Cable Management

[Marine Bio]

Hi everyone.

I'd be really keen to see how people manage their cables? Any tips/pictures of good routing or solutions to avoid snags and the general look of Spaghetti would be really helpful. How do you keep cables tidy but ensure there is still enough slack so they don't pull taught when the scope slews?

 

I'm working with an EQ6-Pro, SW 120ED, camera and a couple of dew heaters, but good examples from any setup would be useful. I expect the number of cables to increase as I slowly improve my rig so getting it in hand now is sensible I think. 

Thanks in advance to you all.

[M40]

Mine just go everywhere, but the best I have seen was someone who had an asiair on the ota then mostly very short cables between device and asiair. If you can mount your equipment on the ota, this is definately the way to go. All the best.

[MonsterMagnet]

I found this very useful indeed for tidying up my cables:

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1619864871/zwo-asiair-vixen-rail-mount-fits-pro?ref=cart

Allows the Asiair to be mounted (I have it at the top of the vixen under the scope) close to the  mount and then run the cables to camera, EAF etc through these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07FW3GTXB?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

I try and use the shortest cables I can so the EFW and guide camera are actually routing through the two USB slots in the ASI2600MM.

Mine was a complete mess until I made these changes.

MM

[Marine Bio]

3 minutes ago, MonsterMagnet said:

I found this very useful indeed for tidying up my cables:

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1619864871/zwo-asiair-vixen-rail-mount-fits-pro?ref=cart

Allows the Asiair to be mounted (I have it at the top of the vixen under the scope) close to the  mount and then run the cables to camera, EAF etc through these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07FW3GTXB?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

I try and use the shortest cables I can so the EFW and guide camera are actually routing through the two USB slots in the ASI2600MM.

Mine was a complete mess until I made these changes.

MM

Thank you. An Asiair is my next intended purchase and sounds like this will solve a lot of my issues. 

[wongataa]

When routing cables manually move the relevant axes to make sure you have enough slack to allow the full rang of movement.

I use Velcro cable ties and cable clips on the mount to make the cabling neater.

[Ratlet]

You might want to consider some 90 degree elbow connectors if going for super short cables.  I had a near miss last year with my camera where the mount rotated too much and put a fair bit of strain on the cable.  A 90 degree connector would just pull the cable out if there was too much tension.  

[Vroobel]

I use both ASIAir and a small PC with NINA for 4 different setups. Now every setup has its cables 'permanently' tied with velcro, I only place and connect the computer and a dew heater controller. 3 of 4 my setups have several Vixen bars around to use with a ZWO ASIAir Vixen clamps (FLO). I use them to attach the devices and guiders. I use a lot of velcro for the cables' excess if any is too long and also here the extra Vixen bars are very useful. Always only two cables go down: a 12V power cable and an USB one connected to a mount. Another 12V power cable goes upwards from a PSU to the mount, but it's not related to the setup. I use a kind of extending rod if the setup is 'too short' and there is a risk of snagging.

BTW, two Xbox 12V 16A PSUs supply my Celestron CGX and SW EQ5 OnStep GoTo. All 12V joints are made using an aviation GX16 2-pin male/female connectors.

I hope it is helpful anyhow. 

 

[ollypenrice]

I'm not a fan of mini-computers on the scope. I host six remote instruments and have replaced a lot of them for their owners. For long term reliability I like an observatory desktop with a lot of USB ports and I gather the cables at the dovetail and at the top of the counterweight bar and let them hang from there. Clearly this isn't a portable solution.

Olly

Edited March 24 by ollypenrice
typo

[Vroobel]

3 hours ago, ollypenrice said:

... I gather the cables at the dovetail and at the top of the counterweight bar and let them hang from there. Clearly this isn't a portable solution.

Olly

 

That's another clever solution, I have to look how it works. 

Edited March 24 by Vroobel

[saac]

6 hours ago, Vroobel said:

I use both ASIAir and a small PC with NINA for 4 different setups. Now every setup has its cables 'permanently' tied with velcro, I only place and connect the computer and a dew heater controller. 3 of 4 my setups have several Vixen bars around to use with a ZWO ASIAir Vixen clamps (FLO). I use them to attach the devices and guiders. I use a lot of velcro for the cables' excess if any is too long and also here the extra Vixen bars are very useful. Always only two cables go down: a 12V power cable and an USB one connected to a mount. Another 12V power cable goes upwards from a PSU to the mount, but it's not related to the setup. I use a kind of extending rod if the setup is 'too short' and there is a risk of snagging.

BTW, two Xbox 12V 16A PSUs supply my Celestron CGX and SW EQ5 OnStep GoTo. All 12V joints are made using an aviation GX16 2-pin male/female connectors.

I hope it is helpful anyhow. 

 

 

 

I like the way you have the DSLR setup there with the use of cable tidy, very neat. I've gone for short USB cables with right angle connectors on my RedCat setup, also using the ASiAir but was considering using one of the 3D print cable tidy system.  I take it the camera lens is focussed manually - is it just a matter of setting it to infinity and leaving?

Jim 

[Vroobel]

Thanks. The effort put in the cable management gives back twice in form of a piece of mind. 

I have 3 ZWO EAFs, but this time I didn't decide to buy another one. I designed and printed a Bahtinov mask which isn't as convenient as the EAF but I can perform the focusing in around 5 moves. Another EAF would be just an overkill. It would be even more complex, as I can replace the Canon and Sigma lens set with an ASI2600MC and e.g. Carl Zeiss Jena 135mm lens which I recently bought from the SGL fellow, another set of cables is already there. 

[Mr_Cat]

3d printer helping out with my tidiness  / cable management

[Marine Bio]

On 24/03/2024 at 15:57, Vroobel said:

I use both ASIAir and a small PC with NINA for 4 different setups. Now every setup has its cables 'permanently' tied with velcro, I only place and connect the computer and a dew heater controller. 3 of 4 my setups have several Vixen bars around to use with a ZWO ASIAir Vixen clamps (FLO). I use them to attach the devices and guiders. I use a lot of velcro for the cables' excess if any is too long and also here the extra Vixen bars are very useful. Always only two cables go down: a 12V power cable and an USB one connected to a mount. Another 12V power cable goes upwards from a PSU to the mount, but it's not related to the setup. I use a kind of extending rod if the setup is 'too short' and there is a risk of snagging.

BTW, two Xbox 12V 16A PSUs supply my Celestron CGX and SW EQ5 OnStep GoTo. All 12V joints are made using an aviation GX16 2-pin male/female connectors.

I hope it is helpful anyhow. 

 

That cable routing is simply....beautiful! Thank you