How do you manage your cables?

[[1ponders]]

I would be interested in seeing/hearing about, how fellow astroimagers manage their cables and accessories (ie usb hubs, external hard drives etc). Not just when imaging but storage as well. Do you roll them and tie them using twist tie, do you keep them seperate and labelled in ziplock bags or do you have a tool tidy box with little labelled draws.

Not having a permanent setup and having to setup and pull down each time I image, I'm getting desperate and would love some ideas.

[matt]

Good post, Paul.

My set-up probably looks a bit like yours, if yours looks like an explosion of spaghetti!!!:lol:

[ballaratdragons]

Paul, I don't wind my cables up, they just stay in the Obs.

And a lovely tidy mess it is :lol:

I just went outside and took this pic for you :thumbsup:

[[1ponders]]

How do you get away with so few cable Ken :lol:

[ballaratdragons]

:lol:

The real mess is inside at the control room!!!!!

[[1ponders]]

Welcome to NASA 'eh. ;)

[Dennis]

Hi Paul

I leave cables attached to my docking station and stowed as in Fig 19 (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/image_zoom.php?show=M2NhMDQwMGU0MDQ xOTM5ZTAxMWViZWJiMjUwYzA0OGIuanBnP3 dpZHRoPSI3MzQiIGhlaWdodD0iNzY4Ig==) in this article (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/index.php?id=63,370,0,0,1,0). Otherwise, my approach and evolving system is as follows:


Coil the cables and tie them with Velcro straps.
Always keep each Velcro strap on the cable when uncoiled and in use, so you never misplace it.
I label each cable with a Dymo label if its identity could become uncertain due to it looking like some other similar cable.
I clamp the DMK and ST7 cable to the mount and then to the Saddle before routing to their respective end points.
I try not to route power and signal cables next to each other.

Cheers

Dennis

[[1ponders]]

I've started using the double sided velcro as well. Fantastic stuff. I've been putting off getting a dymo but all those ac adapters and cables are a pain. Looks like I'll have to bite the bullet.

[sheeny]

With fear and trepidation mostly!:lol:

I have come to dread that creaking sound as a cable gets caught between something on my mount as it slews (especially on meridian flips)... and when this happens I'm usually doing something else and it seems to be impossible to find a way to turn the thing off!!!:rofl:


But for storage:

My power cables are hanked and secured with velcro ties (permanently attached to the cable)
OTA dew heater cable is wrapped around the OTA and secured to the dew heater with a velcro tie/strip.
ToUcam cable is coiled and fits straight into the cutout in the foam lined case beside the camera
USB extension cable is coiled and into the case between the foam lid and all the rest of the gearIt's the managing the cables while the scope is slewing that gives me grief...:P

Al.

[[1ponders]]

Don't have that problem with an Argo Navis Al ;) Though I have had the odd snag up :(

[leon]

Unless impossible to do, all my cables and such are tied together in their proper order with cable ties, electrical tape or other fasteners, and i haven't tripped as yet. :whistle:

Leon

[Shaun]

I am not an astrophotograper so i can't know how many cables you are talking about or where they go, but can i suggest you get one of those heat shrink toobs put all your cables in it then use a low flame to shrink it.

[acropolite]

Ditto to the velcro ties, it's a good idea to keep things in plastic bags if you're transporting a lot. Plastic bags ate a good idea to stop everything from rubbing together and getting dirty. I carry around a lot of telephony stuff in the van, 3 months out of a plastic bag and you may as well throw them away, in a bag where they can't rub against each other and they're still like new 12 months later.

[jjjnettie]

I don't have too many cables with my basic setup. But to make things easier for me, on the ends of each cable is a flag that tells me where each end goes. eg. av in dvd, av out gstar. av out dvd, av in tv. etc Makes for a quick setup.
Velcro is a terrific invention. I have hot glued it in strategic places down and around the dob so the cables are secured and while not out of the way, I know where they are in the dark.
I'd take a photo to show you but I'm not allowed near my scope...sob..

[Ric]

I try to keep my cables neat and tidy in storage but they have this mysterious habit of all unrolling and joining each other.

The velcro sounds like a great idea, I'm off to buy some on Monday, thanks for the tip.

Cheers

[Dennis]

Our local Mitre 10 (Scurrs) sells 1.5 metre lengths of 12mm Velcro for around $6. They are advertised as Xmas tree light ties. I cut these to size and shape one end (taper) so I can easily unpeel the tie. The hooks are on one side, the loops on the other, so you can fasten the strap to itself.

Cheers

Dennis

[jjjnettie]

Dennis, you should be able to pick up the velcro for $2 at Crazy Clarks.

[[1ponders]]

You can buy 20mm*5m stick on hook and pad (1 roll of each in a box) for $34 at Big W. They also normally sell the double sided as well in 5 meter rolls for around $30 from memory (they didn't have any this morning when I went looking :mad2:) .

[Omaroo]

Yep - anther vote for the ubiquitous velcro cable tie.

$4.25 for a pack of 5 at Jaycar:

[KG8]

How about corrugated electrical conduit, comes in a slit or non-slit version from memory. It's basically a flexable hollow tube and you can feed all your cables into and hence run a single from scope to laptop. Then just coil it up at the end of the session.

[[1ponders]]

I like that idea!!!

[rogerg]

All my data cables I keep rolled up together. There's 5 that go from scope to car/PC. I roll them up and put them in one big ziplock style clear bag. That's quite neat.

