I down loaded file zip file, ran the MSI file. It said it was installed. Now what !!!!! No idea where the file is installed.... no documentation...
I can manipulate an INO file, I can install libraries I can even wire up a 3 pin mains plug.......but this Nothing
Another half baked offering and yes I am having a bad day.
I made an Arduino Focuser :)
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admin
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Re: I made an Arduino Focuser :)
Perhaps a photo will help give context to the instructions on the Github page (the section starting 'Construction is Simple'...)
What you have here is the CNC shield visible (the Arduino is below).
You can see the two wires mentioned soldered onto the board below the red 'A' socket bottom right - these tap the power from the arduino and feed it to the motor supply input on the left.
The A4988 stepper controller board is plugged into the top left 'X' socket on the CNC shield, and the cable from the stepper motor is plugged in just to the right of that. You can just see the 3 jumpers plugged in below the bottom of the A4988 board - these enable the microstepping.
That's all there is to the wiring aside from connecting USB and 12V to the Arduino for data and power.
From the software side, you have installed the ASCOM driver already by the sound of it. You will also need the ASCOM platform if not already installed. The ASCOM driver will show up in the list of focusers in any astronomy application that uses ASCOM to allow you to control the device. The INO file needs to be programmed onto the Arduino too and then you should be good to go.
cheers,
Robin
- PXL_20251112_155134152.jpg (427.78 KiB) Viewed 1588 times
You can see the two wires mentioned soldered onto the board below the red 'A' socket bottom right - these tap the power from the arduino and feed it to the motor supply input on the left.
The A4988 stepper controller board is plugged into the top left 'X' socket on the CNC shield, and the cable from the stepper motor is plugged in just to the right of that. You can just see the 3 jumpers plugged in below the bottom of the A4988 board - these enable the microstepping.
That's all there is to the wiring aside from connecting USB and 12V to the Arduino for data and power.
From the software side, you have installed the ASCOM driver already by the sound of it. You will also need the ASCOM platform if not already installed. The ASCOM driver will show up in the list of focusers in any astronomy application that uses ASCOM to allow you to control the device. The INO file needs to be programmed onto the Arduino too and then you should be good to go.
cheers,
Robin
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PaddyMedway
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Re: I made an Arduino Focuser :)
First off { maybe most importantly too} may I say sorry for being rude. It truly was a bad day but yes it was still rude.
Thanks to Admin for not kicking me off, can we put it down to me having a "Senior Moment".
On the construction side, I misunderstood the wiring. Surely having the motor current go via the Ardunio board is not "right so I thought I was misunderstanding it.". The wiring from the supplied motor may have different colours, so I was hoping for the names of the function.
Last but not least, even now, I still can not see the INO file for the Ardunio to work out what's going on. What pin does what on the Ardunio, sorry but I am still none the wiser.
On a different note, I had, with other files, got a stepper to move but only in one direction. The nearest Internet solution seemed to be "take 4 wires and stick them in these 4 holes and put the other ends in one of these 4 holes". I learned the 4 sockets marked "In 1, In2, In3, In4" have wires called
"In 1", "In2" ..... . An answer to "How do I know if I have wired it right? ", was "If the motor is turning properly you have wired it right.".
Rant over.
Thanks to Admin for not kicking me off, can we put it down to me having a "Senior Moment".
On the construction side, I misunderstood the wiring. Surely having the motor current go via the Ardunio board is not "right so I thought I was misunderstanding it.". The wiring from the supplied motor may have different colours, so I was hoping for the names of the function.
Last but not least, even now, I still can not see the INO file for the Ardunio to work out what's going on. What pin does what on the Ardunio, sorry but I am still none the wiser.
On a different note, I had, with other files, got a stepper to move but only in one direction. The nearest Internet solution seemed to be "take 4 wires and stick them in these 4 holes and put the other ends in one of these 4 holes". I learned the 4 sockets marked "In 1, In2, In3, In4" have wires called
"In 1", "In2" ..... . An answer to "How do I know if I have wired it right? ", was "If the motor is turning properly you have wired it right.".
Rant over.
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admin
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Re: I made an Arduino Focuser :)
Hi,
it's been a while, but if I remember correctly, the two pins that are soldered to and take the power to the motor are wired directly back to the power input jack on the Arduino, so you are just drawing direct from the 12V supply (the Arduino will also be taking power from this supply).
There are two ways of getting a stepper to move on an Arduino - the first is that you connect the stepper straight to the arduino outputs and then you are responsible for activating the stepper coils in the right order. The other is the way I went - the CNC board plus stepper controller. This makes the work needed on the arduino a lot simpler as the A4988 handles detailed control of the stepper motor. I never tried the first approach, but I wonder if that's what you have been trying with your own experiments?
The compiled firmware is found in this folder : https://github.com/rwg0/Arduino-Focuser ... r/firmware
cheers,
Robin
it's been a while, but if I remember correctly, the two pins that are soldered to and take the power to the motor are wired directly back to the power input jack on the Arduino, so you are just drawing direct from the 12V supply (the Arduino will also be taking power from this supply).
