MG01

Primarily using the 2" 28mm that it came with for finding targets, so approx. 2° I'm not ready to let him loose with our 35mm pan yet! I'm torn between a rdf so he can quickly align and then use the handset for finding targets vs RACI that will possibly teach him better star hopping....but may frustrate him at first? I can see merits in both so may come down to try one and see how we/he gets on.

Thanks for the feedback. I guess I'm used to RDFs because for imaging (using a frac) I really just want to align to some bright stars, but even that isn't necessary now I'm getting into platesolving for polar alignment which then gives me good enough pointing and tracking accuracy to be able to locate most things with a slew and a bit of a spiral search if necessary. The reason I dislike the include finder is that 6x30 has a pretty small eyepiece to try and get behind in a somewhat cramped position when pointing above the horizon. When using an RDF you can actually be further away from the unit and still accurately position the dot in the sky. But I do like the suggestions of a RA finder....That will certainly be easier to look through. I guess I'm still getting used to being at the wrong end of the scope! 😛

Happy New Year you wonderful people! SO...following a fun first light on Boxing Day with my Son's new scope, we're wondering what recommendations people have for replacing the rather wobbly finder-scope that it comes with. I've a Baader Skysurfer on my imaging rig but don't really want to spend quite so much if possible. Any other (budget) RDF's or finderscopes that people recommend? ALSO...if anyone knows the size of the secondary collimation screws that would be great as I'm obviously too tight to pay for bob's knobs. 😆

Isn't it just! Sometimes I wish I'd never looked! Well that makes sense....nothing like clear standards to make it simple!

Just to clarify I have now taken some photos of my new NEQ6 board (MC015) with GX-12 connector and can confirm that pin 1 is ground. However what confuses the matter is that the new cable that came with the board uses the marked wire (with long dashes on it) to carry the ground to pin 1. I was always taught that you identified the positive carrying wire, so this is incorrect in my understanding...but maybe the long dash is for negative in the chinese tradition? At the mount we have pin 1 located to the top And inside we can see that the black cable (negative or ground) is at the top in Pin 1 At the cigar lighter end we can just make out the marking on the wire going into the case spring, which again supports that this is the negative as the tip is posititve. Finally I confirmed with my meter that Pin 1 was negative as connecting it to the positive terminal of my meter produced a negative voltage reading. I hope that clarifies....and I'm glad I checked.

Thanks both, I'll give the USB a try with the prolific drivers then...if they are a pain I can always make a quick EQDIR cable as I have all the bits already.

This is more of a late night sanity check than a question so I hope folk can help. I'm finally getting back setup and have my new EQ6 board that comes with USB and Screw on power connectors...so a bit of an upgrade. But I'm a little confused regarding what is needed in the EQDir department. Now, I know I could use the on board prolific drivers and just connect via USB, but I've heard about reliability issues using the prolific chip and would like to make a new cable to replace my previous D-sub one. Trouble is I'm not 100% convinced I'm looking at the right instructions because the EQmod page here: https://eq-mod.sourceforge.net/tutindex.html only seems to have the EQ6 connecting with the D-sub, not the new RJ45 handset connector that the new board has. The new board is an MC015 which I think I'm right in saying is the same as in the HEQ5 / AZEQ6-GT, just with a different faceplate. So I THINK I need to take my FTDI TTL232R cable and solder: TTL232R Black wire (GND) to Blue (Pin 4) TTL232R Yellow wire (RXD) to Blue/White (Pin 5) TTL232R Orange wire (TXD) to Green (Pin 6) The reason I'm checking first is because the diagram on Page 17 of the AZEQ6 manual here: https://www.skywatcheraustralia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/AZEQ6.pdf have TXD and RXD the other way around....and I've learnt that when in doubt ask!! One other question is should I really now be using a 3.3v signalling cable instead of the standard 5v TTL232R? I appreciate any comments, Thanks

Brilliant, thanks Alan

Finally gotten around to getting some GX12 and I'm wondering what is the standard for wiring these? If I was to get the cable for the EQ6R for example would the positive be wired to connection 1 or 2?

