Motorizing a dobsonian telescope

Hello, like i said in the title i wanted to motorize my telescope, nothing fancy like GoTo or tracking i just need it to go up/down left/right using a joyststick

What i would like to ask is:

• which motors? (it don't need to be a stepper motor since i don't need to keep track of the movements,but they need to run pretty slow and with a moderate amount of torque)
• what do i need to control the motors (i would like to use a joystick(wired) and have a dial for speeds regulation)

i would like to run it with a 12V lead battery i already have (a mini display that shows the battery voltage would be nice)

Thanks in advance (and sry for bad eng)

A few ideas:

Samshel said:

which motors?

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I would use either stepper motors or simple DC permanent magnet type motors.

Samshel said:

they need to run pretty slow and with a moderate amount of torque)

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I which case I would have a gearbox, so that the telescope axis can move slowly while the rotor in the motor is moving quickly.
A motor which runs slowly without a gearbox is unlikely to produce much torque.

Samshel said:

(i would like to use a joystick(wired) and have a dial for speeds regulation)

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You could have a joystick which is a simple type with four switches for the directions (left, right, up, down) and a separate controller for the motor speed.
or
you could use an analogue joystick, like this one:

which will allow you to select the direction of movement, and the speed of movement, depending on how far you move the joystick from its resting position.

To implement this, you may need to use a micro-controller such as a PIC or Arduino.

JimB

What joystick? Pick the right stick and it might work directly with the a motor driver h-bridge board. Look on robotshop.com.

For the mechanics..I built my son this variable speed turntable for 3D scanning a person. The drive is a very small DC geared motor. The speed is controlled by a small variable PWM power supply. Enough torque to rotate a 210 pound subject. The turntable design should work perfectly for a Dobsonian azimath. And maybe elevation too.

Ken

i went with dc gearbox motors from aliexpres and i found a drive board with speed control and switches in the same page ( i wanted to post the page but i didn't know if it was okay to do so)

thank you for the tips

Samshel said:

( i wanted to post the page but i didn't know if it was okay to do so)

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Posting a link to page or a screen dump of the page is OK when, as in this case, you are showing equipment you have used or propose to use.

Glad that you have found a solution to your problem.

JimB

If the motors meet your needs, then they should work.

And yes, posting links to what you plan to use, or even what you are considering, is acceptable. As long as it's part of a legitimate question.
What is not acceptable is spamming links to something you are trying to sell.

The motor: (40rpm version)
https://it.aliexpress.com/item/DC-1...765.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.68094c4dVhM2aw

the controller:
https://it.aliexpress.com/item/PWM-...823.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.68094c4dVhM2aw