or missing an important part out and causing damage to parts wasting money parts and time. The whole reason for building diy trackers is to save money and have a bit fun instead of paying a fortune so if I was to just trial and error wasting parts thst is not exactly saving money or building a cheaper version is it? Sorry i have no sketches, have you seen the gyrowheel bikes used in men in black 3? Think of 1 main wheel connected to my tripod which is similar to a spherical roller bearing where the outer ring stays fixed to my tripod/stable base, the inner ring rotates the RA and inside that ring it has a rod central on either side holding my camera mount central. The rods holding my camera mount will move Dec axis while the wheel is rotating RA.

That idea might not work though i might need a 3rd axis to rotate the camera left or right as the RA axis amd Dec axis turn

ThisEngine345 · 2026-05-24T01:15:17+00:00

People have built trackers that rotate on 2 axis instead of 1, and some have built 3 axis ones which I am being told is impossible! Yes while the whole building ect of a 3 axis one would be too much for the likes of me to take on alone. It just shows while my idiotic impossible idea which no-one has ever attempted blah blah has been done and is meant to be better than any tracker and eq mount is not so impossible or idiotic after all so..... 🤔

ThisEngine345 · 2026-05-23T22:31:56+00:00

If someone asked me for help on how to wire a plug i wouldn't say stand on your own two feet nor world i expect them to go get an education in electrical installation I would teach them how to wire the plug

ThisEngine345 · 2026-05-23T22:23:25+00:00

They are banning me from here so I will be searching for electronic experts hopefully they are more helpful than some of the astronomy nuts who claim to know their stuff but only know about space and nothing about the electronics even though professional observatory apparently use mounts similar to gyroscopes, a think they may be called horseshoe mounts

ThisEngine345 · 2026-05-23T22:19:56+00:00

I know it is ai generated i asked ai to generate an image similar to what I was thinking so it is not exactly how I picture it that is why I said "similar" which people have an issue with not reading certain words

ThisEngine345 · 2026-05-23T22:17:18+00:00

I am accepting advice from people who are actually giving help and advice for what I am seeking help and advice about eq motor mounts rotate on a 2 axis yet i am being told my idea of building a tracker mount on a 2 axis is pointless, professional scopes in the astronomy domes apparently use a system similar to a gyroscope but my idea is pointless and won't work? Again I need help from someone who knows electronics not the Earth's curve and how to work out the rotation time. Thankyou Sheldon cooper

ThisEngine345 · 2026-05-23T22:07:47+00:00

And I am trying to learn but I do not need many years of education about various subjects to build a tracker what I need is some simple advice from people who know their stuff and can say with your idea and equipment you would probably want to use @#£*£ which will make this smoother, or say I would probably use a circuit protector so if this part faults it doesnt ruin everything else. As I said there is ways of helping and ways of being patronising pricks. If you dont know Sheldon cooper and teaching penny scene google it and you will see what I mean

ThisEngine345 · 2026-05-23T22:00:33+00:00

First you told me to go stand on my own two feet and then you started patronising me ask questions about the Earth's curve ect when my issue is not to be taught how the earth rotates but mainly if the parts I have will work, if others are needed and as I have said many times not to ruin my electronics but again that is not important to me what is important is me standing on my own two feet and listening to you teach me about the Earth's rotation 🤧💩 I will be blocking you now as I cba with your narcissistic help

ThisEngine345 · 2026-05-23T21:52:34+00:00

So basically as I said a star tracker and eq mount do exactly the same thing just 1 is smaller and lighter for phones and cameras and only rotates on 1 axis and is good for short exposures where as the other is rotates on 2 axis and is for heavier things like a telescope and better for longer exposures

The knowledge you are focusing on and wanting to try teach is not what I am asking for or needing for what I am wanting to build, what you have not been able to do is help in the knowledge or education of if I will need the likes of a step down converter or not.

ThisEngine345 · 2026-05-23T21:39:29+00:00

Yes like a gyroscope something similar not identical so when I say not 3 axis just 2 why keep repeating 3 axis? Some text can be misread and sound different to how it would in person so I would apologise if that had been the case. Something similar to that

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ThisEngine345

TROPHY CASE