Motorized Barn Door Tracker

While there are many commercial mounts to track the sky here we will discuss a simple way to construct a mount that will costs less than 100 complete with a motor to drive the screw.

Motorized barn door tracker.

The dado automation track system will accommodate any size and type door panel including glass wood and metal framed systems. No arduino no stepper motors no gears just a simple motor turning a threaded rod this barn door tracker rotates your camera at the exact same rate as the rotation of our planet a requirement for taking long exposure photos. Box track is a top hung system where the track is mounted over an opening. The nyx tracker is a motorized barn door star tracking astrophotography mount designed for those who want accurate widefield tracking without breaking the bank.

A barn door tracker also known as a haig or scotch mount is a device used to cancel out the diurnal motion of the earth for the observation or photography of astronomical objects. Door panels are outfitted with hanger assemblies that ride in the enclosed track. These brackets give the track stability and strength and prevent the enclosed track from opening up over time. The autoslide can be mounted two different ways to automate a barn door.

The second option is to floor mount the system on the side of the door where the barn door hardware is located. You will need a gap of a half inch between the door and wall to allow the track to slide with door along the wall. The most compact tracking mount on the market it s also the least expensive. Shoot stars planets and other nebulae with a camera that is.

First you can mount it to the header on the opposite side of where the barn door hardware is installed. Autoslide designs easy to use automatic sliding door systems that fit universally to your existing sliding doors at home or at the office. A barn door tracker is a camera attachment camera mount used to capture long exposures of night sky images. Motorized barn door tracker the barn door mount gets it s name from the fact that it s basically a wooden board with a door hinge.

What is a barn door tracker. You can buy fancy motorized equatorial mounts for telescopes and cameras but it s way cheaper and more satisfying to build your own simple barn door tracking mount using a long bolt or threaded rod as a drive screw. It is a simple but effective way of eliminating the star trail effect of night sky photography without expensive equipment. The track is attached to the building by brackets.

You mount your camera on the door then aim the hinge straight at the north star polaris.