Juicy6

Great Rainer! I will try this out during weekend. Just unboxed the new CEM40 and this would be the simplest solution. Tech Service at TS in Germany where I bought it was not overly optimistic: "this is good question. if you unscrew the saddle means you might modify the zero position. if you turn it 90° degrees it might not work. and if you don´t go for a dual saddle setup but for a classical one, telescope over telescope? The problem is the safety lock..I was having them in my past meade telescope and alway to be careful. also if you risk to to too close to the edge near the stop position, I don´t want you to risk to damage the mount. better to arrange the setup for me.." I also asked iOptron Tech Support Team but no answer (yet). Christer, Sweden

Morning everyone! The saddle on CEM40 has internal wiring for 12V and USB2. In order not to twist cables, there is a stop preventing it to turn more than one revolution. What is best way to attach my side-by-side setup scope? Am I supposed to unscrew saddle, turn it 90 degrees and tighten it or should I just define a new home position? Changing position of saddle will move mechanical stop to East or West I guess. Now it is at North, home, position. Christer, Sweden

Welcome back Jessun!

Anyopne knows if this fantastic project succeeded? Maybe the OP himself is still around... Christer, Sweden

Very good tutorial! If you contact Ivaylo Stoynov, the author of APT, he might give you a free key... Christer, Sweden (paying contributor to APT)

No need for chemicals. Use an Exacto knife with snap-off blades and slowly work around the rim. I have removed 4 caps this way. Drill 3 holes over the adj bolts to have access to them later on. Christer, Sweden

As long as you plan to only feed stick with 5 V power, I believe it will not use more than 1,2 A. I have a m5 stick and it needs no more than that. If you need to feed devices via USB ports on the stick, you have to add that. Using 6 V and dry cells is not good. Better will be to use rechargable batteries with 1,2 V, totalling in 4,8 V.

Congrats! Just noticed we act like normal people to newborn babies, so we can re-use following words. Just substitute baby for scope, haha: "There’s something about babies that make us smile and believe in goodwill to all humans. We feel warm and fuzzy all over and start wishing good wishes for everyone. We look forward to meeting your new baby soon." "Congratulations on the arrival of your new baby! This new addition will bring you lots of cuddling, fun times and sweet memories. It will be worth the sleepless nights. All the best to your family." "Congratulations, and welcome to the world of sleepless nights, restless days and mountains of laundry. Just remember: what doesn’t break you will make you a better person." Christer, Sweden

Here is a simpler circuit: Use zener 1N2974B. It will conduct and break fuse if it "feels" 10 volts. Rated for 1 Ampere, so choose a 1A fuse too. More here: http://www.learningaboutelectronics.com/Articles/Overvoltage-protection-circuit.php

I too use a Buck converter set to 8,0 volts on my current 550D. But I know for sure upper voltage is not critical. On my previous setup a converter failed and delivered 12 volts to the camera. Camera didnt complain about this so I used it at 12 volts for long time. Maybe it got a bit hotter, which noise-wise is not good for astro photo, but at least it showed that camera over-voltage protection worked fine. Christer

Thank you for showing this mod. For Scandinavian members - the connectors can be ordered from ELFA in Stockholm, www.elfa.se , ordering numbers 44-915-01 and 44-915-12. Christer