Mount Hub - On mount head or accessory tray ?

[badgers]

Hi All,

I've just built my own mini mount-hub with 4 DC outs, 2 Dew Controllers and 6 port USB hub.

This won't easily fit on the little accessory tray on the HEQ5 Pro tripod.

Does it make more sense to mount it to the actual RA/DEC mount head ? The panel just over the motors springs to mind and I guess I could attach it with velcro straps for a secure fit. I guess this would mean I could use shorter cables as the scope would only be moving on one axis relative to the box.

I've seen lovely setups with the hub on a dovetail, but I really don't think I can manage this with my multiple scope setups.

Just wondering if anyone has tried this setup, or whether there are specific issues with this (maybe balance or weight etc) ?

Thanks for any advice,

Anton

[Spikey]

I used to mount a couple of USB hubs and a focusser controller on a piece of velcro in the middle of my ADM side by side setup. I placed it directly over the mount head to avoid any complications to balance issues.

[Jessun]

That looks great! Square switch cut-outs too.... Good job!

I am thinking about doing something similar and put it somewhere on the mounting plate. As cables get cold it's probably good to have as few as possible followint the motion of the axises.

/Jesper

[IanL]

I put my dew controller on my NEQ6 on the opposite (back) side of the head from the power switch, etc.  Fixed it in place with sticky velcro (which wasn't strong enough) so added cable ties (daisy-chain two or three to make an extra long one to go right around the head).  I don't know if there would be sufficient room anywhere on the 5 for a similar arrangement though. You could make some brackets and a lightweight tray to screw to the dovetail stick out to one side of the OTA for example.

Fewer moving cables is definitely attractive, but I did have some problems with my set-up.  I was using a separate USB hub which was small enough to velcro in to the middle of the NEQ6 control panel between the plug sockets and the power switch.  I had lots of random crashes and disconnects which turned out to be the USB cables coming loose as the mount moved around.  Bear in mind I had worked very hard to try to fix the cables down to prevent any unwanted pulling, and actually there was not much flex at all at the connectors.

I switched to mounting the hub on the top of one of the tripod legs instead, which meant more and longer cables to the camera, etc. but actually it has proved far more reliable in use and hardly ever have a random crash or disconnect these days.  The main improvement was that the USB Hub doesn't move at all and the cable bundle is fixed to the mount base before it loops up to the scope/cameras, so the connectors at the hub end don't move at all.  If you start having those kind of problems, you could change the connectors for some kind with retaining screws (DB9 for example); the wiring in the USB cables is pretty basic. I seem to recall that the specifications require the connectors to be made/shielded in a certain way for best signal performance, but I'd guess you would get them to work anyway.

[badgers]

Thanks for the feedback.

From all the comments, I see two options...

1) Make a little tray on a bracket that sits under the accessory tray, similar to IanL, then I'll still have to manage the cabling up to the mount head to make sure there is enough flex and no snag when it moves. Definitely need longer cables for this.

2) Make some kind of bracket that allows me to attach/detach the unit to the dovetails, either the one my scope sits on, or the dovetail I've bolted to the top. Shorter cables, but potentially more faff and more weight for the mount to move around.

Hmmm difficult to decide... I hope I get this sorted before Kelling.....

Thanks,

Anton

[Stephen]

Mine is just super velcroed to the SE tripod leg

[badgers]

I tried mount head first... It attached fine, and was handy in eliminating long cables for mount control and mount power, but it unbalanced the mount head and looked like it could hit the tripod legs at certain RA/DEC.

I've gone with heavy duty cable ties to the tripod leg, looks pretty good. One short cable run to the mount head and a 1.5m cable run to camera, guider, focuser, filterwheel and dew band.

All in all I'm very happy as it looks like it's eliminated most cable clutter, Kelling heath tomorrow will be the true test.... fingers crossed.

Thanks again,

Anton