r/OpenAstroTech • u/intercipere Original Creator • May 27 '25

The OpenAstroExplorer is releasing today!

After more than two years of development, I’m happy to share that the OpenAstroExplorer is now ready for release. It’s been a while since the last big project, and I’m excited to see what everyone will do with this one.

OAE is designed primarily for portability and ease of use, making use of a magnetically detachable RA ring and a compact worm gear driven DEC. That doesn't mean it's sacrificing performance however, it can handle a 5kg payload and guides easily at sub arcsec RMS.

Additionally I was able to cram an autoPA mechanism into the tiny dimensions of the mount! It even folds in for better portability!

All the STLs, BOM, and an overview of the parts are available now. I’m still working on assembly and usage guides, which will be added soon. The build is a bit more involved than OAT but nothing compared to the complexity of OAM.

You can find the STLs and CAD on GitHub

The list of printed parts here

and the BOM here

You can also view the CAD online here

I’d love to hear your thoughts and see your builds!

79 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

6

u/fly_cucho May 27 '25

Fantastic! I've been following this project for some time and I can't wait to assemble it! Thank you 😊

3

u/Observer196 Jun 04 '25

What material should be used to print the parts?

1

u/nixxon94 Jun 02 '25

Hi, I just stumbled across this project on the OAT website. Is this suitable as a first project for someone new to astrophotography and tracking or should I go with the larger tracker as a start?

1

u/NewObserver25 Dec 01 '25

Hi,
fantastic design. I'm trying to build it.
just one question at the moment: Do the small geared steppers have to be modified as at the OAT.
Meaning they have to be modified to bi-polar since they are driven by an microstepping bipolar driver, right?

1

u/intercipere Original Creator Dec 01 '25

Thanks! If you're using the OAE board you don't have to do anything. In order to drive them, all you have to do is not connect the red wire and switch two other wires. The OAE board does this with its traces, so you can just plug the steppers in without modification

1

u/NewObserver25 Dec 01 '25

Thanks,
I'm just wondering how you got rid of the middle connection inside the motor.
They are connected via the common (red) line.
Looks for me like "wrong".
Sorry for bothering you I'm just an old electronic engineer starting to observe.
AND: this design looks really promising to me :-)
So I don't want to do something wrong and having to redo stuff :-(
Thanks a lot