New Set Up...Many Q's

[Tangoringo]

Hi folks,

 

Having ended up going around in circles on this forum and then gone flying off at tangents at regular intervals I thought that a fresh start may be in order to calm my addled brain.

The basic question is one of set up and what bits I actually need....

I currently have a WO refractor mounted on an HEQ5Pro mount which takes its power from the Celestron 12v 7AH tank . I am just taking baby steps now with guiding, having purchased a QHY5L (to sit on an ST80 guidescope) this week and have a second hand SBIG 8300c arriving in a couple of weeks. In preparation for this I am trying to sort out a hub and config so that I can operate this from indoors about 5m from the scope itself. I have one spare 12v cigarette lighter style point left on the power tanks and two USB 2.0 ports on my laptop. The question is, can i use a single active USB cable to route from my laptop to a hub on the mount in order to control the guider, the mount and the imaging camera? If so, can anybody recommend particular cables, hubs etc? I'm guessing that dew heaters will have to be added to the mix soon as well but as I have a OSC a filter wheel won't be a necessity.  I currently also have a smorgasbord of software loaded and am trying to narrow down the options for controlling as well, hence the variety of options are just blowing my mind at the moment and i feel like I'm falling in to the 'too much in one bite' pitfall.

As a result, if anybody could lead me by the hand and give a wide eyed novice a bit of direction I would be so grateful. Please treat me with kid gloves as DIY and electronics aren't my strongpoints although I'm always willing to stretch my knowledge. Hence, the more specific and simple the better!!

 

Many thanks in advance,

 

Ian

[steppenwolf]

Simplification is always the key to success in getting started in imaging but the realisation that you need to autoguide for deep sky is good news so let that be part of the initial setup.

The biggest potential issue heading your way is that USB hub! With only two USB ports, you may indeed have to tread this path as you will require a port for:-

1. the 8300c

2. the QHY5L

If you are going to use EQMod to control your mount, that will require a 3rd USB port and sadly, the inclusion of a USB hub.

My advice would be to get the system running with the PC outside first to make sure that everything is working correctly before you consider the remote operation from inside as that will take two potential issues out of the equation, the USB Hub and the USB Extension cable.

Once you have a proven system, add the hub and see if all remains well, if it does continue to work OK you can then tackle the extension cable but be aware that an active USB cable is in effect another USB Hub so there could be a conflict here. In addition, some devices do not like active cables at all so it really is a case of try it and see what happens.

One step at a time and you will nail this! I refuse to use a USB hub but hopefully someone will come along with some recommendations for a suitable one for you.

[Waldemar]

If thinking of a really good USB hub, this one: https://www.transcend-info.com/products/Product_detail.aspx?no=402 could be your choice.

It is a USB3 hub with 12V powersource, so it fits in very well with other equipment when using a 12V power hub.
from the mount to your pc a Silex DS600 USB-Ethernet converter:  http://www.silexamerica.com/products/connectivity-solutions/device-networking/usb-parallel-connectivity/ds-600/ is a great choice as well. It connects to your ethernet connection on the PC or laptop and can handle 100 meters between converter and computer
For USB cables look for USB3 cables, for they are made to be able to cope with far higher transfer rates, hence better materials are used.
Always get double shielded ones with gold plated connectors and as short as possible. Mount USB hub, Silex and powerhub on your scope with Velcro on a dovetail, so will only have two cables goping down: 12V primary cable and a CAT6 cable.

Connect and dry-run everything inside during daytime first, so you do not have to fiddle around outside in the dark.

Hope this will help a little. This is the way I am doing it for many years and it works flawless.

[RichLD]

It's also worth mentioning that you are going to need a power source with more grunt. A leisure battery with the highest practical capacity possible for field use (I use a 110ah deep cycle battery in a modified toolbox) or a mains power adapter of around 10 amps for home use.

 

[Tangoringo]

Thanks for the replies gents.