Thanks AMcD....as it turns out I made a mistake and ended up with a colour CCD...so I'm probably going to hold off on the filters for now until I decide if I'm going to keep the camera. But if I do I'll probably go with something like the l-extreme dual band filter to keep it simple. Not as flexible as mono though so may endup going that route if funds are available in the newyear.

But it's not as pretty.... 😛 Seems pretty much unanimous...put it all at the scope! yay! Having had a bit of a play the mele seems to do just fine with everything on it. I'll still use a separate laptop for processing though. Seems a good way to get some extra backup too. I saw somewhere there was a way to sync folders between the laptop and scope PC. I'll probably use something similar....although a onedrive or google drive would also work I guess.

Great thanks Steve...I didn't notice it said the type in the description..." JST 'ZH' style " Perfect!

Hopefully a really quick question someone can help me with... I need to make a guiding cable to connect my SX Lodestar to the guide port on my EQ6. I know the EQ6 end is an RJ12, but not sure about the lodestar end and can't find my original cable (hence the need for a new one!) Cheers

@malc-c I'm more than happy to contribute a board to your project...ping me your address and I can get it in the post in the week. I've had an awful lot of help from fellow astronomers over the years so if this helps someone who's maybe having a rough time of it that's amazing. Kudos on helping Foster such a wonderful community spirit!

I'll be honest...I didn't get to the end of page 5 before I realised I needed to be making notes! I do love that we have such a bredth of knowledge on this forum. I'd love to learn a little more about electronics and programing so I'll pop the board in an ESD bag and maybe in the new year I can add to that thread.

It's amazing how much it all adds up to...I've used the neutrik versions of the speakon connectors before and have managed to recycle those for my main dc run to the scope. I'm running 2core 4mm2 to keep the voltage drop down as I'll be at 8-9m by the time you include the ups and downs. The 5.5mm connections are for between my new pegasus power hub and equipment and so will all be none screw type. Except for the connector to the NEQ6 mount as that changed to a screw type when I replaced the control board. For solid connections I'm a bit fan of the XT60. Use them all the time in RC cars as they can take a good current. They are just a bit bulker though so in the past I've gone the RCA route like dew heaters. Most of the cheap 5.5mm jacks are only rated for 1 amp, some even less! I like the switch craft ones but I'm feeing northern and will probably fo with the RS 5amp ones...we have a trade counter not too far away so don't get nobbled on postage.

The one I picked up has a N5105 with 8GB ram and I chucked in a 500GB nvme and for under 230GBP including the drive upgrade it seems a bargain. Having spent some time with it today I think I'd agree...just put all the capture software on it and let it do its thing. I think not having ever used remote desktop locally (only via internet when it was managed by an IT dept) I was worried about data flow with stellarium in particular, but I understand it a little better now and am happy that this little box will do fine in its own. Will be interesting to see how it handles plate solving...but it's not getting much chance to play outside as I've got my rig in bits while I rehash my connections in anticipation of the arrival of the pegasus ULTIMATE power B - O - X! I just hope the name isn't all hyperbole! 🤪 What mini pc do you use @drjolo?

That makes sense. The mele seems more than capable...the one piece of software I was a little nervous about was stellarium...its pretty intensive compared to other astro software. I'll have to have a play with nina. I've been using apt as I've been using it with dslr for a while. But having just taken the plunge with a pegasus ultimate I know NINA supports it and until APT catches up on this feature (which I know is high on Ivo's list) I will be dipping a toe into NINA. Just had my first win11 clunk as my canon install disk doesnt work...so may need a workaround to get EOS utility working.

