Dingling cable problems

[Olsin]

Hi all ... My scope had it's first light last night under a 70% clouded sky. After 3 hours i had still not aligned (because of cloud cover) and decided to call it a night. I won't bother under such cloudy conditions again but i was so super keen last night, i couldn't hold back.

So, the main problem i encountered was the mount power, camera usb + 12v dc and the mount to pc tether cables were constantly getting themselves wrapped around the mount with the usb connection being pulled out a couple of times.

I had thought that maybe i could make some kind of boom that would hold the cables away from the mount but i'm not sure if this would create balance problems.

Surely you vets don't have this problem, so what is it you do?

[Vox45]

I built a "power distribution box" that is attached to the OTA so that all the cables move along with the OTA. Only 2 cables loosely dangle from the mount: the power to the battery and the USB to the latop.

I enclosed the box into a lunch carrying case to keep the moisture away from the electronics (and it looks good )

 

 

[Ouroboros]

I attach the cables to various parts of the the mount or telescope with those flexible cable ties that come with delivered bits of kit. There are really only three cables I need to deal with like this: the DSLR cable and the guide scope cables. Seems to work for me. I don't find the cables to the mount itself, like power lead and control cable usually cause snagging problems. I tend to keep a close eye on the mount if I'm making large slew movements just in case of snagging. But once on target it's usually OK. 

[swag72]

I tie my cables to the back scope rings with cable ties.... that way I have found nothing ever gets snagged and also there's no cable weight pulling on the back like there is if you leave them dangling.

Here's a larger view and a close up - Hope that helps

[Ouroboros]

Those of us who set up and tear down each time need a reversible solution of course, which is how I came to use twist ties as an improvised solution. I have contemplated whether I could devise some kind of  anchor point on the mount to clip and unclip cables to. 

[barkis]

Hook and Eye Velcro ties are very useful too. They are easy to  hold cables together, and just as easy to 
remove when necessary. They come in various lengths and colours, although colour might be useful, it isn't 
vital. I have tried to use self adhesive velcro outdoors on metal, and it is not very successful. It kept falling off

  As indicated in Vox45's   post ,A power distribution station attached to the mount is a good Idea, but the Enclosure should be of 
Wood, Plastic or a suitable ABS project box. A metal enclosure contacting the mount could be a recipe for
trouble. Maybe unlikely, but not risk worthy.

The main power supply unit should be situated away from the setup altogether.
Only the supply pair, and the USB cable to the  Hub, are the danger ones, they have to be free to follow the mount around
during it's operations. You also have to be aware of where it is when you are moving around the Observing/Imaging site.

[Olsin]

Thanks everyone, some very good ideas there and i love the idea with power distribution hub vox although i think that'll probably be a project for another time. There is still equipment i need to get and the learning curve is steep. Bundling the cables to a single cable and then working with that seems a reasonable path to take.

Thanks for all your input guys..

[Vox45]

1 hour ago, Ouroboros said:

Those of us who set up and tear down each time need a reversible solution of course, which is how I came to use twist ties as an improvised solution. I have contemplated whether I could devise some kind of  anchor point on the mount to clip and unclip cables to. 

In my case I was extremely happy to realize that I can leave everything attached and store the OTA along with all the cable plugged in the power box into a large trolley case. From the moment I take the OTA out of the case to the moment I start controlling my scope: 2m53s .  It used to take 20 minutes to get all the cables unsorted, plugged in and up and running.

 

[Ouroboros]

3 hours ago, Vox45 said:

In my case I was extremely happy to realize that I can leave everything attached and store the OTA along with all the cable plugged in the power box into a large trolley case. From the moment I take the OTA out of the case to the moment I start controlling my scope: 2m53s .  It used to take 20 minutes to get all the cables unsorted, plugged in and up and running.

I can see that working. Wouldn't work for me. I've got two telescopes. Sometimes I set up one, sometimes the other. Sometimes I set up for observing only,  sometimes for imaging. Sometimes I start out observing and then decide to start imaging.  I don't find connecting cables to the mount that time consuming anyway. 

[Vox45]

On 14/04/2017 at 20:31, Ouroboros said:

I can see that working. Wouldn't work for me. I've got two telescopes. Sometimes I set up one, sometimes the other. Sometimes I set up for observing only,  sometimes for imaging. Sometimes I start out observing and then decide to start imaging.  I don't find connecting cables to the mount that time consuming anyway. 

My cable storage management process was a mess I had ton untangle, identify and carefully connect and layout each cable... took me forever... even worst in the dark! It was even more of a pain when tearing down after a long night in the cold... No more

[Ouroboros]

33 minutes ago, Vox45 said:

My cable storage management process was a mess I had ton untangle, identify and carefully connect and layout each cable... took me forever... even worst in the dark! It was even more of a pain when tearing down after a long night in the cold... No more

What really seemed to help me was using a powered USB hub  located at the mount. So there's only one USB cable from the mount to my PC.  The only thing I was unhappy about with this was how to power the hub. For a while I ran a mains socket out to the mount.  But I've since replaced this with 5m low voltage cables to both the USB hub and the mount, which I'm sure is a much safer option. At the end of an evening's session I throw one of those telescope covers over the telescope and mount. This means I don't have to tear everything down until the following day, or even leave it all assembled if the following evening promises clear skies. 

[spillage]

You may find this type of thing useful as you can easily remove and add cable quickly. Then you can attach to the mount using velcro straps.

 

cable tidy

[carastro]

I just tie the cables back to either the scope or the dovetail (so they are not pulling on the camera), with a piece of cord.  I take the kit to camp often or swap around scopes and camera, so need something easy to undo each time.  

Carole

 

 

[noah4x4]

This is the  joy of a Celestron Evolution mount.  This has design features that all makers of both Alt-Az and GEM mounts should aspire to replicate.  Sadly, too much focus is put on its (sometimes) flakey WiFi rather than its more basic innovative  practical stuff.... 

I plug my Starsense camera cable into AUX1 located in the mount arm; then plug  HC into the adjacent AUX2; plus clip HC cradle to mount arm. It has four AUX ports, all universally wired in parallel and hence convenient. Then with its internal (10 hour rechargeable) battery that means all telescope cables are above the rotating base of the mount and can't ever foul on anything. That leaves only a single cable from my DSLR or NexImage cameras to laptop to worry about. 

Although only possible with a Nexstar + HC, on an Evolution wedge I can achieve excellent polar alignment using an EQNorth/EQAuto/Polar align; then I swap HC's and  reboot with StarSense (note <wedge = yes> set in HC).  Offers PAR results measured in arc-seconds as good as a GEM. Sadly, Polar alignment doesn't yet work with its WiFi/APPs and/or with  Starsense in isolation  (but you can finish off with the SSA Accessory and its HC after a reboot; just use instead of another EQAuto-align).  

A scooped out area above the base of the mount combined with the wedge latitude angle offers incredible horizon to zenith clearance. Then simple stuff like built in eyepiece trays; free running Alt-Az clutches complete the basics, I love it! The clearance and cable management benefits are clearly depicted below;