Cable runs for an EQ Mount

[Astroman]

Hi guys,

Was looking for this but couldn't locate anything.. Probably just me.. Anyway, I am looking for the best way to run cables on an EQ Mount. I have the HEQ5Pro with refractor (soon to be newtonian) and DSLR camera on it, I also use EQMOD. Can you guys with Observatories be able to take pics of your cable runs and how you tidied them up on the mount, looking for ideas to do mine.

[Meru]

Excellent question Andrew,

I bought my umbilical cord from Jaycar (http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=WH5654&form=CAT2&SUBCATID=996#1) but can easily be bought anywhere, including ebay. 32mm is enough to have approx 4 (pushing it with 5) USB cables. It was seriously a god send! I will try to take a pic tomorrow and show you what it looks like. I have found a few anchor points on the mount where I wrap velcro around and the whole scope can swing in any direction and there is no issues with the cord dragging or catching.

Just today I also bought a 50L box and put all my PSUs, USB cables, Extension board and CCD items into it. I bought a USB hub as well so the umbilical cord runs to it. All I have to do is take the box outside and have one USB cable to my laptop, one power plug to the wall and one cord to the telescope. I used to spend about 20minutes just wiring every damn thing up but now it takes less than 4 minutes (this includes securing the cord with velcro).

I suppose since you have an obs then the box really isn't necessary but I'll post a few pics of the umbilical cord and how I tied it to the mount.

[Lee]

This is what I've got happening at the moment with my EQ mounted newt.... seems to be working ok.... I've cable-tied the main umbilicus at the rear of the scope dovetail, and left enough slack so I can slew anywhere without running out... I should shorten the main lot a bit though - unnecessary weight at present I think. I'd also like to either put the Gemini box elsewhere, or rig up some sort of deflector, cables tend to snag across it at times....
Lee

[Astroman]

Thanks guys, appreciate the time you took to reply, some good replies and some good ideas too. Will have a look at all the cables and see if I can get them in a similar way.

[WingnutR32]

Andrew, just from previous experiences, I had a HEQ5 Pro and tried to tidy up my cables in the observatory. Whilst I made it all nice and tidy, it created a headache for me, due to cable interference causing my mount to just randomly slew.

Not saying to not tidy up, just something to keep an eye on if things start playing up after.

[Meru]

No worries Andrew,

Here's a pic of my setup. Where I've circled in red is where the velcro is. The way the cord goes under the first dovetail screw and then above the second is to make sure that the weight of the cord coming down the mount doesn't pull on the cord attached to the CCD. The scope can swing in any direction and have never had issues with the cable catching. The arrows are additional points where you could also tie.

[Astroman]

np Sam, will be checking it all, shouldn't get any interference I hope, but one never knows. Thanks Meru for the image, similar to what I do now without the cable wrap though, just looks untidy without it.