VI. Miscellaneous - Motors, Electrical, and More

VI. Miscellaneous - Motors, Electronics, Tubing, Tools, And More



In the past couple of years, the role of electronics, and especially stepper motors, has increased dramatically. The modern ATM is often a computer user who controls the telescope with a computer, or other electronic drive system. To that end, the ATM Resource List has been expanded to include more electronics dealers. Stepper motors are often available cheap or free from various surplus sources. There are many excellent web resources for those learning to use stepper motors; among the best is Jones on Stepper Motors.

All Electronics Corp

P.O. Box 567, Van Nuys CA., 1-800-826-5432, Go to All Electronics (not the same as Alltronics) Surplus electronics, including stepper motors and drivers, AC & DC motors and gearmotors, magnets, power supplies, etc. No minimum order, $5 shipping in the US.

Alltronics

San Jose, California (408) 943-9773 Go To Alltronics Alltronics is an industrial surplus electronic dealer. Good source for stepper motors and drive electronics. (A recent catalog had ten stepper motors, and an assortment of ten for $16.95). HeNe laser tubes, power supplies, vacuum tubes, logic and linear integrated circuits. Minimum order $15.

American Science & Surplus

3605 W. Howard St., Skokie, IL 60076. Go To American Science & Surplus (Formerly American Surplus, Inc., Jerryco.) Has carried copier lenses for finder scopes, heat ropes for dew-removal, and lots of weird stuff.

Automatic Tubing Corp.

888 Lorimer Street, Brooklyn NY 11222-3912 USA, 718-383-0100; Out Of State Call Toll Free: 800-527-3091 FAX: 718-349-2518 or Fax toll free 800-434-7520 Large Inventory For Emergency Or J.I.T. Shipping. Brass and other tubing. Recently added over 60 items, plus will do custom tubing. Email bkatc@att.net

Digi-Key

Toll free: 800-DigiKey (800-344-4539) Go to Digi-Key Digi-Key is one of a few giant electronics components retailer.  We use them at work; almost every company does.  Free catalog. They do not have a minimum order amount, but add a $5 handling fee on orders for less than $25. No additional charge for normal shipping (delivery within a week).

Electronics Express

365 Blair Road, Avenel, New Jersey 07001, Phone 1-800-972-2225 (In NJ 1-732-381-8020) Fax 1-732-381-1572 Electronics components retailer. Free catalog. $20 Minimum Order. Go to Electronics Express or Email electron@elexp.com

Hastings Irrigation Pipe Co.

P.O. Box 728, Hastings, NE 68902 (402)463-6633 Visit Hastings Irrigation Supplier of aluminum irrigation tubing . One reader "obtained some that's .064" wall thickness and comes in 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3" diameters.

Herbach and Rademan

(800) 848-8001. Industrial surplus. Electronics, stepper motors, power supplies. AC and DC motors. No minimum order, but $5 handling for small orders (under $25). Free catalog. Go To Herbach and Rademan

Marlin P. Jones and Associates

(516) 848-8236. Go to MPJA Another electronics-oriented surplus dealer. Power supplies, optics, and stepper motors have been in their catalog. I used these guys a lot because they're local.  Minimum order $15.

Mouser Electronics

(800) 346-6873 Go To Mouser  Another of the giant industrial distributors of electronic parts. Free catalog. $5 handling fee on orders for less than $20.

Newark Element 14 

Various offices, check locally or call Chicago headquarters (312) 784-5100 Go to Newark.  One of the largest industrial distributors of electrical parts.  Big catalog. Minimum order of $25.

Public Missiles Limited

Public Missiles, Ltd., 349 Cass Avenue, Suite C, Mt. Clemens, Michigan 48043 810-468-1748 Office, 810-465-2911 Fax, 888-PUBLICM Orders Like Hastings Irrigation, these folks probably won't know what you're doing with their products. They sell high-power rocketry kits and construction supplies, including phenolic tubes. Visit Public Missiles.

Professional Plastics

2183 Zanker Road, San Jose, CA 95131, (800) 523-2807 or (408) 441-1111 (FAX) (408) 441-2070  Teflon and other plastics.  Visit Professional Plastics.

Sherline Tools

3235 Executive Ridge - Vista, California 92081-8527 - USA
E-mail: sherline@sherline.com
Tel: 1-800-541-0735 (Toll Free USA and Canada) 1-760-727-5857 (Local and International)
Fax: 1-760-727-7857  
Website Home Page.  While many of us drool over big Bridgeports and other Heavy Metal machine tools, many times a much smaller machine can handle what we need.  Rarely is a shaft through bearings larger than 3" diameter, within the work envelope of a Sherline lathe or mill.  If you don't want to start machine tools as a hobby itself, the Sherlines are extremely accurate out of the box and probably won't break the bank.

Sidereal Technology

Phone 503-887-3701 between the 8:00Am and 10:00 PM, Pacific time
Dan Gray's company provides servo telescope controllers for the ATM. Stand Alone (Tracking Only), ASCOM compatible Advanced Telescope Control Software, ScopeII from BBAstroDesigns, Argo Navis(tm), Sky Commander. Visit Sidereal Technology or email Dan: grayarea at siderealtechnology.com

Small Parts, Inc./ Amazon Supply

13980 N.W. 58 Ct. P.O. Box 4650, Miami Lakes, FL 33014-0650 305-557-8222 Go To Small Parts Small gears, tubes, nylon, teflon, screws, setscrews, taps, tools and enough other small mechanical parts to glaze over the eyes of any model builder. Small Parts became part of Amazon Supply, and I haven't visited them more than a couple of times since the acquisition.

Tangent Instruments

Tangent Instruments, 1691 Spinnaker Drive, Suite 202, Ventura, CA 93001 (805)642-3136 contact: Rick McWilliams. Tangent is reported to manufacture the Astromaster for Celestron, the Lumicon Sky Vector and Orion's Sky Wizard. It has been reported that they will sell to the rest of us. Visit Tangent Instruments.

Canada

Guy Lautard

Guy Lautard, 2570 Rosebery Avenue, West Vancouver, B.C., Canada V7V 2Z9 "We supply books, plans, videos and workshop accessories that will be of interest to machinists, apprentice machinists, gunsmiths, shop instructors, model and experimental aircraft builders, clockmakers, and home shop machinists - in fact, anyone who works with metal." is what the web site says. If you need metal tools and skills for ATM projects, check out these guys. Go to Guy Lautard


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