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can anyone help with a wiring config question?

assouptro

By assouptro
in DIY Astronomer

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assouptro

assouptro

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Hi star people!

Up until recently I have connected all of my equipment through a Hitecastro mount hub pro. The hub has developed a fault and I may get it repaired but in the meantime I have purchased a pegasus ultimate powerbox v1 The question I need an answer to relates to the pegasus stepper motor focus cube I had connected to my mounthub pro via a db9 serial cable. The pegasus Powerbox uses an rj45 for the focuser and I can see you can buy an rj45 to db9 connector cable but as I often install rj45 connectors in my job I should be able to cut one  end off the serial cable and replace it with an rj45 but I would need to know the wiring config and although I've tried to research this I haven't found an answer.

Alternatively Will any rj45 to db9 cable (such as purchased on amazon or ebay) do the job? 

In the past, when I've had such an enquiry I reached out on this forum and you guys have always come up trumps! I'm hoping someone here has the knowledge and is willing to share it with me.

Many Thanks in advance 

Bryan

 

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wimvb

wimvb

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Posted

I have the pegasus focus cube but not the power box. AfaIk, the focus cube should NOT be connected to the focuser output of the power box. The focus cube is a standalone unit which only needs a usb connection and a 12v power source. The focuser output of the power box is for the pegasus focuser, which is only a stepper motor, without control electronics.

Motor focus kit

https://pegasusastro.com/motor-focus-kit/

Focus cube

https://pegasusastro.com/products/focuscube-2/

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Stuart1971

Stuart1971

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If you have the focuscube, it has all the controller electronics inside it and is a stand alone unit, and MUST NOT be connected to the UPB, as it does not need to be.

If you have just the Pegasus Motor this has no electronics inside and does need to be connected to the UPB focus controller 

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assouptro

assouptro

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its the pegasus astro stepper motor, but it is also a cube and used for focus.

it has only one connection which is a serial db9 port and that worked with my mount hub pro but the new pegasus hub has only an rj45 connection however there is a cable sold for the pegasus hub that has db9 and rj45 but wimvb said "the focus cube should NOT be connected to the focuser output of the power box. The focus cube is a standalone unit which only needs a usb connection and a 12v power source. The focuser output of the power box is for the pegasus focuser, which is only a stepper motor, without control electronics"

Maybe you can see my confusion?

Cheers 

Bryan

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Stuart1971

Stuart1971

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Posted (edited)
4 minutes ago, assouptro said:

its the pegasus astro stepper motor, but it is also a cube and used for focus.

it has only one connection which is a serial db9 port and that worked with my mount hub pro but the new pegasus hub has only an rj45 connection however there is a cable sold for the pegasus hub that has db9 and rj45 but wimvb said "the focus cube should NOT be connected to the focuser output of the power box. The focus cube is a standalone unit which only needs a usb connection and a 12v power source. The focuser output of the power box is for the pegasus focuser, which is only a stepper motor, without control electronics"

Maybe you can see my confusion?

Cheers 

Bryan

Yes as I also said the same above, is correct....the focus cube should NOT be connected to the power box, but you don’t have the focus cube, you just have the focus motor, (which is NOT called the cube) which does look like a cube but it’s not the actual focuscube product....so you need the DB9 to rj45 cable, and the wiring diagrams are on the Pegasus site...👍🏼

Edited by Stuart1971
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assouptro

assouptro

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2 minutes ago, Stuart1971 said:

Yes as I also said the same above, is correct....the focus cube should NOT be connected to the power box, but you don’t have the focus cube, you just have the focus motor, (which is NOT called the cube) which does look like a cube but it’s not the actual focuscube product....so you need the DB9 to rj45 cable, and the wiring diagrams are on the Pegasus site...👍🏼

Thanks 

I appreciate the clarity. 

With the cube shaped device that I own that is used for focusing  you could maybe forgive my confusion with the Pegasus focus cube? 

Thanks again for your help

Bryan

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Stuart1971

Stuart1971

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9 minutes ago, assouptro said:

Thanks 

I appreciate the clarity. 

With the cube shaped device that I own that is used for focusing  you could maybe forgive my confusion with the Pegasus focus cube? 

Thanks again for your help

Bryan

Yes totally... you are not the first and won’t be the last to be confused by this...👍🏼👍🏼

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Stuart1971

Stuart1971

Posted
Posted (edited)
10 hours ago, assouptro said:

Ok

So, the next step is making absolutely sure I don't fry my new (ish) hub!

Thanks Stuart

Bryan

This is the cable you need...

 

https://www.widescreen-centre.co.uk/pegasus-stepper-motor-cable-rj45-to-db9.html

and here too...Altair Astro are out of stock...

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p12467_PegasusAstro-Stepper-Motor-Cable-RJ45-to-DB9-for-UPB-and-DMFC.html

 

Edited by Stuart1971
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symmetal

symmetal

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Posted

This is the wiring of the cable you need Bryan. It's unlikely the wires of the DB9 cable you currently have will fit into the RJ45 connector easily as they will be too thick. As the RJ45 cable shown uses standard ethernet T-568B pinout it would be easiest to cut one end off a network cable and solder a DB9 female connector in its place.

The Ultimate powerbox V2 only has 4 wires on the RJ45 pins 3 to 6 and no 12V. The Ultimate powerbox V1 states it works with unipolar stepper motors. Most bipolar stepper motors can be connected to work in unipolar mode. The +12V is used for driving bi-polar motors from bi-polar drivers, so most likely isn't present on the powerbox v1 RJ45 output, but is there for compatability with Robofocus, Moonlite and Lakeside units which may need it. You can leave off the connections to pin 5 of the DB9 I would think, and it will work fine. In the unlikely event that having wired it up the stepper motor turns the wrong way just reverse the connections on only one of the coil pairs, either DB9 pins 1 and 2 or pins 3 and 4.

1663608810_RJ45toDB9.png.652a3241ad668f026e69898594ead172.png

Alan

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symmetal

symmetal

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Bryan, If you don't fancy soldering a D9 connector to the cut ethernet cable you can always use one of these adapters which have a wired RJ45 socket at one end wired to 8 D-type pins and a D9 shell. A standard ethernet cable then connects it to your Powerbox. You push the pins into the D9 shell in any combination you wish to make your adapter and then click-snap the shell into the casing. The cable colours are different to ethernet cable though so you have to check you have the right colours before pushing the pins home as once inserted you can't really remove them without a special tool. Any pins you don't want to use can be cut off and discarded or push the unconnected pins into the remainder of the D9 shell. It's best to insulate any unused cut off wires in the adapter casing to prevent any possible shorts although in your application that shouldn't be necessary as the unused RJ45 pins most likely aren't connected in the Powerbox.

RJ45-D9F.png.cc9926e9edec9c8fafb981d051c7a61c.png

It looks like there's room on your stepper box to fit it. A soldered D9 connector is preferable though as there is one less connection in the way to cause issues. 😀

Alan

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Stuart1971

Stuart1971

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25 minutes ago, symmetal said:

Bryan, If you don't fancy soldering a D9 connector to the cut ethernet cable you can always use one of these adapters which have a wired RJ45 socket at one end wired to 8 D-type pins and a D9 shell. A standard ethernet cable then connects it to your Powerbox. You push the pins into the D9 shell in any combination you wish to make your adapter and then click-snap the shell into the casing. The cable colours are different to ethernet cable though so you have to check you have the right colours before pushing the pins home as once inserted you can't really remove them without a special tool. Any pins you don't want to use can be cut off and discarded or push the unconnected pins into the remainder of the D9 shell. It's best to insulate any unused cut off wires in the adapter casing to prevent any possible shorts although in your application that shouldn't be necessary as the unused RJ45 pins most likely aren't connected in the Powerbox.

RJ45-D9F.png.cc9926e9edec9c8fafb981d051c7a61c.png

It looks like there's room on your stepper box to fit it. A soldered D9 connector is preferable though as there is one less connection in the way to cause issues. 😀

Alan

Or just buy the cable for £15....😀

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