Show us your cable management setup!

[AlexN]

I am starting to accrue a hell of a lot of cables on my setup, and have started planning ways to manage it all..

As usual, I thought I'd head the the best available source of info I know (THIS MEANS YOU!!)

So, That in mind, I'd like to see pics of everyones cable management for their imaging or observing setups. It would be very beneficial to my planning and I think could also be useful to many other people, whether just starting out.. or a seasoned cable tangler.

Cheers to all who participate....

Alex.

[montewilson (Monte)]

I got this tubing from Jaycar and provided you dont put too many cables in it, its a good performer. Note how I ran it along the mount, I did this and it improved my pointing quite a bit as compared to having it hanging off the back of the camera.

[Terry B]

I just have them dangling but it would be better to put them together with ties.
I would keep the signal cable from my camera separate as I find that I get interference if it is next to any of the power cables.

[Ric]

What cable management , none to speak as yet but that is only because I still setup and then tear down at the end of the night.

Once I have an Obs it will be a totally different story then.

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

One thing I am doing is trying to find as many cables as I can with soft silicone insulation rather than pvc or some other plastic. Belkin make a range of silicone insulated cables.

Why? The plastic ones become incredibly stiff at low temperatures, adding resistance to the natural movement of the head in RA. The silicone ones don't.

[Astrod00d]

I started out with trailing cables and that always caused problems in the dark and cold.
Now I try to keep my cabling well organized and as modular as possible.
The QHY8 power supply and a home-made USB hub/power management box are attached to the EQ6 body using velcro.
Dew heater, camera and guider USB cables loop up to the dovetail. Everything plugs in one side, in logical sequence.
Minimum cabling from the mount to the ground: Power cable to a 100AH battery and a single USB cable to the laptop.
All cables are secured with velcro ties.

[gregbradley]

Nice solution Monte.

I am interested in this as well as my cables were getting to be a mess of stuff.

I used black electrical tape to tape the cables for the different cameras separately.

In my case in one setup, I have a camera, a filter wheel both with power supply and USB 2 cables, then a guiding camera with 3 cables.

So I taped the camera and filter wheel cables in one bundle and the guide camera in another.

A common power supply/USB hub would be nice.

I believe there is a company that makes these in the US. From memory it is called Astrohub.

Greg.

Originally Posted by montewilson

I got this tubing from Jaycar and provided you dont put too many cables in it, its a good performer. Note how I ran it along the mount, I did this and it improved my pointing quite a bit as compared to having it hanging off the back of the camera.

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

You've seen my setup Alex, stick on velcro (and lots of it, the soft pad to the scope and mount and the hook pad to accessories) and velcro wrap around the cables. Works a treat.

[theodog (Jeff)]

My cable set-up.
Doesn't look the best, but I can identify all of them in the dark.
They all trail back to the pivot point of the mount with plenty of play for movement.
As its in an observatory, I have all cables for my detectors allways there. Makes it simple to change instruments quickly.
I also have a small dog and angry cat that often join me observing and, as yet, they have not entangled in anything.

[AlexN]

Originally Posted by gregbradley

I believe there is a company that makes these in the US. From memory it is called Astrohub.

Greg.

The item is called Astrohub. its from Aquest . (I love google)

Looks the goods to me... They also have a few other items that could be useful..