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Post by scopesnc on Jan 17, 2016 17:52:18 GMT
OK. After years of doing video astronomy I'm looking for a better answer. LOL Wait let me stop laughing. How do you route your cables? Pictures help a lot. I have tried many different ways over the years and found I'm never happy with any of my solution. Jim T
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2016 19:34:15 GMT
Cable management is the term. You have to reduce movement to a minimum by attaching the wiring close the axis points of the moving parts of the mount. Create a loop from the attachment point(s) to the device connector. The loop is long enough to allow full motion of the device without putting strain on the connector. As the mount moves the cable bundle rotates with it. Never let the cables drag across the floor or ground. Use a mast at the equipment end if necessary. Take a look at the mount wiring on my website. More wire there than most have to deal with but they have never tangled or caught on anything in all the years I've used the setup. This is a fork mount but the method will work as well with an equatorial. I use Velcro ties at the attachment points and at every few feet along the wires to keep them bundled. The ties should not be tight because that makes the bundle very ridged. You want the individual cables to be able to slide a bit through the ties. This allows the bundle to be flexible. The worse thing one can do is to just allow the cables to hang off the connectors without any support. That is a disaster waiting to happen. www.mts.net/~lmlod/Observatory.html
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Post by scopesnc on Jan 18, 2016 3:11:59 GMT
Cable management is the term. You have to reduce movement to a minimum by attaching the wiring close the axis points of the moving parts of the mount. Create a loop from the attachment point(s) to the device connector. The loop is long enough to allow full motion of the device without putting strain on the connector. As the mount moves the cable bundle rotates with it. Never let the cables drag across the floor or ground. Use a mast at the equipment end if necessary. Take a look at the mount wiring on my website. More wire there than most have to deal with but they have never tangled or caught on anything in all the years I've used the setup. This is a fork mount but the method will work as well with an equatorial. I use Velcro ties at the attachment points and at every few feet along the wires to keep them bundled. The ties should not be tight because that makes the bundle very ridged. You want the individual cables to be able to slide a bit through the ties. This allows the bundle to be flexible. The worse thing one can do is to just allow the cables to hang off the connectors without any support. That is a disaster waiting to happen. www.mts.net/~lmlod/Observatory.htmlLike the roll off roof you built. Very nice. Thank you for the input and advice on the cable management. Jim
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Post by Dragon Man on Jan 18, 2016 5:48:49 GMT
G'day Jim, I make sure my cables are taped together into a Loom instead of all being loose, and then drape them back to a point near the Mounts 2 axis. Because I leave my mount permanently outside I also run the loom underground so no-one can trip on it. Cables allowed to slightly hang from the camera. They aren't under any stress at the connections: As you can see in this next photo the cables are held near the axis points by some velcro strap: The completed job:
and then the cables (except 240v Mains) run underground as explained here: astrovideoforum.proboards.com/thread/1330/buried-cables
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Post by Rick in NWArk on Jan 18, 2016 22:28:21 GMT
The worse thing one can do is to just allow the cables to hang off the connectors without any support. That is a disaster waiting to happen. *cough* *cough* Hey, look over there, is that a bigfoot?
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Post by scopesnc on Jan 19, 2016 7:55:41 GMT
Ken
Thanks for the pictures . Pictures do help a lot.
I have done something in the past very close to that.
Jim
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