[rajiva]

Hi Fahim,

Originally Posted by netwolf

I was goint to suggest the Littlefoot from Europe, but Rajiva beat me to it.

Rajiva, welcome to the forums in Aus.

Thanks!

I have long followed your littlefoot system, i was considering it for my G-11 but the cost of good stepper motors pre fabricated for mounting onto the g-11 was double the cost of G-11 gemini servo motors

Yes, Steppermotors ready made for the G11 are still expensive and with the original hurst motors the goto speed is limited to about 130x at 12V. With the supported 30V you may be able to drive the motors at the double speed (250-300x) but I have no experience with the hurst motors.

I think the main decision that has to be made is what are your goals. If just Goto is the point a servo driven system has advantages over the stepper system. If astrophotography is the goal (this is the main point of all my projects) Goto becomes a totally new importance. When I go out to shoot some pictures I do one or maybe two Gotos per night! The main task of the controller is not Goto. So if your goal is astrophotography you do not go for high slewing speeds, you will like a integrated Robofocus, PulseGuiding, DSLR remote-control with programmable shutter timers, EPEC and other features like this. For the one or two Gotos per night you do not need that high slewing speeds.

But if you can get surplus stepper motors and have skill for the DIY then the littlefoot, Bartel or even Barry's system are all great options.

I do not sell any Hardware any more but I know that a company starting offering affordable motor/gearbox combinations for all kind of mounts is on it's way.

CS
Rajiva