After finishing the Tracker I decided it needed a case to store it in. It seemed like good idea to make the case multi-purpose, so that it could be used to protect the autoguiding laptop from the dampness of the night air. I came up with a design that has a three piece hinged lid that could fold back to remove the Tracker and which could be shut in another orientation to provide an angled face to view the laptop when it was inside. A 'double glazed' window was fitted to help reduce condensation. This was made from a piece of 5mm thick red acrylic sheet with a 3mm glass front pane for added abrasion resistance.

Within the Case there is a platform which the Tracker is attached to. This is supported by four AV (Anti-Vibration) mounts to help reduce the risk of damage to the Tracker during transportation.

Case & Battery Box

Case Lid Open with Tracker

Case Lid Open with Laptop

Lid Shut with Laptop

The Tracker case sits on top of a battery box which can take two 12V batteries. The battery box has four legs which help raise the level of the laptop keyboard to a comfortable height when your seated. The four legs are removable and have over 25mm of levelling adjustment via the black threaded lower sections. These were a great buy at £1 each in a DIY store sale. The floor of the battery box in insulated with polystyrene, which in conjunction with the raised legs, help keep the batteries at a reasonable temperature.

The battery box also has a control panel which allows the Tracker drive output, Laptop output and a third Auxillary output to be switched.
I fitted a DVM (Digital Volt Meter) which acts as a Voltmeter and Ammeter for the Tracker Drive. The current drawn by the Tracker is a good indicator of the health and balance of the mount. (A Maxim 471 IC was used to convert current to voltage). The DVM can be switched off to elimate the glare from the red LEDs.