Wiring up and Cable Managing Your Telescope Platform

Hi Folks,

When you have a lot of components mounted on your telescope platform you can end up with a real rat's nest of 12v power and USB cables.

Realistically - this kind of thing is always a work in progress as you add to or modify your telescope configuration. But I have developed an approach that seems to work for me, so I thought I would share it with the thought that it might give others some ideas as they wrestle with the same issues.

I posted this as an article on my website:

https://cosgrovescosmos.com/tips-n-techniques/wiring-and-cable-managing-your-telescope-platform-2

What are your favorite tricks for dealing with cable management?

Thanks for looking! Let me know if you have any questions.

Pat

Thanks for sharing your solution to this very real issue. In my case I don't have anything near to your clean way of wiring but I just want to comment that instead of using all black plastic ties I did use different colour plastic ties to identify, on both ends, if it is camera 1, camera 2, focuser and so on.
But as I said, it s not even closer to your nice and tidy system. (of course also labels can be used instead of colour plastic ties).
Cheers and CS !

Thanks - that's actually a good idea. I have had to strip this down to make major changes and trying to remember where things were routed after the fact is sometimes a challenge for the few brain cells I have managed to keep humming in my skull. Labels or color codes might really help there!

Pat

A couple of things:

* I used coloured velcro cable ties rather than the plastic ones as if I ever need to add or reroute a cable due to a change in kit it is so much easier to undo the velcro ties
* I use a split webbed cable sheath around all moving cables; with my mount/tripod there are more points where the trailing cables have the potential to catch/snag, however with a smooth sheath around them they just slide past obstacles like altitude/azimuth knobs

Andy,

Great adds! I used to do a lot of HAM radio work and got into using cable ties to control the cables there - so you tend to go back to what you are used to. But the velcro would make things easier to adjust over time and the sheath would reduce snag points even further!

Thanks,
Pat

I also use a plastic sheath to keep my cables as organized as I could. I also found that for a few cables, I used a coiled cable, instead of a straight. An example of this is going from my ASIAir Pro to my Main cam, It keeps it nice and tight, but will accommodate whenever my focuser needs to change focus. I also coiled my dew heater cables myself, as they were WAY too long for my setup. I only run the Orion ED80T CF, nothing larger… yet.

My ASIAir also can communicate to my mount through my mounts WIFI, which is so nice, as I don't need a long cable hanging down and connecting to my hand controller. This was a huge cable management breakthrough for me, as I only have one cable connecting my mount to my imaging train, which is a coiled 12V cable.

Like everyone else, my cables are always evolving. So I appreciate all the helpful tips as well!

Chase

I've attached a couple photos of my set ups that have evolved over the years. All the wiring is inside the one cable housing for all the different scopes I use. I've attached photos of a couple of them. One advantage to the QSI cameras is the filter wheel and off-axes guider are all incorporated into one unit with the camera. You can see under the tripod a plastic case which holds all the difference controllers for the different focus motors used for the different scopes. From the case I have one USB cable that runs to the computer. This was, everything is always ready, just a mater of plunging in the correct focus motor controller. (If I wanted to spend the money, I would get the same controller for all the scopes and eliminate a wire or two.)

THanks Chase!

I like the idea of the coiled cable - I leave slack in areas of movement - i.e. the focuser and rotator, but I never thought about coiled which would keep things snug. Thanks for the idea!

I am going to have to go back and add some of the good suggestions that folks are making to my article - thanks for the input!

Pat

Scott - super nice and clean set ups! Well done!

Pat

Thanks. Always something to tweak.

