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The cover, as you can see, is made from a piece of acrylic. Radius (r) is r=d/2.I worked with a jigsaw to cut out the circle, and then I sand it with a sander, as you can see from the picture above. Here you can add a telescope. Check the box to activate the plugin. Make a tour and learn how to use it! To do that, just open the code using Arduino IDE and edit (using the tab "config.h") your current location and the right ascension (AR), as well the hour angle (H) of the pole star (at the moment you connect to Stellarium). They rotate 360º in about 24H (15º per hour).As you can imagine, if at certain moment you are pointing to one object using a certain coordinate, after a few minutes, you need to recalibrate your coordinates because the object has moved, so, altazimuth coordinates are time dependent. In Stellarium go to the settings and select plugins. By doing this, I also increased the portability of everything - it should be easier placing and removing the gear-wheels, by pulling the encoder back. Here's a very little explanation:This technique makes it possible to define a "time sensitive" section of code, and that was what I did to count all the pulses, with no exception.The Stellarium plugin works just fine with the LX200 protocol. This gear will allow a smoother mechanical connection (to prevent mechanical loads on the encoder) and, more important, will allow more resolution from the encoder - by multiplying the turns of the encoder by a gear ratio. I just made it and install all the mechanics on my dobsonian and added two 7-segment led displays in order to visualize altazimuth directly on the telescope. 5 months ago You will need to build 4 like those. That is the standard protocol for the LX200 but you may be having a speed problem where the arduino control is being converted to meade format.. This holes must have the same diameter as the existing bolts, so, I drilled a 6mm hole from the altitude whell and 10mm hole from the azimuth wheel.Remove the timing belt and finish your work with a layer of black paint around the plywood. Now, that you are already introduced to this "little" project, a summary of what you need to do is:It will cost you some time and (a lot...of) patience, but you will be pleased with the result. It also should have a low budget, otherwise, it would be better if you just buy what you are looking for. The option to connect the telescope when Stellarium is started should be selected. They also are location dependent, as you can imagine!So, to prevent using a coordinate system that changes every single second, the astronomers have found a very ingenious way to determine the sky coordinates - the Because Stellarium, through the LX200 protocol, only can read equatorial coordinates, I had to find a way to convert the readings from the telescope (altazimuth) to the equatorial coordinate system. It's not mandatory to be transparent, but it should be removable. Control Your Telescope Using Stellarium & Arduino. Stellarium is a really nice software for astronomy. Once again, I like to use wing nuts (see pictures).You might have noticed I had some careful not to damage the telescope and the mount, as I found a way to install all the mechanical parts without drilling, gluing or doing something that could damage or loose the telescope's value. Despite of involving maths, trigonometry, programming and some signal processing, don't worry, I will try not to be too extensive!The major problem using this type of encoders is that they never give you their position (angle)... instead, they give you pulses...strange? Be sure the operation is smooth, and, the most important thing, be sure that there is no slip between wheels and encoder's pulleys.You can confirm that, if you rotate the telescope one complete turn, the encoder will rotate exactly 15 times. Note that the port (port 4 in my case) can vary from computer to computer. Longitude will be calculated through AR and H.To set up your location and time, please follow the steps I described in the images above.Load the code again and reconnect to Stellarium. One thing that is important to do: Set up your location, otherwise, all the coordinates will be wrong..So, just click, at the left side of your screen, the location manager and add your location (I mean, your observation site location...! Check the box to activate the plugin. This method requires editing Stellarium's configuration file and running console applications, so it is not very user-friendly. Control Your Telescope Using Stellarium & Arduino: I am fascinated by astronomy since the first time I looked to the night sky. Use a compasses and do not forget to make a good mark at the circle center - you will need it!