There are two ways of getting a stepper to move on an Arduino - the first is that you connect the stepper straight to the arduino outputs and then you are responsible for activating the stepper coils in the right order. The other is the way I went - the CNC board plus stepper controller. This makes the work needed on the arduino a lot simpler as the A4988 handles detailed control of the stepper motor. I never tried the first approach, but I wonder if that's what you have been trying with your own experiments?
The compiled firmware is found in this folder : https://github.com/rwg0/Arduino-Focuser ... r/firmware
cheers,
Robin
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PaddyMedway
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Re: I made an Arduino Focuser :)
It has just hit me..... you are both admin and constructor. I think the words I am looking for are ...{REDACTED} 
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PaddyMedway
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- Joined: Tue Jan 30, 2024 8:45 am
Re: I made an Arduino Focuser :)
Hi Robin,
Back to the INO file(s)
I take it there are no source "text" ino files. I understand role of a complier but in all my { limited } playing with Ardunio I have no experience of a precompiled files or indeed how to load one. From my first post you indeed may well think me ignorant but in this instance I am more akin to stupid!
I believe I have found an Aliexpress shield which match's yours, hunting down an "4998" with pre-soldered pins.
In short I will just copy/build your !!! [This "thinking" stuff was never my strong point]
all the very best
Back to the INO file(s)
I take it there are no source "text" ino files. I understand role of a complier but in all my { limited } playing with Ardunio I have no experience of a precompiled files or indeed how to load one. From my first post you indeed may well think me ignorant but in this instance I am more akin to stupid!
I believe I have found an Aliexpress shield which match's yours, hunting down an "4998" with pre-soldered pins.
In short I will just copy/build your !!! [This "thinking" stuff was never my strong point]
all the very best
-
admin
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Re: I made an Arduino Focuser :)
Hi,
glad to hear you are on the track of the same parts. The folder I linked to above contains all the source code for the arduino side - some cpp and h files and the ino file. This should compile to the binary in the Arduino IDE and then that can load it to the arduino itself. I think a pre-compiled version of the Arduino code would be a '.hex' file, and I haven't included that in the Github.
The best thing to do is to check out (or download and unzip) all the Github source code, then open the '.ino' file in the Arduino IDE and you should be good.
cheers,
Robin
glad to hear you are on the track of the same parts. The folder I linked to above contains all the source code for the arduino side - some cpp and h files and the ino file. This should compile to the binary in the Arduino IDE and then that can load it to the arduino itself. I think a pre-compiled version of the Arduino code would be a '.hex' file, and I haven't included that in the Github.
The best thing to do is to check out (or download and unzip) all the Github source code, then open the '.ino' file in the Arduino IDE and you should be good.
cheers,
Robin
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PaddyMedway
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Re: I made an Arduino Focuser :)
Got my boards from Aliexpress today
Fat load of use they are mind!!!
Fat load of use they are mind!!!
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admin
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Re: I made an Arduino Focuser :)
Hi,
that's a pain... I suppose you could try to unsolder the yellow header and re-solder it properly aligned, but unsoldering multi-pin things is a bit of a pig of a job without the right tools.
Another option - if one of the other yellow sockets is aligned properly - is to use either the Y or Z sockets and change the code to drive the Y/Z motor as appropriate instead of the X one. You would need to edit the code in AFMotor.cpp (here : https://github.com/rwg0/Arduino-Focuser ... or.cpp#L12) to change the pins used for step and direction. Off hand, I don't know the pins for the other sockets, but I'm sure that a quick search will bring them up.
cheers,
Robin
that's a pain... I suppose you could try to unsolder the yellow header and re-solder it properly aligned, but unsoldering multi-pin things is a bit of a pig of a job without the right tools.
Another option - if one of the other yellow sockets is aligned properly - is to use either the Y or Z sockets and change the code to drive the Y/Z motor as appropriate instead of the X one. You would need to edit the code in AFMotor.cpp (here : https://github.com/rwg0/Arduino-Focuser ... or.cpp#L12) to change the pins used for step and direction. Off hand, I don't know the pins for the other sockets, but I'm sure that a quick search will bring them up.
cheers,
Robin
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PaddyMedway
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Re: I made an Arduino Focuser :)
Thanks so much for the reply.
I have seen an image which does list the pins so I am in with a chance.
I am struggling with the loading of software as I am more used to the "INO" file. I will have a go at playing with the ".ccp" and see if I can learn more about this method.
For the benefit anyone else who may read this....Aliexpress did not accept the board was damaged and would not refund !!!!
I have seen an image which does list the pins so I am in with a chance.
I am struggling with the loading of software as I am more used to the "INO" file. I will have a go at playing with the ".ccp" and see if I can learn more about this method.
For the benefit anyone else who may read this....Aliexpress did not accept the board was damaged and would not refund !!!!