Just to add for those on a very restricted budget like myself:

* I really thought about buying one of those pegasus power/usb distribution boxes and put it onto the OTA to simplify cable management.
* It would have cost more than my OTA just to add this box!
* I would also have needed to purchase a new power supply for the pegasus box as none of mine would have been sufficient
* It would have added weight to my OTA and my mount is near its limit
* Because my autofocuser and filter wheel are USB-powered from my camera and my guiding camera only needs USB to power it, it wasn't going to help much.
* Without the power/usb box I have 5 cables that I have that will be moving rather than stationary (3 USB and 2 power). Adding the box would reduce that to 4 (2 USB and 2 power)
N.B. I have no dew heaters on my Newtonian

Bottom line: it's worth drawing out the cable runs on paper first to work out whether it is worth adding all that stuff to save one cable.

Now, if I had a bunch of dew heaters and a rotator that needed power that would be a totally different matter.

Andy - I completely agree with your perspective. There is no single right answer to doing this. The more ornaments you hang on your telescope "Christmas tree", the greater challenge you will have. Back when I first started and the platform was simpler, I had few cables and few cable challenges. But as you add to your platform, it can quickly become a challenge…

Pat

Often people think of mounting a powerbox or computer either on the OTA, or on the tripod.

One thing I found is the Pegasus Powerbox Advanced (but not the ultimate) would fit under my Saddle. Just barely. Here it doesn't have all its cables connected, but you can see the location. As the RA axis rotates it just barely clears the gear box.

In use it has 2 DC cables, 2 USB, and 2 Dew heaters connected to it running up to the OTA. Putting it at the back of the saddle made those runs shorter, except one dew heater to the front. The small wire and almost invisible (black on black) little grid covered box is the temp/relative humidity sensor.

(The blacked out ports are ones I do not want to accidentally use at night, covered in gaffer tape).

This could also be done with separate USB hub and/or dew heater controller.

This way I can swap OTA's without impacting the powerbox.

Gotta give a shout out to Ioptron and my new CEM70. Between the through mount wiring to USB and power ports built into the saddle and the external power and USB at the back of the RA axis, I have ZERO cables hanging off any moving part of the mount. Granted I'm a little component light – no onboard computing, only need one dew heater, and really need to get a rotator (for the OAG as well as framing) – but I think this is a step in the right direction. Not sure what the AP vs observer customer numbers are, but seems like mounts better designed for AP are due with all the power and data transfer needs built in (like the CEM70, but more…) if not computing as well. Backlash is also something that shouldn't be as much of an issue, even at the mid-range level, but that's another rant….

Cheers,
Scott

Hi Scott,

This is a great solution if you are not swapping OTAs on the mount. At one point I was putting different OTAs on the mount, and I was also setting things up in my driveway each night. Tripod and the mount could be carried out and then I would tote the OTA out and mount it on top. Having most of the cabling tied to the OTA made this much more convenient.

I still do that to this day - although now I have a telescope lifter/mover that lifts the entire scope assembly and then allows me to move it to its place on the driveway. With this arrangement - or if I had this mounted in an observatory - your approach - especially with that mount - would work perfectly!

Pat

Hey Pat,

Not yet to the multi-scope stage, but good point. At the moment I leave my mount out and covered (Telegizmos), but bring the OTA in. An 'observatory' of some sort is a project for this summer. But though I don't have much interest in observing vs imaging, I still like to hang out under starry skies as much as I can get away with (sleep and wife considered…) even when the temps get cold (below 0 F). My version of fly-fishing and the scope is the casting rod…. So, I'm not looking to do much more than a better cover that I'm comfortable leaving the entire rig under and am considering a roll away tool shed sort of thing. My best location, though, is my lawn (with sunken paving stones) which isn't particularly smooth, or flat, so the 'rolling' part of my plan may be challenging. I've also considered extending my deck to about the same spot, but that would involve a 15' cement column, which is a little intimidating construction-wise…..

Cheers,
Scott

I have some of the same equipment. I like what you’ve done here.

I have some of the same equipment. I like what you’ve done here.

That's an interesting approach to using a second plate - it certainly provides a nice clean space for mounting boxes and storing could of excess cable. Well Done!

Pat

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