do it yourself

Astrolet DIY projects.

Equipment modifications, custom controllers, telescope adjustments and small solutions that save time and frustration at night.

Do It Yourself - or do it yourself

Here are concentrated photos, procedures and ideas for improving astrotech. Some solutions are our own, while others follow on from the advice of other observers, experience from the astronomy forum and practical tuning directly at the telescope.

year-round sky monitoring

360° Allsky camera

Photo documentation of the 360° Allsky camera project, which has been located year-round outside on a mast with a weather station since 2021.

The camera works reliably in high summer temperatures and during severe frosts. Most of the construction parts are 3D printed from PETG, the plexiglass dome and camera with lens were purchased online.

parts printed from PETG
connection to HomeAssistant
online access + Wi-Fi
chip Sony STARVIS IMX291

manual heating control

4 port manual heater

A simple manual four-channel heater for astrotechnics. It is a 0-12 V DC output voltage regulation. The photos document the compact design of the control and wiring in a separate box.

This variant is suitable where direct manual control is sufficient without more complex automation.

4 separate outputs
manual control
compact box
simple connection

construction and tuning of an astrograph

AAG 8

More extensive photo documentation of the construction and gradual tuning of the AAG 8 astrograph. The pictures show the mechanical parts, the tube, assembly work and the gradual assembly.

The project is left as a visual construction diary, so that it is possible to go through the entire development from individual parts to the finished assembly.

building an astrograph
mechanical parts
step by step build
tuning the imaging setup

anti-dew heating

Dew Heater

Anti-fog heating project for optics and accessories. The photos show the practical design, cabling and wiring of the elements used in the astrophotography setup.

It is a separate image item from the currently prepared Astro DIY materials.

protection against dew
practical involvement
power supply and cabling
use with astronomy equipment

mechanical modifications to the setup

DIY rotator

Photo documentation of the own rotator and its mechanical solution. The images capture the basic parts, assembly and design inspection.

Rotator is one of the projects that make working with image composition and camera orientation more pleasant.

own rotator
mechanical parts
build and check
working with camera orientation

off-axis guiding

OAG

Photographs of an off-axis guiding (OAG) solution. The images show its mechanical connections, assembly and related components.

The project is prepared as a separate image part of the DIY page and can be expanded later with a precise description of the configuration used.

off-axis guider
mechanical connection
guiding setup
integration into a photographic composition

scope and accessories

Pointer

Short photo documentation of the Pointer project. The photographs show the aiming or auxiliary element of the astroimaging setup and its attachment.

The page is prepared as a basis for further addition of details after debugging the text.

auxiliary sight
mechanical attachment
assembly part
photo documentation of execution

power and heating control

Astrolet Control Box - ACB

A controller for four dew heater straps and up to eight powered peripherals. It can operate independently without a computer or through a control application.

The basis is the Arduino Mega 2560, 220 V and 12 V relay switching, temperature and humidity measurement and automatic regulation according to the dew point.

4 heating channels
8 switched outputs
offline and PC mode
PID temperature control

mechanical adjustment of the telescope

Celestron XLT C11 - mirror fixation

The Schmidt-Cassegrain C11 adjustment solves the displacement of the main mirror and improves the work with the telescope for precise focusing.

The procedure included disassembling the accessories, marking the corrector plate, disassembling the tube, checking the parts and then reassembling.

shift fix
removing the corrector plate
cleaning and checking the tube
careful marking of positions

mount modification

NEQ6 SkyScan modification

The NEQ6 mount modifications focused on mechanical stability, more accurate tracking and easier use of the complete setup in a permanent observatory.

The original mount was gradually modified, including its components, base, pier and both sides of the mount.

column modification
base control
mechanical refinement
firmer seating of the assembly

tuning a 200/800 Newtonian

Astrograph Newton 200/800 F4

The astrograph modifications focus on precision, contrast and mechanical stability. They include replacing the secondary mirror spider, adding aperture masks and improving the primary mirror centre mark.

The goal was to remove minor sources of inaccuracies and improve the behavior of the telescope during astrophotography.

new secondary mount
primary mirror aperture mask
collimation
mechanical adjustment of the tube

more accurate work at night

SkyWatcher motorised focusing

Motorized focusing makes focusing more precise and reduces assembly shake during manual handling. It's a minor adjustment with a big practical impact.

The project follows on from other mechanical improvements that gradually refined the work with the imaging setup.

finer focus
less handling of the equipment
better repeatability
a practical solution for photography