OpenAstroTracker is an equatorial mount which “compensates for Earth’s rotation by having one rotational axis parallel to the Earth’s axis of rotation”. You can mount a camera (mostly a DLSR or DSLM) on top of it and it rotates with the same speed as our earth rotation in order to remove stars movement relatively to the camera and allow longer exposures this way.
The mount is being controlled by an Arduino. The Arduino is controlling multiple stepper motors which in turn rotate the camera mount. The mount provides multiple options for control: LCD Keypad, USB Serial connection, WiFi. Latter two enable remote control with special astrophotography software based either on the LX200 protocol, ASCOM or INDI platforms.
3D Printed Parts
Electronics
Assembled
I’ve finished the assembly, wiring and initial calibration. Waiting for a clear cloudless night to click some good shots