So I’m getting ready to start my first build now that I have some time.
I originally printed the V2 3D parts and I plan on printing V3 parts as soon as this week.
Is worth building the V2?
Are the electronics the same between the V2 and V3 3D parts? I’d like to just buy a batch to cover a few builds
Are all the PCBs available for purchase from OSH Park? If not, do I just submit a compressed file of the branch to a board house like Dirty PCBs?
When I get to building the V3, should I consider X-Y to Az\El?
Was the point for using DC motors higher torque? If so,is there a stable electronics release for DC motors?
i’ve probably forgotten other questions. I started typing this in the middle of my shift but caught with work.
I apologize for cramming everything into one post. My goal is to get 2-3 built by Field Day. This project is part of the reason I’m joining a makerspace. I plan on donating one to the space.
I think building the v3 would be a better idea. The electronics do stay the same, for the stepper motors. In v3 you can upgrade on DC later if you like. As far as I recollect the OSH park has all PCB designs, but Dirty PCB is a good solution too. We haven’t yet thoroughly tested using v3 as an X/Y rotator. Using DC motors can provide higher torque and fairly good precision if coupled with magnetic encoders. As far as I know the electronics are more or less finalized but @azisi could provide a more solid answer on that.
The hardware for v3 is ready for mast with diameter 32mm. In the master branch, we are working in the rotator with mast diameter 40mm that is almost ready. In the X/Y configuration you need additional parts to support and connect each separate axis. So if you start to build v3 you have more choices than v2.
As @elkos said you can use the same electronics for stepper motors. Also you can use the new satnogs controller that you can control stepper motors or DC motors. In order to control DC motor we use magnetic encoder with 12 bit resolution. The firmware for DC motors isn’t stable yet. The new pcb’s isn’t available in OSH Park but we do in the next days. So, i recommend you to build new satnogs controller in order to have more choices.
