Barn Door Tracker

Kena,

Thanks for taking the time to write this up! Very informative and also answered a few queries I had. Definately something I would like to try myself. Look forward to seeing your shots.

How much roughly did it cost for all the components (not including the plywood, hinges and tools used)?

Eddie

The motor was £5 (Ebay)
The Arduino was around £13 (Ebay)
the brass rod was about £8 (Ebay)
Nuts and bolts came to about £7 frame various ebay sources and B&Q
2 x 9V battery cases £3 each (Ebay)
Bread board jumper wires £3.50 (Ebay)
Plastic project box £5 (Ebay)
5 pin male/female chassis plug £3.50 from Maplins
Delrin gears were about £7
few other bits and pieces
So i would say a little over £50

I did buy some other odd and ends but never used them as I kept changing my mind as I went along.

I must say I have enjoyed myself doing this. I am thinking of making 2 new wood bits with better measurements and a bit tidier.

Excellent, thanks again

The arduino board you listed is £112. Would this be the same part? http://www.ebay.co.uk …rking&hash=item​2572fa6d36

Also are these the correct two gears - http://www.bearingshop​uk.co.uk …ed-delrin-500-36673-p.asp and http://www.bearingshop​uk.co.uk …ed-delrin-500-36657-p.asp

Thanks

The £112.49 one has to be some kind of an error, or a bulk order. The one you linked to should do just fine xpfloyd.

I strongly encourage people buying Arduino products to buy the official licensed stuff (Follow links from the Arduino site). Not only does it help maximize compatibility and ensure examples run on the chip and accessories actually fit as expected, but it also ensures the foundation gets their fair cut of the money to keep things rolling forward.

Good luck with the project.

Luckless wrote in post #16675798
The £112.49 one has to be some kind of an error, or a bulk order. The one you linked to should do just fine xpfloyd.

I strongly encourage people buying Arduino products to buy the official licensed stuff (Follow links from the Arduino site). Not only does it help maximize compatibility and ensure examples run on the chip and accessories actually fit as expected, but it also ensures the foundation gets their fair cut of the money to keep things rolling forward.

Good luck with the project.

Thanks, I'll check the official site out first

xpfloyd wrote in post #16675670
The arduino board you listed is £112. Would this be the same part? http://www.ebay.co.uk …rking&hash=item​2572fa6d36

Also are these the correct two gears - http://www.bearingshop​uk.co.uk …ed-delrin-500-36673-p.asp and http://www.bearingshop​uk.co.uk …ed-delrin-500-36657-p.asp

Thanks

That's the correct Arduino but it should be £12.49, there must be a mistake with the listing.
I purchased the stepper motor from the same place and they were delivered within a few days.
Those are the correct gears. As long as they are 16 and 64 tooth gears it will give a ratio of 4:1

Thanks again kena, no doubt I'll have a few more questions for you as the parts start to arrive

Anytime xpfloyd, here to help.
One thing I forgot to mention during my write up is I ordered some nylon shoulder washers from here:
http://www.ebay.co.uk …_trksid=p3984.m​1497.l2648
Size SWO25

I placed one of them in the hole on the bottom/base piece of plywood just to lift the 64 tooth up a little as the centre of the teeth should align with the centre of the hinges. It also reduces friction for the gear as it's not rubbing on the wood.

For those in the states wanting a precision stepper motor with a quartz timed driver board see this site, there is also a lot of good information here if you're building a barn door.

Excellent instructions, really pleased that you got this up and running, can't wait to see how your pics turn out.

the jimmy wrote in post #16676836
For those in the states wanting a precision stepper motor with a quartz timed driver board see this site, there is also a lot of good information here if you're building a barn door.

I learned quite a bit from this site during my research. Very informative, especially his U tube tutorials.

Just an update for those following this thread. I set the tracker up in the house again and aligned it to about 55 degrees ( my approximate latitude ) and found that I cannot tilt the camera very far with my sigma lens on, so any objects high up in the sky would be out of reach. It is catching the edge of the top piece of plywood.
So I am either going to move the Giottos ball head as in the picture below or attach a strip of plywood to the top and extend it over the edge to attach the ball head onto.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/k3na1/124829395​13/

Can the ballhead be set up anywhere on the top plate? I assumed it didn't have to be on any centreline or at a set offset from the hinge?

As far as I'm aware it can but I think as close to the hinge as possible. I had to move mine as I couldn't get the adjustment I needed with a longer lens attached.