The Rigel System STEPPER Motor Kits for Askar FMA135 are part of Rigel System’s nSTEP and STEPPER Motor Kits for camera lenses and telescope focus rings which offer the ability to motorize your camera or telescope focus ring with Rigel System’s powerful stepper motor for the ultimate in accurate auto-focusing. The company has recently announced that the kits now support the Askar FMA135.
According to the Leon Palmer, owner of Rigel Systems, “We now have a belt drive stepper focus system for the Askar FMA135 for accurate and repeatable focusing. On the Askar, the focus ring moves in/out with focus. The belt drive walks nicely along the knurled focus ring as it moves in/out without losing focusing position slippage. Teeth on the belt mesh nicely with the knurls on the focus ring. We do recommend setting the Askar to its “nominal” focus position, then centering the pulley and belt on the knurled focus ring for adjusting focus around the “nominal” focus position.”
The Rigel System nSTEP and STEPPER Motor Kits for camera lenses and telescope focus were introduced last year and support a variety of the top imaging options offered today. The stepper motor has a 0.1-degree step size and easily lifts eight pounds. The stepper can be quickly detached for manual focusing. It uses a standard 6-wire telephone cable and RJ12 connector.
The kits are available in two stepper motor options including a Belt Drive Stepper Kit which includes a includes crossbar, stepper and drive belt; and a Split Gear Stepper Kit which includes a stepper, ADM ring with stepper bracket, and split gear.
As noted by Palmer, “The belt drive is more flexible since it fits any size focus ring while the split gear uses our stepper bracket attached to an ADM dovetail ring to drive a large “split” which some users prefer over belt drive.”
The stepper motors are offered in a package with the USB-nSTEP controller which is fully ASCOM compliant so it will work with popular focus control programs. It can be operated for temperature compensation with the optional temperature sensor. The USB-nSTEP offers full step and half step control from a computer and a display of step count. USB and 12V battery power cables are included as well as software and ASCOM drivers for Windows.
There are two USB-nSTEP options. The standard USB-nSTEP version offers PC only operation with full control of the stepper motor from a PC.
Also available is the enhanced USB-nSTEP option that offers full control of the stepper motor in three ways: (1) with a PC; (2) manually using an included button controller; and (3) through a smart phone. With this version no PC is required, instead simply using the button controller for manual-only operation through just the 12V DC stepper motor supply. And with an Android or iPhone, full standalone configuration and speed adjustment are available.
You can learn more about the Rigel System STEPPER Motor Kits for Askar FMA135 here.
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