Baader SteelDrive Focuser User manual

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Baader SteelDrive Instruction Manual
– ENG ver. 09/2015 –

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The Baader SteelDrive Focuser comes with the following:
a. 1 pc SteelDrive unit with aluminium pulley
b. 1 pc Transmission Belt
c. 1 pc CDROM with drivers, software and instruction manuals
d. 1 pc USB cable
e. 1 pc Thermo Probe
Optional: 12V Baader Outdoor Telescope Power Supply #245 7610 and the 5,5/2,5mm adapter
#245 7611, for powering the dedicated Hand Controller.
Important Note: The dedicated Hand Controller must be connected to the SteelDrive
BEFORE power is connected.
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The Baader SteelDrive is straightforward to install on to the Baader Steeltrack focuser without any
part of the focuser needing to be removed at all. If you use the 2" eyepiece clamp which is
premounted to the Steeldrive, you need to rotate it ca. 45°. Otherwise, the lower screw would
collide with the Steeltrack. Simply untighten the six Allen screws, rotate the clamp a bit with the
S58-dovetail ring, and retighten the screws.
Installing the SteelDrive to the Steeltrack Focuser
1. Screw out the 2 set screws placed each side of
the SteelDrive Diamond until the black housing
can touch the Steeltrack focuser base where
there are placed two small dovetails. You do not
need to unscrew them completely, just
sufficiently so that the unit can be placed over
the Steeltrack.
2. Screw in the 2 set screws so that they and the
opposing part of the housing push against the
small dovetails. Do not tighten yet.

3. Wrap the belt around the Steeltrack brass gear and SteelDrive pulley.
4. Align the SteelDrive with the Steeltrack by
making sure that SteelDrive motor housing is
lined up with the flattened face of the Steeltrack
focuser as shown below.
5. Tighten the set screws adequately (and not
excessively!) until the motor housing is firmly
fixed in place with no tilt or rotation with respect
to the Steeltrack focuser. The belt should self-
tension when the set screws are tightened.
6. Once the set screws are tightened check the
belt position to ensure that it is completely free
to gently rotate by hand with no force or lateral
“escaping” movement, which denotes a poor co-axiality between the two pulleys.
If this happens then a more adequate SteelDrive positioning must be performed again by
adjusting the set screws to ensure good alignment. In addition to this, the tension of the
motor and belt can be adjusted below.
Adjust the Tension of the Belt
When the belt is correctly aligned with the pulleys but the tension is low or too high, the stepping
motor position can be adjusted until a correct tension
is found.
1. Use a 2.5mm hex wrench to loosen the four
screws keeping the stepping motor safely in
place inside the aluminium housing.
2. The SteelDrive pulley position can be adjusted
inward or outward until the correct tension is
found.
3. When the belt is correctly tensioned tighten the
screws.

Correct tension is when the belt is tight but not tense, so that rotation of the brass knob is not
impaired. The belt should yield about 5 mm when you tighten it by hand. The focuser can still
conveniently be moved manually by hand, and the belt does not show any looseness or tendency
to jump off the teeth. If the tension is too high, Steeldrive can't move the Steeltrack any longer, and
it will stall.
Obtain Perfect Alignment with the Steeltrack Focuser
The SteelDrive motor position can be adjusted inward or outward for a perfect alignment with the
brass pulley of the pinion of the Steeltrack pinion.
1. Using a 1.5mm hex wrench to loosen the 2 set screws keeping the black pulley firmly fixed
onto the stepping motor shaft adjust the motor position up and down to obtain perfect
alignment.
2. Tighten the set screws once perfect alignment is achieved.
3. When the belt is properly aligned with pulleys but tension is low or too high, the stepping
motor position can be adjusted till a correct tensioning is found.
Backlash
Focus backlash is excess play in the focus mechanism. This should be resolved where possible
on the focuser, or dealt with by using focus backlash compensation which is available in popular
imaging control software. Backlash is not caused by the SteelDrive as all the teeth between the
focuser unit and SteelDrive are always keeping in touch with each other through the rubber belt.
Focus slip can also occur on the SteelTrack focuser if this is not adjusted properly, more
commonly when a heavy load is attached to the focuser. If slippage does occur it is recommend
to adjust the SteelTrack focuser to apply more pressure to the pinion, adjusted correctly no
slippage will occur.

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The SteelDrive can be controlled by the dedicated Control Box or by a PC, either using the
supplied SteelGo software or through ASCOM. Furthermore, the SteelDrive is provided with a
Thermo probe to compensate for the focal point variation with temperature change.
Connecting the SteelDrive to use with the dedicated Hand Controller
Important Note: Be sure to connect all cables first before connecting power to the unit otherwise
damage could occur.
1. Firstly connect the Thermo probe to the THERMO socket on the SteelDrive.
2. Connect the dedicated Hand Controller to the MGA/HC socket.
3. Provide power to the dedicated Hand Controller.

Connecting the SteelDrive to use with a PC
1. Firstly connect the Thermo probe to the THERMO socket on the SteelDrive.
2. Connect the provided USB cable to the USB socket and then plug into the PC.
Power is provided to the SteelDrive through the USB cable. In rare circumstances insufficient
power may be provided by your USB to the SteelDrive which is a result of a number of factors. In
this situation the unit may not move correctly, not move at all, or stop responding. In order to
provide sufficient power to the SteelDrive consider to:
• Use a powered hub to provide more power to the SteelDrive. The SteelDrive can absorb up
to 900ma of current.
• Connect the dedicated Hand Controller in parallel to connecting to a PC. The dedicated
Hand Controller can be powered in the usual way with the 12v power supply. Movement
updates will be provided to both the PC and the dedicated Hand Controller by the
SteelDrive so that they stay synchronised. Power to the dedicated Hand Controller
must be connected last.
• Try using a non-active USB cable to cover long distances. In some cases active cables
have shown to cause issues due to the cable itself drawing current for itself leaving less
insufficient for the SteelDrive.

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When plugging the dedicated Hand Controller to the DC 12V power supply, the unit will
immediately switch on displaying the BAADER STEELDRIVE starting logo.
A while after the STEELDRIVE logo has rolled off the screen, the SETUP
menu will appear.
Follow the instructions to correctly setup the dedicated Hand Controller for use with your
Steeltrack.
Setup Mode
This option is to choose if to run the setup mode or not. Setup is for setting the appropriate
settings for your SteelDrive in order for it to function correctly with your focuser.
SETUP
Pressing >button (option: NO), the dedicated Hand Controller will go
straight to the ZEROING function. Find more details further in the manual.
Pressing <button (option: YES), the dedicated Hand Controller will enter in SETUP mode where
MODEL, POS. CAL, BACKLIT, T COMP and T COEFF. Functions can be adjusted for a proper
functionality.
MODEL
Pressing <and >buttons, the following focuser options can be set: SC2,
NT2, RT2, RT3, CUSTOM. Pressing MENU, the selected focuser model is
set and BACKLIT function will be then displayed. The software has only
stored the data for the original Steeldrive. For Steeldrive Diamond, please select CUSTOM and
specify a gear ratio of 0.2291. If the wrong model is set, a wrong trip will be loaded and the focuser

POS. CAL.
If CUSTOM option is set in MODEL menu, the dedicated Hand Controller
will then ask whether to run or calibrate the CUSTOM focuser.
Pressing >button (option: NO), the dedicated Hand Controller will run the
early calculated gear ratio for CUSTOM focuser and the BACKLIT function will be then displayed.
Pressing <button (option: YES), the dedicated Hand Controller will run the POS. CAL. to achieve
the correct gear ratio with CUSTOM focuser.
Important Note: MAKE SURE THE DRAWTUBE IS COMPLETELY RETRACTED TO ZERO
POSITION BEFORE PRESSING YES TO RUN POS. CAL. OR A WRONG CALCULATION WILL
BE DONE!
POS. CAL. will move the drawtube outward till a 25mm trip is reached.
The dedicated Hand Controller will display the left image and the user will
have to set the real trip measured through the vernier scale printed onto
the focuser drawtube.
Pressing <and >buttons, the position value will, respectively, increase or decrease by 0.1mm
step. Pressing MENU button, the dedicated Hand Controller will automatically calculate the
CUSTOM focuser gear ratio and TRIP MAX function will let the user to manually edit the trip with
CUSTOM focuser.
TRIP MAX
Pressing <and >buttons, the trip value shall, respectively, decrease or
increase by 5mm step.
Pressing MENU button, POS. CAL. will calculate and save all the useful parameters with
CUSTOM focuser and the dedicated Hand Controller will lead to the BACKLIT function.
BACKLIT
BACKLIT function allows the dedicated Hand Controller backlit
adjustment.
Pressing
<
and
>
buttons, the following o
ptions can be set:
LCD OFF
(the

LCD will turn off in a few seconds when the unit will stand by), FULL OFF (both the LCD and the
pushbuttons will turn off in a few seconds when the unit will stand by) and FIXED ON (both LCD
and pushbuttons will always stay on). LCD and pushbuttons can be turned on again upon pressing
any button.
Pressing MENU button, the T COMP function will be displayed.
T COMP.
Pressing <and >buttons, the following options can be set: ON – OFF
(default: OFF). When the function is ON, the compensation will be
activated, OFF will turn it off.
If OFF option is selected, MENU button will lead the dedicated Hand Controller to the SAVE
function.
If ON option is selected, MENU button will lead the dedicated Hand Controller to the T COEFF
function for further adjustment.
T COEFF.
Pressing <and >buttons, the following options can be set: TC1, TC2,
TC3, TC4, TC5 and SET. TC stands for Temperature Coefficient and the
dedicated Hand Controller can save up to 5 values named as printed in
the screen.
SET will allow the Coefficient value editing by pressing <and >buttons.
Range is 0.01–0.50 °C/mm (step: 0.01). For example, a T COEFF set to 0.20 will compensate the
focuser position by ± 0.20mm when the temperature will change by 1 °C degree. Pressing MENU
button, the dedicated Hand Controller will lead to the SAVE? function.
SAVE?
Pressing >button, the dedicated Hand Controller (option: NO), will not
allow any saving and the dedicated Hand Controller will go through the
STATISTIC
screen.

Pressing <button (option: YES), will allow the saving of all the adjustable options within SETUP
mode and the dedicated Hand Controller will then lead to the SAVING function whenever a T
COEFF is adjuted. In such a case, the TC number will blink, press <and >buttons to set the
saving position, MENU button will save the Coefficient in such a position.
SAVING..
The TC number will blink, press <and >buttons to set the saving position,
then press MENU button to save the Coefficient in such a position and
permanently store the value for future use. Any previous value is
overwritten.
Run Mode
When powered up, the dedicated Hand Controller can promptly run the ZEROING function a while
after the starting BAADER STEELDRIVE logo has rolled off the screen.
ZEROING
The ZEROING function will completely retract the focuser drawtube to
achieve the absolute zero position. Pressing the MENU button, the
ZEROING can be stopped in any time.
Important Note: Be aware that the Vernier scale on the focus drawtube is set outwards slightly. If
you want the value reported by the SteelDrive through the dedicated Hand Controller to match this
scale, stop zeroing and manually align the Focuser drawtube to the zero position on the Vernier
scale. In most situations it is not important to align the scales.
STATISTIC
The top line displayed on the screen is showing the absolute position of
the focuser drawtube, in mm unit. The bottom line is showing the
temperature detected by the probe supplied with the STEELDRIVE, in
Celsius degree.
The *symbol displayed on the left side of the temperature will advise the
T COMP is on and the STEELDRIVE will automatically compensate the
focus shift due to the temperature variation during the night.

When compensating, the dedicated Hand Controller will switch in a few seconds the absolute
position into relative by showing the variation of the tube position during the stand-by period.
Pressing <and >buttons, the absolute position will be again displayed and the focuser drawtube
will move back and forth within the position range determined by the focuser model.
Pressing MENU button, the dedicated Hand Controller will lead to the SETUP mode.
Keeping MENU button pressed for 2 seconds, the dedicated Hand
Controller will display the POWER message for a short time while saving
all the parameters, then it will power off the device.

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Supplied Drivers
The CDRom supplied with SteelDrive includes all the required files for a complete PC control.
Files included in the CDRom:
• EXAR Driver (Focuser driver)…………………………………………………....ver. 1.8.0
• ASCOM Platform (ASCOM platform)……………………….…………………..ver. 6 SP1
• ASCOM SteelDrive Focuser Driver (ASCOM driver)………….……………...ver. 1.0.6.1
• STEELGO Controlling Software (dedicated software)……………..………..ver. 1.1.15
• Instruction manual
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Earlier versions of ASCOM Platform 6 may not work correctly; the latest version is 6 SP1 and is
required for a correct control of the SteelDrive through the PC.
Drivers should be installed into the PC according to the below listed sequence.
1. Install EXAR Driver
2. Install ASCOM Platform V6 with SP1
3. Install ASCOM SteelDrive Driver
4. Install SteelGo Controlling Software
6.1 Install EXAR Driver
1. Plug the SteelDrive to the PC through the USB cable supplied following the correct
connection sequence described in section 3 of this manual. You can always find the most up-to-
date software at Baader-Planetarium.de.
2. When the ‘New Hardware’ wizard will pop up, follow instructions step by step as pictured
on the next page. If you're using Win 8 or above and Windows SmartScreen stops the execution of
the app, click on Further Information and then on Install anyway (or similar buttons)