When set up, I loop them on the scope's tripod such that if I snag them when walking around it doesn't rip them out of the control pad etc, i know the GM-8's tripod is strong enough to not budget in such a scenario.

I have them tied together with twist ties every metre or 2.

I am going to very shortly change from this though. I realised a while ago I can do away with all them and just have 1 USB from car to scope, with a hub at the scope. I can plug the various USB devices in to that at the scope, including RS232 <--> USB converters. That will mean significantly less cables, as the ones at the scope will be short. Currently I use 5m USB extension cables and RS232 cables between scope and car.

Cables are a bit of a nightmare sometimes. In the observatory I have worse problems and am trying to work out ducting to have 2 ducts - one for power and one for data, going around the particularly bad parts of the wall where there's 21 power plugs and countless data cables.

Roger.

[rogerg]

I don't think I'd use this because lots of dirt (sand and stuff) would get stuck in the grooves. I usually observe on paddocks and the like out in the country, and the sandy, grassy dirt combined with dew means I appreciate having smooth cables I can just hold a rag around while I coil them up.

A similar alternative might be 1/2" black poly retic trickle pipe, and manually cut a slit down the side yourself. That is smooth so could easily be wiped as rolling it up. But, it wouldn't coil as tight, probably about 1 - 1.5 foot diameter roll in the end.

Roger.

[Outbackmanyep]

The worst part about tying all the cables together it the weight from the cables on the plugs and sockets.....
I had a thoughtie about a free standing board/tower for my set-up which i can either fix some quick release white plastic clips to hold the cables between the telescope and the puter table, it would have to have a very sturdy base though, or could even be a pole driven into the ground at a convenient location between scope and table, it can allow the weight to be minimised and "tidy" at the same time....
Just a thought.....

[Dennis]

Another issue is that you may have a number of different cameras that you use, depending on celestial target. In my case:


DMK with a single Firewire Cable.
ST7E with a very stiff power cable, stiff 25 way Parallel cable and an RS232 Auto guiding cable.
Orion Deep Space Star Shooter with a USB2 cable and a Power cable.
Pentax *ist DS with a USB2 cable and a Power cable.

Whilst I do not use these all together, I find it effective to keep the cables coiled and attached to the docking station and power board in the hutch, so that I can relatively easily deploy the required cables depending on which camera I will be using. This means that it is not feasible for me to run the various cables in some conduit or cable tidy.

Cheers

Dennis

[ving]

manage cables.... I..... I dont :(

[JohnH]

Can't say mine are "managed" either - the best I can do is a usb hub on the mount - then I leave the cables/usb/serial converter etc looped/velcreod on the mount for storage.

I have one cable to the mount - usb to the hub, but then there is ethernet and phone type cable to the controller and power for the Canon 20d and Mount.

I use lots of velcro and cable ties. It does not look pretty. I did try conduit but gave up on it as I found my configurations varied to much - ie piggyback, prime through the VC200L and prime through the wo66 required different cable lengths.

[[1ponders]]

That is exactly what I'm finding. Depending on what the conditions are like and what I feel like imaging on any given night, keeping things sorted can be a bit of a head ache.

For storage of cables I'm thinking along the lines of a length of solid material/leather and stitch pockets to it. Then all the looped and tied cables can go into their own labelled pocket. I can then just unfold roll it and hang it somewhere convenient. I may even do something similar for the myriad of T/C/CS/SCT/webcam adapters one collects over time. But then that is another issue altogether. :lol:

[rumples riot]

Birds nest pure and simple. The sort where you trip up and curse the entire earth. Only great images from such chaos.

When I pack them up I put them together with the items they are used with. Like the filter wheel cables go with that.

[[1ponders]]

Well, it has started. I lashed out and bought a labeller the other day. Boy that thing is addictive. :lol:

[jjjnettie]

I recently purchased a set of 3 lidded plastic boxes with handles. Only $14.95 for the lot.
Now each camera and its associated cables, powersupplies and lenses are self contained and protected against knocks and bumps. Grab and go.

[montewilson]

As an Astro Imager I have had plenty of cable fights. These days my cables are much better behaved. See before and after pictures. Also I can't leave one behind which was always a risk in the old days. The trick is also to leave many portions uncovered by the tubing, this makes the loom quite flexible.

[Dennis]

A neat and tidy cabling loom Monte - an even nicer set up!

Cheers

Dennis

[[1ponders]]

Ditto to Dennis, very neat.

Maybe I should start a thread to support this one, but make it "The tidiest astroimaging setup - submit a photo" ;)

[bird]

in my case ...poorly :-)

Bird

[little col]

them cable trunks look like they do a great job , maybee i should invest soon as i can see an accident happening:eyepop:

[montewilson]

Here is a close up of it showing the ice in the morning at Ilford (ASNSW) at the last new moon weekend. Damn cold.

[little col]

:eyepop::eyepop: wow that looks quite cold :D

[montewilson]

Brrrr - I should be careful what I wish for. Only thre month before I was thinking we hadn't had a cold winter for a long time.

On the subject of cables I forgot to mention Bunnings sell the ratchet clips for cables. You can see one in the background of the icy photo. They are really cheap and come in a few sizes. They can bunch cables quickly and effectively.

[little col]

:shrug: never heard of bunnings myself , but i think i will be taking atrip to maplins in an hour to get these cable tidys purchased while the weather is bad , these clouds and rain is driving me insane:screwy: