dew controller location on truss dob

[astronymonkey]

Hi All,

Ive been considering the dew system wiring on my lightbridge which consists of the battery, a hitec astro 4 port controller, and 5 heater strips (eyepiece, sccondary, red dot, finder eyepiece/finder objective) and have been thinking about 2 options:

1. Controller on the base with 4 wires leading up the truss frame to the  heater strips. This is the current arrangmeent but means there are a lot of long wires to deal with.

2. Controller on top cage next to the finder with only a single lead for the power going down the frame to the battery. This means less long lead runs .

So what would you choose...... Ive seen both of them in use .

Cheers

[Paz]

I would vote for whatever requires the least amount of effort to set up and take down being a priority over what looks the most tidy.

I had my dew controller on my dob base but realised I had to connect 4 lines from the OTA to the controller every time I set up and then disconnect etc, so now the dew controller is attached to the OTA (a solid tube) with all 4 lines always connected and ready to go with therefore just one power connector to plug in and pull out when setting up and taking down.

[LukeSkywatcher]

A piece of camping mat and velcro is all you need to use really on an open truss scope. Measure mat to size and wrap around the open truss part of the scope. It will also act as a light shroud.

[astronymonkey]

The dew cintrol is already in place but its a bit messy for my liking. If I leave the dew bands on the top tube tube then I end up with too many wires hanging loose and I dont always need the dew control if in only out for an hour.

Im considering putting the controller on the base  and the dew bands on the top tube but using a seoarate loom to join the two together that can be removed when not in use.

Unfortunately the camping mat idea doesnt work for the light shroud as they are a bit too narrow for the gap.

 

Cheers