Before Christmas I decided to swap my perfectly good HitecAstro DC focus controller for an Ardunio-based system.  This would give me the flexibility to swap over to stepper motor-based focus motors at a later date.  

I also wanted to bring my 12v power distribution up from the pier to sit in the middle of the dual mounting bar with my two refractors on one side and my SCT on the other.  This new arrangement should  lead to a significant reduction in the cable spaghetti I seem to constantly wrestle with.

I have all the eye-to-hand co-ordination a dyspraxic slug, so for me, soldering usually lots of yelling and high car parking fees (for the car park at my local A&E department).  With a promise nothing particular at all, I managed to persuade my good friend Dave that his life was really empty and unfulfilled and what he really needed was to fill his days building me a custom-built box of tricks containing a Ardunio DC focus controller with optional hand controller (Thanks to Rob Brown - https://sourceforge.net/projects/mydcfocuserrelativedcfocuser/) and a 6-output fused 12v power distribution box.

Last week Dave delivered the finished article to me and this evening, I've just finished testing it all.

The last jobs will be to label up each output and switch; mount the 7 port USB hub on the lid; cut all the existing 12v power leads to just the right length and put RCA plugs on them; and finally mount it all on the dual mounting bar.