Steve, I hadn't appreciated that an active cable acted like another hub so that was a pitfall I hadn't foreseen. I foresee a lot of trial and error coming up which is what I was trying to avoid but I suppose with the myriad of different combinations of devices/cables/hubs its inevitable I suppose. I'm assuming that a high quality cable such as Waldemar mentions with a hub at the scope end is still going to be struggling over a 5m distance or again, is that going to be a suck it and see style method?

Thank you for the Ethernet advice Waldermar. I think at the moment I will stick with the wired approach as its probably a step too far for my newb brain but I will definitely consider this in the future.

Rich, I was rapidly coming to the same conclusion. Its amazing how 6 months ago I thought this current unit would suffice for quite a while but little did I realise how quickly this was not going to be the case. I hadn't appreciated that such a big world of new 'toys' was opening up to me!!!

Anyway, thank you again gents and if any more suggestions, hints, tips etc spring to mind them they will all be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Ian

PS Steve, can I just thank you again for your wonderful book 'Make Every Photon Count'. Its nice to have so much useful and practical information in one place and is certainly the go to book for me now in my AP journey. I can highly recommend this book for anybody setting out that is reading this post.

[steppenwolf]

6 hours ago, Tangoringo said:

PS Steve, can I just thank you again for your wonderful book 'Make Every Photon Count'. Its nice to have so much useful and practical information in one place and is certainly the go to book for me now in my AP journey. I can highly recommend this book for anybody setting out that is reading this post.

Too kind, Ian but thanks!

[Waldemar]

On 2017-6-25 at 13:31, Tangoringo said:

Thanks for the replies gents.

Steve, I hadn't appreciated that an active cable acted like another hub so that was a pitfall I hadn't foreseen. I foresee a lot of trial and error coming up which is what I was trying to avoid but I suppose with the myriad of different combinations of devices/cables/hubs its inevitable I suppose. I'm assuming that a high quality cable such as Waldemar mentions with a hub at the scope end is still going to be struggling over a 5m distance or again, is that going to be a suck it and see style method?

Thank you for the Ethernet advice Waldermar. I think at the moment I will stick with the wired approach as its probably a step too far for my newb brain but I will definitely consider this in the future.

Rich, I was rapidly coming to the same conclusion. Its amazing how 6 months ago I thought this current unit would suffice for quite a while but little did I realise how quickly this was not going to be the case. I hadn't appreciated that such a big world of new 'toys' was opening up to me!!!

Anyway, thank you again gents and if any more suggestions, hints, tips etc spring to mind them they will all be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Ian

PS Steve, can I just thank you again for your wonderful book 'Make Every Photon Count'. Its nice to have so much useful and practical information in one place and is certainly the go to book for me now in my AP journey. I can highly recommend this book for anybody setting out that is reading this post.

This is a wired solution for up to 100 meters distance...

No USB cable can do what this device can, it transfers USB 2 as well as USB3
The Silex connects your USB2 AND USB3 hub with a cat6 cable to your computer

[Tangoringo]

1 hour ago, Waldemar said:

This is a wired solution for up to 100 meters distance...

No USB cable can do what this device can, it transfers USB 2 as well as USB3
The Silex connects your USB2 AND USB3 hub with a cat6 cable to your computer

Hi Waldemar,

please accept my most grovelling apologies. I misunderstood the description of the device ( I told you I was a tech numptie ) You now have my attention and will investigate your method more closely as it sounds, on the face of it, a perefect solution.

Thanks for correcting my misunderstanding.

[Waldemar]

2 hours ago, Tangoringo said:

Hi Waldemar,

please accept my most grovelling apologies. I misunderstood the description of the device ( I told you I was a tech numptie ) You now have my attention and will investigate your method more closely as it sounds, on the face of it, a perefect solution.

Thanks for correcting my misunderstanding.

No offence taken, Tangoringo .

I don't like wireless 'solutions' either. Most of the time they only introduce more problems.
Nothing works better than a wired connection. And these devices really do what you need them to: transfer your signals with high speed without interruptions even over a quite a long distance . No interruptions or signal loss because of other electronic signals or other blackouts that can occur with wireless