Hi @Yohan_Hadji ,
thanks for your reply. I do understand your comments about time and academic life… I teach at the university of cologne 
About your project 2 questions:
Which version of RV030 Worm Gear Reducer should I buy? There are versions going from 5 to 1 till 80 to 1.
In the pictures and files I couldn’t find much Information about how the vertical and horizontal controls. How exactly are they? (I found this blog yesterday… maybe I overlooked something…)
ucarvelli
In theory, all of them are compatible, but I decided to use the 80:1 version for the greater possible torque. The tradeoff is rotation speed, but running the NEMA-23 stepper motors at 36V, I’ve been able to achieve overkill speeds, up to 25-30°/s
You might want to take a look at this folder, there is .pdf file describing how the controller is working, you’ll also find in the same folder the instructions for the mechanical assembly. SuperAntennaz/Instructions at master · YohanHadji/SuperAntennaz · GitHub
The controller described in this document is Arduino based and designed to work with a SatNOGS station. It takes serial commands such as for exemple “AZ90” to move the rotator to 90° of azimuth and “EL25” for 25° of elevation.
Best
Ok. Will check the file!
ucarvelli
Hi @Yohan_Hadji. I ordered the mechanical parts and have to wait now till April 2022 to get the worm gear fron China. Uau! By the way and just to be sure: do you have maybe two worm gears lying around to sell? From France to Germany would be faster 
Hi @ucarvelli, unfortunately I don’t have any of them in stock anymore,
About the worm gears, where are you getting them from? Are you buying these one : https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/4000405892097.html?
I’m almost sure you can find some stocked in EU on aliexpress, but they might be more expensive. Also it’s a mystery to me how they manage to do that but 2 to 3 weeks only is the kind of delays I had on my last orders from china with base shipping.
I think you might want also want to take a look at this document I just uploaded to order just the right amount of screws you need, the specific references are to order these screws from FixNVis : SuperAntennaz/SuperAntennaz Screws BOM.csv at master · YohanHadji/SuperAntennaz · GitHub
Please let me know if there is anything else I can do for you,
Yohan
Hi @Yohan_Hadji
thanks for your reply. I’m getting all the gear direct from your links. Just got all the screws as well.
Question: could you give me some advice about the “Plate bearing - Stainless Steel”? Do you have a link to the product?
Here is what you are looking for :
For the delay, I think this is overestimated, it’s the time after which you’ll be able to ask for a refund if I remember correctly. I really won’t be surprised if you get them in three weeks :))
Hi @Yohan_Hadji let me ask you something again:
just found the worm gear at amazon and bought 2 units of:
Question:
Could you confirm that the measurements are ok?
Yes, looks all good to me!
(Have you thought about the shaft adapter between the Nema23 and the worm gear? I think this one is in stock in Germany on aliexpress)
Hi @Yohan_Hadji thanks for the update. Yes, I did. Will be arriving in the next days.
I Just went thru the list you sent me and ordered the parts as well.
I’m however not sure if I would remain with the optical endstop solution. A friend sent me some references about a chip that can be used with Arduino for coordinates, that he is using to control de position of his Yagi. Something like this: How To Track Orientation with Arduino | ADXL345 Accelerometer Tutorial - YouTube
I need to read more about…
@ucarvelli I think optical endstop are great to start with, because you can use the arduino satnogs controller code as is. I believe that someone on this group wanted to replace them with magnetic sensors, to make the assembly more weather resistant.
I think it’s perfectly possible to use an orientation sensor as feedback on the direction of the antenna. I would make sure that in case of an error in the reading of this sensor the rotator does not destroy itself.
In the case of the optical sensors, when they are disconnected or damaged, it corresponds to the state “end of travel detected” and therefore the rotator does not move when it is turned on, which is good to avoid that it reaches its mechanical end of travel on the elevation axis.
Hi @Yohan_Hadji
about the CAD parts: I’m checking the prices here in Germany… and they are not that cheap. Have your worked with companies in France to finish those parts? Any advice about where I could get it done fast and cheap?
For the last batch of machined parts, I worked with companies in France only. There are two main problems, the first is that making one part, will cost almost as much as making 3 or 5 parts, and that’s why if you want to make one part, it ends up being very expensive.
I also ended up finding that working with local companies is much less expensive than working with “fast prototyping” companies.
The second problem is that these companies have much bigger “B2B” clients than me, and I’m not their priority, which is understandable. But I’m going to try to get new quotes in the next days for 3 pcs or each part, and I’ll be very happy to provide you with a unit of each piece for a total price equivalent to what xometry offers for this unique piece.
The delay is usually 2 weeks + the time for me to verify and ship you the parts. I’ll keep you updated in the next days about what I can get you machined.
Hi @ucarvelli,
Finally got the time to get a call with the two companies,
The good news is I might be able to get a bunch of parts, the less good news is that the price of raw material increased, but I think it should stay reasonable.
So I’ll keep you updated but I’m almost sure that I can make a kit option 1 for you. I can try to shoot for a shipping on the second or third week of February.
Good Morning Yohan,
thanks for the update. In the mean time I found another supplier in Germany with affordable prices:
(price for: 1 x back + front plate + bracket)
The price for “Fixatube” alone however is a bit higher (147 EUR for 1 piece or 191 for 4 pieces)
Hi @ucarvelli, If I remember correctly I came across this website too in early 2021, but it was still far from the prices I could get. Did you test how the price / pcs is moving for the 3 sheet bending parts? Can you get something close to 220€ for 3pcs of each part?
Thanks
