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.
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.
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.
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.....
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.
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.
found my configurations varied to much - ie piggyback, prime through the VC200L and prime through the wo66 required different cable lengths.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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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
