background image

Pegasus Astro 

 

Dual Motor Focus Controller v3.0

 

Pegasus Astro – Copyright 2016   

 

 

 

Documentation: Dec/16 

 

 

Thank you for choosing our Dual Motor Focus Controller v3.0 (DMFCv3)  

 

 

 

 

Summary of Contents for DMFCv3

Page 1: ...Pegasus Astro Dual Motor Focus Controller v3 0 Pegasus Astro Copyright 2016 Documentation Dec 16 Thank you for choosing our Dual Motor Focus Controller v3 0 DMFCv3 ...

Page 2: ...it the steps of the motor will be reduced to 1 10 There is a standard 2 1mm centre positive DC power connection which powers on the controller A dual colour light emitted diode Green Yellow is fitted on the top of the unit Each colour indicates a mode and the led can be turned on or off by its software during an observing session Motor output is fully compatible with Robofocus or Moonlite pin out ...

Page 3: ... Controller Care Controller is not waterproof and it should be kept clean and dry Moisture can damage electronics and connectors Do not allow solvents or chemicals to come into contact with the device Store controller indoor in a dry room when not in use Do not touch the internal components as they may get hot when in use Controller Design Overview ...

Page 4: ...V minimum to DC 15V maximum Please use a power supply that can provide DC 12V 1A at least Insert the 2 1mm plug on the DC power cable Controller will initialize and the status LED will light in green color Motor Connector The controller is fitted with a D Sub 9 Pin Female Connector Unipolar Stepper Motors utilize first four 4 pins of D Sub 9 female connector Simple DC Motors utilize first two 2 pi...

Page 5: ...us Astro Copyright 2016 FOCUSER CONNECTION IN STEPPER MODE PIN 1 COIL 1 PIN 2 COIL 1 PIN 3 COIL 2 PIN 4 COIL 2 PIN 5 9 NO CONNECTION FOCUSER CONNECTION IN DC MODE PIN 1 POWER PIN 2 POWER PIN 3 9 NO CONNECTION ...

Page 6: ...1m cable Probe measures temperatures from 55 C to 125 C Accuracy of the probe is 0 5 C from 10 C to 85 C The controller detects the presence of the probe and requests temperature readings at 30 sec intervals When using multiple controllers and probes the reported temperature may differ slightly between units due to small differences between individual sensor readouts This does not affect the opera...

Page 7: ...t in yellow or green color The light displayed by the led indicated the status of the device Permanently Green Light Controller Startup Permanently Green Light Knob encoder set to normal speed Permanently Yellow Light Knob encoder set to 1 10 speed Permanently Off Controller not operational or LED switched off from software Permanently Orange Light Digital Encoder functionality is disabled knob on...

Page 8: ...ht Knob encoder set to 1 10 speed 5 steps Green Light Knob encoder set to normal 20 steps Orange Light Knob encoder is disabled Please note that rotary encoder is in operation in parallel with PC commands They both work flawlessly and update the exact position of the motor Technical Specifications Supply Voltage 9 15V DC 12V preferred Motor Compatibility DC motor adjustable frequency PWM Unipolar ...

Page 9: ...ps when accelerates You have specified a max speed larger than motor can support Go to Settings and limit the max speed try between 400 600 Every stepper motor has a maximum speed or else it will jump and loose steps Pegasus Astro Stepper Motor support max speed up to 500 Knob on the side does not work Check that LED is not orange colored This means you have disabled the knob encoder functionality...

Page 10: ...10 Pegasus Astro Copyright 2016 Please download and install the following ASCOM6 Driver for DMFC Standalone DMFC Application USB Drivers for DMFC ...

Page 11: ...e application does not require ASCOM drivers and it can configure operate the Dual Motor Focus Controller In order to connect from the supplied software to the controller you need to first configure the serial port Click on Settings icon The following window will appear ...

Page 12: ... the controller Mode status The mode selection of the controller is reported in this section of the taskbar Mode will be reported as Stepper Motor DC Motor Click the motor label to switch from Stepper to DC or the opposite You will see this question box Motor Settings Max Speed It s crucial to set Max speed of stepper motor All stepper motors have limits of the max speed they can achieve If you se...

Page 13: ...roller will instantly set new position the value you specified Notice that controller will not move motor Controller will only change value of reported current position This is very useful when you need to zero the position of the focuser or set another value You can also zero the position of the focuser by clicking the 000 button in the top taskbar of the application Custom Rates You can easily s...

Page 14: ...r will move forward steps or backwards steps Notice that Position indicator will change its value and will confirm your command There are also two more buttons that will forward reverse accelerate the motor Keep mouse down and the motor will start accelerating to the director you clicked Use these buttons only if you need to quickly move in or out your focuser In every motor movement final positio...

Page 15: ... position you defined Emergency Motor Stop Click the STOP yellow button and the motor will instantly stop This can save you if you specified a wrong position and the focuser is quickly extended reaching its limits Temperature of sensor Existing environmental temperature of the sensor can be seen in the following reading Click the temperature and a graph which displays temperature over time will ap...

Page 16: ... that you have selected this option Maximum Position You have the option to specify the maximum steps of the motor This will enforce the controller to disallow a motor move to the direction you are about to exceed this limit This is a useful option to prevent the focuser to fully move in or out Move to settings and type the numeric limit in the Max Position section you need to enforce Click the On...

Page 17: ...Setting is stored in the EEPROM and calculates the backlash steps by using PC or Manual Knob An indication on the main status bar will notify you that the backlash compensation functionality is enabled Knob Encoder Disabled If you want to disable knob on the side of the controller Press the knob for two 2 seconds You can also disable it from the settings of the standalone software Led indicator wi...

Page 18: ...ation Keep in mind that software supports new feature combined with the latest firmware release Please check http pegasusastro com support for latest firmware software updates of Dual Motor Focus Controller Launch 2nd instance of the software Click button It will spawn a 2nd instance with different settings so you can use both of them in parallel ...

Page 19: ...19 Pegasus Astro Copyright 2016 ...

Reviews: