Question for HEQ5PRO owners

[louie_the_fly]

I would like to replace the cable that connects the synscan controller to the mount. I'm not a fan of the original one. I think it's a bit crappy to say the least. I would like to put just a normal straight cable on. About 1m long. Is it just a normal network cable with a passive thingo on it? Is that a balun? I presume I would unclip it and put it on the new cable?

[MrB]

I think the EQ5 and 6 cables are the same, check this thread for a diagram:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=112041

[louie_the_fly]

Cheers Simon. the heq5 has the same connector on both ends whereas the heq6 has a different type on each end. according to the manual anyway. I never seen a heq6 in the flesh

[MrB]

Ah OK, I've never seen an EQ5 in the flesh :lol:

[04Stefan07]

If you want a custom cable made I highly recommend contacting here on the forums 'coldknights' (Cathy). They have made me 3-4 cables at any length I wanted. Great work and great to deal with!

[raymo]

I'm fairly sure that Andrews/and/or Bintel made up their own hand controller cables for the HEQ5, but I don't know if they are coiled or not. I think they were about $29. Give one or either of them a call. They made them up after several people had problems with their original cables,[poor
crimping]. The original cables actually have one unintended advantage.
If you are using a tall tripod and drop the hand controller, it comes to a gentle springy halt instead of a sudden jerky one, which can't be good for the connections at either end of the cable.
raymo

[louie_the_fly]

Will do. Thanks Stefan.

That'd be about the only good thing about the original cable.

[louie_the_fly]

Just ordered ta cable from coldknights. Thanks for the lead Stefan. :thumbsup:

[Steffen]

Actually, any straight-through cat5 Ethernet cable will work between the HEQ5Pro mount and the hand controller. Most network patch leads are stiffer and more unwieldy than the original coiled cable, but there are some nice flexible ones too, if you look around.

The wide-spread poor crimping issue with the original cable is easily resolved by sticking the plugs into an RJ45 crimping tool and giving them a good squeeze.

Cheers
Steffen.

[coldknights]

Cable made using 8 core flat black cable like the original cable !
Tested ,Packed , and ready to be posted Tuesday with a tracking number !

Thank you Stewart and others for your support ! :thumbsup::welcome:

[Astroman]

I had a Cat5/6 cable that went from mount to Handpad. Simple solution.

[04Stefan07]

That's ok.

I noticed the stock cable is pretty crappy. It's too curly (nuk nuk nuk :P).

[jenchris]

I quite like the curly cable even though its quality is a bit ordinary.

I can never get through when I call my mum though.
The keys are a bit odd though which makes texting hard - they don't go ABC on one and CDE on two etc. They have things like IC and M and NGC- really wacky......

[Steffen]

I also hate that it can't store any numbers...

[Camelopardalis]

That's because it'll only let you "phone home" :lol: