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Cable talk (with Linda Richman)
Dale Ghent
On Apr 10, 2021, at 12:47, Bryan R. <bross138@...> wrote:I personally prefer not to solder things anymore. While I'm pretty comfortable with my soldering skills, I prefer to skip that with cables because it makes fixes in the field more of an ordeal and I never have that 3rd hand when I need it. So, for power, I do crimped powerpole with an array of adapters that I make myself. For the typical 5.5/2.1mm or 5.5/2.5mm coaxial power plugs, I buy bags of premade connectors that have pigtails, and they're readily available with 18 awg wiring. Example: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079CKL6P9/ I take these, trim them down a little and crimp 15A powerpole ends on to them. Since I run a Pegasus UPBv2 with 5.5/2.1mm power sockets instead of a powerpole hub, I just have these at both ends and run a powerpole extension cable between them of appropriate length. I also make these out of a roll of 18 awg silcone jacketed zip wire. Pretty flexible and more than sufficient in the winter in my mid-Atlantic US temperate clime. All my powerpile/cabling stuff fits in a small fishing tackle box and I don't need a soldering iron (and power for it) to make anything I need when it comes to 12V DC. Crimper, stripper, knife, side cutters, and all my supplies fit nicely on a box that's easy to pack and doesn't take up much space: https://i.imgur.com/Gt68XsO.jpg For USB, I exclusively use L-com (l-com.com) cables now. They have a line of high-flex USB2/3 cables in various lengths that are really super nice to use, especially for through-mount cabling: https://www.l-com.com/usb-high-flex-usb-cable-assemblies They also have high-flex versions cat 5e/6/6a ethernet and HDMI. For ethernet and RS232 over 8p8c/twisted pair, I just crimp my own using wire and connectors sourced from wherever is handy at the moment; usually Monoprice. I use some leftover solid-core cat6 I have on a spool from wiring my house if the wiring isn't going to move much, otherwise I have some stranded-core cat5e. The only use of such cable I have is on my main rig where I made a cable to connect the focuser controller on my UPBv2 to the HSM35 that drives my 130GTX's focuser. This will go away soon, though, as it's all getting replaced with a Nitecrawler and that's just another 12V+USB2 wiring job. /dale
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APCC PRO and Virtual Ports
Ray,
I modified the sample horizon file you sent to me and now have the horizon for my location input into APCC PRO. But now I have a new issue. I have been using APCC Standard for years to control my AP1600 using SkyTools PRO V3 and now SkyTools V4 Imaging. I have the mount connected to the computer using the Serial/USB connection on COM3. I have two Virtual Ports created - COM6 and COM 12. I have been connecting SkyTools to the mount using ASCOM V2 Telescope Driver - v5.30.10 on COM12 and occasionally I get a lost communication error message, SkyTools shuts down, and I then have to restart SkyTools and reconnect it. I thought that maybe since I was on COM12, that was the problem. So I created COM31, went into the ACSOM V2 Telescope Driver setup for SkyTools, changed the COM port from 12 to 31, checked the port and it was found. But when I went to connect SkyTools to the mount, a connection could not be established. I eventually went back to COM12 and it connected right away. Any idea what the problem could be? I would like to use the higher COM numbers if possible. Yours truly, Jack Jack Huerkamp Jack's Astro Accessories, LLC 38388 Pine Street Pearl River, LA 70452-5192 985-445-5063 mallincamusa@... www.mallincamusa.com 30.37N 89.76W All of us get lost in the darkness. Dreamers learn to steer by the stars. ………………………………….Neil Peart -- This email has been checked for viruses by AVG. https://www.avg.com
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Re: Power cable conductor gage (AWG) of
I am a fan of Switchcraft DC jacks. They seem to be of much better quality than run-of-the-mill amazon stuff, bit easier to solder, and made in USA. Would like to hear that others have used for ethernet RJ45 connectors if fabricating their own patch cables as I do.
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Re: Power cable conductor gage (AWG) of
Eric Claeys
People talk about "high quality" cables and connectors. What are some examples/brands of high quality ethernet and USB cables? Are Power Pole connectors high quality?
Eric
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Re: Power cable conductor gage (AWG) of
Sébastien Doré
Thanks Greg. You are correct. But if you read carefully, you’ll see it’s basically what came out of the first posts of this thread.
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
CS! Sébastien
Le 9 avr. 2021 à 17:38, Greg McCall <emailgregnow@...> a écrit :
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Re: Power cable conductor gage (AWG) of
Sébastien Doré
Looks like this thread is turning into a “free advice” private club party. Where do I sign up? I wanna laugh too! ;)
Putting it back on track, thanks to Jack for his detailed recommendations. They were almost all on my check list but maybe not on everyone’s. My USB3 cables are no longer than 3ft from devices to hub and are good quality shielded TrippLite cable for the exact reasons you mentioned: signal integrity needs care at USB3 freqs.
All unused connectors are covered either by proper covers (or electrical tape until I get some).
The junction point of the mount power-wise will be with a harness cable I’ll make with PowerPole end terminals. One branch (to the mount) will be 18AWG and the other 16AWG to the PPBA via the TTM cable in the Mach2. The common end being a 14AWG (also terminated with PPole) to the battery.
No need for a distribution panel in my case, the PegasusPBA wired to the mount’s internal cabling does it all. I’ll try to post a pic of my setup if I get to wake up before dusk tomorrow. Now is imaging time! :) CS! Sébastien
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Re: Power cable conductor gage (AWG) of
Ah the suppleness  Don Anderson
On Friday, April 9, 2021, 01:48:09 p.m. MDT, Christopher Erickson <christopher.k.erickson@...> wrote:
At least nobody started talking about skin effect, nominal velocity of propagation, current NEC electrical code requirements, insulation dielectric characteristics, breakdown voltages, mutual inductance, impedance, hysteresis, magnetic fields, reluctance, EMI shielding, plating techniques, ductility, annealing, connector MTBF, connector insertion lifetimes, NEMA ratings, EMP, lightning protection, R-56 compliance, insulation color coding, insulation UV ratings, US vs. ISO specifications, suppleness....... On Fri, Apr 9, 2021, 9:36 AM Seb@stro <sebastiendore1@...> wrote:
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Re: Power cable conductor gage (AWG) of
At least Karen didn't ban me for my candidly-irreverent reply in the semi-recent "World's Greatest Secret" UFO conspiracy thread. I felt like I had really pegged the old Mirth-O-Meter with that one and was sort of sad to see the entire thread vanish. Probably just as well! "Always take the high road. There's less traffic!" Observatory Engineer Summit Kinetics Waikoloa, Hawaii
On Fri, Apr 9, 2021 at 2:09 PM Christopher Erickson via groups.io <christopher.k.erickson=gmail.com@groups.io> wrote:
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Re: Power cable conductor gage (AWG) of
Bill Long
You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
From: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> on behalf of Christopher Erickson <christopher.k.erickson@...>
Sent: Friday, April 9, 2021 5:08 PM To: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Power cable conductor gage (AWG) of Maybe I should apply with AP to be an emergency-alternate backup tech support geek...
...if they would let me work from my astro-cave here in Hawaii.
"My advice is always free and worth every penny!"
Observatory Engineer
Summit Kinetics
Waikoloa, Hawaii
On Fri, Apr 9, 2021 at 1:54 PM Eric Dreher <ericpdreher@...> wrote:
I laughed out loud at this one, Chris. I'm retired from AT&T and also hold an Extra class ham radio license. You tempted me. :)
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Re: Power cable conductor gage (AWG) of
Eric Dreher <ericpdreher@...>
You'll never know until you ask. :)
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Re: Power cable conductor gage (AWG) of
Maybe I should apply with AP to be an emergency-alternate backup tech support geek... ...if they would let me work from my astro-cave here in Hawaii. "My advice is always free and worth every penny!" Observatory Engineer Summit Kinetics Waikoloa, Hawaii
On Fri, Apr 9, 2021 at 1:54 PM Eric Dreher <ericpdreher@...> wrote: I laughed out loud at this one, Chris. I'm retired from AT&T and also hold an Extra class ham radio license. You tempted me. :)
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Re: Power cable conductor gage (AWG) of
That was an attempted inoculation. LOL "My advice is always free and worth every penny!" Observatory Engineer Summit Kinetics Waikoloa, Hawaii
On Fri, Apr 9, 2021 at 10:06 AM Daniel Marcus <DMa3141551@...> wrote:
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Re: Power cable conductor gage (AWG) of
Eric Dreher <ericpdreher@...>
I laughed out loud at this one, Chris. I'm retired from AT&T and also hold an Extra class ham radio license. You tempted me. :)
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APCC PRO and Telescope Control
I have been using APCC Standard for years to control my AP1600 using SkyTools PRO V3 and now SkyTools V4 Imaging.
I have the mount connected to the computer using the Serial/USB connection on COM3. I have two Virtual Ports created - COM6 and COM 12. I have been connecting SkyTools to the mount using ASCOM V2 Telescope Driver - v5.30.10 on COM12 and occasionally I get a lost communication error message, SkyTools shuts down, and I then have to restart SkyTools and reconnect it. I thought that maybe since I was on COM12, that was the problem. So I created COM31, went into the ACSOM V2 Telescope Driver setup for SkyTools, changed the COM port from 12 to 31, checked the port and it was found. But when I went to connect SkyTools to the mount, a connection could not be established. I eventually went back to COM12 and it connected right away. Any idea what the problem could be? I would like to use the higher COM numbers if possible. Yours truly, Jack Huerkamp
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Re: Power cable conductor gage (AWG) of
Greg McCall
Also, keep in mind it's not just the cable thickness by itself. The length of cable is also part of the equation (as well as if it's in a bundle, underground, if it's double insulated, etc.).