So now I have my little mele quieter and I'm thinking about how best to use it. In most cases people place it at the scope and 'remote in...' using something like Microsoft's remote desktop connection that's included in windows (just remember to enable remote connections, something which I didn't realise wasn't automatically on) so that you can access it from another machine, like an observatory or field laptop. My question is really what do you run on which machine? I've installed ASCOM, EQMod, the camera drivers and phd on the mele, but am I right to think the heavy lifting of APT or NINA and stellarium for example should be installed on the main computer and just set the right ports for connections to cameras etc, or do you just run it all on the scope PC and just let it save images (via RDP access to local drives) to the observatory PC for live stacking or review and processing? Just curious what works best.

Does anyone have any recommendations for good solid DC connectors (5.5x2.1 type)? 👍 There's waaaay too much choice out there and if I can get a solid recommendation of cheaper than RS ones I'll jump on it. Also I was hoping someone might be able to point me towards the type of screw DC connector that Skywatcher use on the upgraded EQ6 USB boards? I've looked through the RS DC connectors and can't see anything like them.

Apologies for necroing your comment, but what issues were you having with win11 on the quieter 3Q? I'm about halfway through downloading the 8GB mirror from the mele website to install on mine as I just got it and added an nvme drive.

lol...I'll have a read though later tonight...cheers

@malc-c Sadly it was one of the PICs so could only be replaced if you also know what was programmed onto it. I've already ordered a replacement. Although I'm still unclear as to why it happened. Some folk have suggested under voltage, but I check my power supply and that seems fine. When it happened it also blew the 3A fuse in the cigarette lighter connector.

Having chewed it over I've looked at options for 'taming the octupus' and despite my thinking otherwise initially, there really it a lot to be said for the Pegasus boxes plus mini PC. These were the options I put together as a diagram to help me get my head around all the cables... Option A: Add a mini PC and replace my aging double hubs with the Pegasus USB Hub, but retain the kendrick and move the Lakeside boxes up to the scope. This option simply changes my current practice of having the focuser by the computer, but since I'll be using the focuser via software this doesn't matter. Having the box at the scope does give me the ability to focus manually if for some reason I'm setting up for visual. I would still need some form of DIY power hub (distribution only not smart management and sensing) so there is some cost there too. Option B: Add a mini PC and the Pegasus Power Box Advanced plus the option to ditch the Lakeside box and use the Pegasus focus controller as my lakeside motor is compatible via a custom cable. Here we're starting to see the benefits of the Pegasus system with the integration of USB hub and power management. This option was my preferred until I really looked at the final option as it does seem to offer the most convenience for a modest but not huge expense. Initially I was concerned that I would still need a DIY power distribution box, but the diagram helped me resolve what will be plugged in where. It also gives me a spare output I can use for attaching my homemade flats panel to the rig at the start or end of my session. Finally I can also ditch the TemperHum module that I've been having issues with as it comes with a sensor that works with the software. Option C: Bells and whistles with the Ultimate Power Box. The most costly solution and one I would be more likely to go for if I was using NINA or if the UPB was integrated into APT. Originally I was sceptical about this offering as I wasn't sure it offered enough for the price. But having worked it through I'm looking at getting the total cable count down from 17 to 12 and the total number of 'boxes' on the mount down from 5 to 2. This reduces the points of failure and combined with the monitoring capabilities of the software should make troubleshooting a lot simpler. So I'm pretty much sold on the Ultimate Powerbox. I can understand why people suck through their teeth a bit though as I hate spending money on things that don't have glass in them! 😛 Anyway, I wanted to post this and hope that it might help others work through what they need, connection wise. It also helps when roughing out power consumption for PSU sizing. Although most equipment doesn't get near the stated safe maximums in their specs, so we probably all oversize our PSUs considerably. Hopefully the Pegasus software will help me fine tune the consumption so I can get an optimum sized linear supply and won't waste quite as much juice as I would just buying a heavy 30 Amp supply for the sake of it. Oh, and a big thank to @Dark Raven for tempting me down this upgrade path!

Are the two cables just to increase the effective cross-sectional area of the conductor (for the given total load) then? ie to reduce voltage drop?