Dr_Ju_ju

Also under Control Panel \ Power Options \ Advanced Settings \ USB settings : USB selective suspend setting - set to disabled.

They won't be ceramics, as the 470 uF capacitor values are too large. They will be electrolytic capacitors.

I agree, all the forecasters are showing different conditions for different times, then an hour later it all changes.....

Then as already stated the best you can do would be a full strip & lubricate etc. There are plenty of on line help e.g. Astro Baby's strip & re-build http://www.astro-baby.com/EQ6 rebuild guide/EQ6 Strip Down Home.htm

What is the mount ??

If you have a USB to serial lead, try connecting to the mount directly, by-passing the hand controller, & see if that will drive the mount motors....

exactly, just drive two channels together, i.e. 2 SPDT become 1 DPDT

A leisure battery like this http://www.velleman.co.uk/contents/en-uk/p188_vm8090.html will do what you want, but as stated, have you worked out what it is you want to power up & for how long ??

Depends on how complicated \ au fait you are with electronic control systems, but there is always the Vellman boards e.g. http://www.velleman.co.uk/contents/en-uk/p188_vm8090.html

something like this https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/non-latching-relays/1803056/ ??

Using a longer OTA mounting bar, with the additional 'up-front', allows you to bolt a weight to the front e.g.

Which version are you running ? but in 18.2, look under Configuration \ Plugins ….

That's the bit that worries me, its sooo easy somewhere else in the system where you could short 0v & GND thereby by-passing the meter.

go on.... you know you want to....

An 800mm diameter mirror is going to weigh a LOT (simple calculation based on 800mm x 25mm = 125 Kg) [https://www.glass-ts.com/glass-weight-calculator] so I'd forget timber laminates & instead go for Aluminium....

Magical, It should be sites @ the Greenwich Observatory !!

Look on eBay for the Chinese webcams with in-built infra-red lights, e.g. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ZOSI-1000TVL-CCTV-Camera-For-Home-Security-960H-Outdoor-Indoor-36-Infrared-LEDs/161814180268 this is a video only camera, but there are others that will connect to an Android device etc.

If you are after a lighter battery solution (but a lot more expensive) then go for the Tracer batteries https://www.tracerpower.com/

AstroEQ is a very simple system that works....

I can download them, but they can be quite large.....

For your camera, all the info should be here https://www.canon.co.uk/support/consumer_products/products/cameras/digital_slr/eos_450d.html?type=drivers&language=&os=windows 10 (64-bit) There's usually a button combination that has to be held when powering on that sets up the additional modes, i.e. updates

I run all my Canon's with Magic Lantern (https://magiclantern.fm/) not only does it give you more menu choices, but can sometimes give better info on what's happening..... And they're not Russian anymore, more likely Ukrainian\Georgian !!

Check the USB port, I had loads of issues last night with my 600D, intermittently dropping\'fouling' the connection. It turned out to be some detritus\sloppy connection in the socket. Not only was it dropping the camera connection, but also was screwing up everything else plugged into the local hub, i.e. mount\focuser etc. Now for some micro-surgery on the socket.

As long as you follow the simple picture I posted above (with or without the optocoupler) i.e. the ST4 output from the camera feeding into the Arduino, which in turn drives the stepper motor..... But you will still need some form of control via the Arduino, such that the mount is pointing at the correct place in the sky that you want to image, this will entail not only driving RA but DEC as well, that's why I suggested AstroEQ, as it turns a manual non-goto mount into a fully driven software controllable mount, but you lose any manual control .....

Metcheck shows it a little iffy here later on.... https://www.metcheck.com/HOBBIES/astronomy_forecast.asp?zipcode=kt15+1ss&locationID=59338&lat=51.4&lon=-0.5