Celestron CG5 hand control / auto-guide cables

[g__day]

Guys after a bit of study I've made a few of these now. The Auto-guider cable is straight forward, and the hand controller isn't too difficult once you've sorted out all the wiring, know how to wire a serial port adapter and have all the crimping and testing tools.

After making some cables for Louwai yesterday, I thought I raise my hand and offer if anyone else needs some drop me a line and I can turn them around quickly - pretty much at cost of materials plus postage.

So if anyone is in need bear in mind I'm happy to do these (especially if its just crimping and pin out checks to a clear wiring diagram).

Bear it in mind if you need it, cheers!

[sheeny]

Thanks mate! I've got you in mind if I need 'em!

Al.

[g__day]

What I might also do is post a how to guide, I just find this kinda thing annoying when you can't find clear instructions of what you need.

It's as simple (or as hard) as:

Equipment

1. Crimping tool (about $60 at Jaycar)
2. Narrow 4 pin heads (US Modular Plug 4P4C) and 8 pin heads (US Modular Plug 8P8C) (about $6 for each pack of 5 at Jaycar)
3. Length of 4 pin flat cable - less than a dollar a metre
4. Multi-metre (to test resistance - cheap as $10 at Jaycar)
5. 8 - pin LAN to 9 pin serial converter (around $8 at Jaycar)
6. Some insulating tape - only need an inch!

Cable Construction Process

The only tricky part of all this is mating the 4 pin wire exactly in the centre of the 8 pin cable (so there are two empty wire slots either side of the 4 pin wire in the 8 pin connector).

Well cut your pieces of wire to the desired length with the crimping tool (allow an extra foot if you think mistakes are likely crimping).

Cut off about 7 mm of the outer insulation covering the 4 pin wire with the crimping tool's stripping end. Once your finished the 4 inner wires are revealed by their insulated coloured plastic cover - going black, red, green and yellow. Note none of these four wires are at all visible, you haven't stripped the wire cable to the wire. The only copper you can see is the pin prick at the very end where you've cut each strand.

Set the multi-metre to 2000K ohm - it will read 1 if there is no circuit and should be 0 if current flows readily. Touch the testing pins of your multi-metre to each of the four ends of your wire to check current flow througout the cable yellow to yellow, red to red, black to black and green to green. Next check each of the four ends against its 3 non matching colours to check current can't flow - a test to see there are no shorts!

The wire is now ready for mating to the plastic connectors that look like LAN cable end.

With the modular plugs in front of you, gold side up and gold contacts pointing away from you the wires go in so that the yellow wire is always on your right and the black wire is on your far left (see pictures).

Insert the 4 pin wire snuggly into the 4 pin modular head and crimp it hard with the crimping tool 3 or 4 times to ensure a clean contact. Now do the same with the other end of the wire into the eight pin connector. Be very careful to align by eye the best you can the four wires over the centre 4 pins, leaving 2 vacant pins either side. Crimp hard a few times and lets test.

With your multi-metre test resistance of the 4 pins again via the plugs to see there is great current flow and no shorts. If there isn't flow in one or two of the wired pins - put the modular head back into the crimping tool and re-crimp hard. If this fixes it great - else its cut off the end you guess is at fault and try again.

Serial Converter Wiring

Now with the wire sorted its time to wire the serial converter. Pleasingly the tricky part of the soldering is done for you. All you have to do is separate its wires into black, red and yellow and everything else. Take the everything else group and wrap insulating tape around the wire plug ends and push these back inside the plug body - you won't need these.

Before we insert the black yellow and red plugs into there slots test your wiring again. Insert the 8 pin plastic modular head into the rear of the converter. Now use your multi-metre to test a good circuit and now shorts between your 4 pin head gold connectors (three of the four leads) and your three pin outs! All should be well else you've got a bad converter!

FGiven all's well lets just finish the job with the three remaining wires in th eserial converter. You simply have to push the correct wire into the correct numbered slot holes in the nine pin out header as follows:

Black -> Hole 2
Yellow -> Hole 3
Red -> Hole 5

Now before you simply push this plug into the serial converter to finish the job!


All done!

* * *

On the software side - Windows:

Under Windows -> Control Panel -> System -> Hardware -> Device Manager -> Ports -> Communications Port 1 -> Port Settings

Your com port should be set to at least 9600 baud, Data 8 Bits, Parity None, Stop bits 1, Flow Control - don't think it matters

If you're USB -> com port - may not matter

Installing and Configuring ASCOM Astronomy software

Download ASCOM package and install.
http://download.ascom-standards.org/ascom41.exe

Then download the ASCOM Celestron drivers and install
http://ascom-standards.org/download/CelestronDriver4215.exe

Next get CDC and install
http://www.astrosurf.com/astropc/cartes/prog/cdcbase276.exe

Run CDC - set your date time latitude and longitude
then go Telescope -> Select scope interface and Select ASCOM
Next go Telescope -> Configuration Panel -> Select Celestron Telescopes from the pull down box then click properties under Scope Type - select your OTA / Mount like Advanced C8 / SGT I had not GPS so left that unset, Serial Port I selected as COM1, Track Mode EQ S, Show hand controller, then check your sites Elevation, Lat and Longitude and press OK to properties, then ok to ASCOM Telescope Chooser

Now down the bottom of the ASCOM Telescope Interface 1.1 panel which should still be open press connect. After 1-3 seconds you should see RA and DEC appear - which means success! Press Hide and get ready for Gotos.

On the Far right border (vertical) of CDC press SCOPE and SHOW and TRACK - a circle appears where the scope is pointing. Move the mouse to a star or nebula, left click on it and its name will appear, then right click on it and scroll down and select goto! Should slew to where you clicked.

If the pointing is a bit out nudge it with the hand controller or the on
screen display and when its good right click again on your object and select SYNC - it will ask for a confirmation that the scope is pointing to this
object and on Yes will reset its sky model to reflect this.

You can re-sync several times in a night - especially if you work in
quadrants and move along way across the sky.

[g__day]

Just a few more piccys