3. Click NO, NOT THIS TIME and click NEXT
4. Select INSTALL FROM A LIST OR SPECIFIC LOCATION and click NEXT

5. Select INCLUDE THIS LOCATION IN THE SEARCH
6. Press BROWSE to locate the <DRIVE LETTER>:\STEELDRIVE\EXAR\Win32 or Win64
directory according by your 32 bit or 64 bit Windows system. Once this directory is selected press
NEXT and follow instructions prompted on the screen.

7. When the driver has been successfully installed, click FINISH and the SteelDrive will be
ready to be used and controlled by the PC through the ASCOM driver.
If the driver wasn't installed properly or if Windows insists on automatically installing a driver, but
can't find one, you'll have to install it manually. To do so, open the device manager, chose the
unknown device and click on Search for Driver (or a similar button, depending on your Windows
version). Now you can install it manually as described above.
After successful installation of the EXAR-driver
Once the driver is installed, please open your device manager and click onto PORTS (COM &
LPT). Here you can see the port which is used by the Steeldrive. Use this value in the ASCOM-
settings. In this example, Steeldrive uses COM3.
The port can change if you use a different USB-port.
6.2 Install ASCOM Platform V6 with SP1
1. Double click above ASCOM Platform
6SP1 setup file and follow instructions displayed
on the screen to install the ASCOM Platform v. 6.
If this platform is already installed into the PC,
there is no need to remove it to install this version
unless you are coming from an earlier version
which is below the requirements.

Install ASCOM SteelDrive Focuser Driver
1. Double click Baader SteelDrive Focuser setup file to install the dedicated ASCOM driver
and STEELGO Software which will let the SteelDrive PC control by all the ASCOM compliant
software in the market.
2. Click NEXT to get started with installation, then follow the on-screen instructions.
3. When the driver has been successfully installed, the Baader SteelDrive Focuser option will
be listed among other ASCOM devices installed in the PC as pictured here.
4. Select Baader SteelDrive Focuser option and click above Properties to set correct model.
5. Select the Virtual COM Port as seen in the Device Manager, then the pre-set Focuser
model will be automatically loaded together with pre-set T Coefficent.
Please note, the latter two Position Control parameters are called back from the SteelDrive
device, so there is no need to manually set them.

Nonetheless, both the Model and T Coefficent can be adjusted in any time and these will
be then stored into the SteelDrive device for future re-use ith bot the PC and with the
deciated Hand Controller.
6. The SteelGo Software will be then installed and accessible from the Windows Start Menu.
Install Baader SteelGo Controlling Software
1. Double click Baader SteelGo setup file to install the STEELGO Controlling Software which
allows full control and calibration of the SteelDrive.
2. Click Next to continue the setup.
3. Select the destination where SteelGo should be installed and click Next.

5. Click Finish to close the installer.

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Requirements
The SteelGo Controlling software allows the SteelDrive Focuser control through the PC. The
SteelGo Controlling software requires only the EXAR driver to be installed and does not rely on
ASCOM.
Updating SteelGo
SteelGo software is installed when you install the ASCOM SteelDrive driver. However, the
program doesn’t require any installation as it is a standalone executable. To update the software
just decompress the latest zipped EXE file and replace the older EXE version saved in Windows
Start Menu.
Future software releases and further documentation is available for free download here:
http://www.baader-planetarium.de/updates/steelgo.htm
Controlling the SteelDrive with SteelGo
SteelGo allows complete control of up to three SteelDrives. With SteelGo you can:
1. Move the focuser inwards and outwards.
2. Move the focuser to an absolute position
3. Move the focuser using defined incremental steps
4. Sync the focuser Vernier scale with the software
5. Enable and disable temperature compensation
6. Set the temperature compensation coefficient
7. Set parameters for custom focuser