Automated Raspberry Pi Planet Tracking GOTO Telescope -- Episode 436

Hi, my first post here, and I am not familiar with the differing platforms of kits like Adurino and rasberry pi, but I do have a tech background being retired Instrument Tech.

I have always wanted to find and build a simple device to measure displacement over a 3 or 4 cm distance, with the human interface being an led type numeric three or four digit display connected to either an ultrasonic or lvdt, or capacitive etc. sensor. The application is to measure the distance between the rear of the mirror of a similar telescope displayed in this project and the rear housing of the telescope. The purpose is to be able to re position (focus) the telescope without having to either look through the telescope or at a screen displaying the image of what the telescope is "focused" on.

So while this might not be the best place to have proposed this idea for a kit to build such a device I hope someone reading this has the goods to be able to point me in a direction where I can begin the process to find out how the rasberry pi or adurino kits might be able to be utalized to build such a thing.

Robert Babb

How about something like this using a time of flight sensor operating over the 5mm to 200mm range?

https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-vl6180x-time-of-flight-micro-lidar-distance-sensor-breakout/overview

( Ultrasonic version here:

https://learn.adafruit.com/ultrasonic-sonar-distance-sensors )

How about something like this using a time of flight sensor operating over the 5mm to 200mm range?

https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-vl6180x-time-of-flight-micro-lidar-distance-sensor-breakout/overview

( Ultrasonic version here:

https://learn.adafruit.com/ultrasonic-sonar-distance-sensors )