If you have a long cable run, you will need a thicker cable. The advice of checking the voltage drop with a multimeter is a good way of checking it. Check it under the load conditions such as with motors running, dew heater on max and camera cooler on max during initial warm-up all at the same time.
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Re: Mach2 Slew Speed, Power, and Voltage Question
#Mach2GTO
Greg McCall
Hi John,
That's excellent information and I much appreciate the detail. You have also raised something that I didn't consider yet with those popular power supply modules as I had not really seriously considered a 12v to 24v converter. You have also saved some effort in those current measurements so again, thanks for that detail. (I wonder what the 12v current is just operating the Mach2 at 12v. Something to watch next time. -- The AP spec of 5A minimum is not very helpful as you usually plan for a maximum both in power supply, cabling & fusing) My LiFePO4 batteries use 14.6v but I know I can set the max on my chargers if needed and the float voltage is 13.8. I also use a NUC with a 12v to 19v converter. It's designed to power a laptop in a car so I assumed it could handle at least the charge voltages of lead-acid. (just replaced the cigarette lighter plug with a powerpole connector) cheers Greg
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Re: About APCC and ISS tracking and PC Time
ap@CaptivePhotons.com
Are any of these using the 1 PPS feature of GPS for better accuracy than the serial data stream?
I’m not sure there is a practical difference but they all seemed to not have it, not sure if that’s a windows/USB thing, or just that they are a bit behind, or if there’s something expensive about it so it doesn’t show up in these products?
I went to buy one and felt like I was getting a CFL light bulb instead of LED – not awful, just not current.
From: main@ap-gto.groups.io [mailto:main@ap-gto.groups.io]
On Behalf Of drgert1 via groups.io
Sent: Friday, April 9, 2021 4:31 PM To: main@ap-gto.groups.io Subject: Re: [ap-gto] About APCC and ISS tracking and PC Time
@Dale & All,
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Re: Power cable conductor gage (AWG) of
Stone, Jack G
Migration of electrons have to exceed 740MHz to start migrating to the outer circumference of the conductor (depends on the conductor structure). So your USB or interface cabling should account for signal attenuation or at least understand for the 15’ USB3 what is the specification!!! Cannot go cheap on these – and ensure that they are well shielded, aluminum paper wrap is not shielding.
For the sake of our equipment – The mount will impart the largest di/dt. Taking into account the data collected based on the loading (load and Fulcrum (lever) – you can ascertain at some maximum skew rate and the amount of current sinked to mitigate violating the minimum voltage which can damage the instrument or throw off the accuracy.
That is the goal I would assume – taking into account the various loads from other devices; cameras, conversion factors, USB controllers and communication devices all have voltage limits. If you exceed that minimum voltage in any of these devices you can expect inoperability.
So understanding your power consumption and your input voltage vs. full load is the key goal I would suspect.
Minimalist path – use the thickest gauge with the highest strand count. Source a silicon based insulator (varmints for some reason will not eat) and ensure that you contacts are sealed from moisture. Sealed connects are important. From your power distribution panel to the equipment. Purchase the best interface cables you can afford – after spending that $8K on that camera only to use dollar store USB – you would induce all that noise from the transition out of the camera to your storage device. Does not make sense when you looking for that ultra low noise.
Cover unused connectors – at some point you might need them and if they are corroded it will impact the capability for the physical connection. Some use RTV or clear silicon caulking.
From: main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io>
On Behalf Of Seb@stro
Sent: Friday, April 09, 2021 1:12 PM To: main@ap-gto.groups.io Subject: Re: [ap-gto] Power cable conductor gage (AWG) of
Christopher,
I leave half of that work to the UL/CSA compliance guys.
And then, skin effect and velocity of propagation at 0Hz could be an interesting discussion... 😉
CS! Sébastien
De :
main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> de la part de Christopher Erickson <christopher.k.erickson@...>
At least nobody started talking about skin effect, nominal velocity of propagation, current NEC electrical code requirements, insulation dielectric characteristics, breakdown voltages, mutual inductance, impedance, hysteresis, magnetic fields, reluctance, EMI shielding, plating techniques, ductility, annealing, connector MTBF, connector insertion lifetimes, NEMA ratings, EMP, lightning protection, R-56 compliance, insulation color coding, insulation UV ratings, US vs. ISO specifications, suppleness.......
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Re: About APCC and ISS tracking and PC Time
drgert1
@Dale & All,
The app came for free with the GPS dongle. Not very sophisticated. Thus probably missing out on DST. I asked NMEATime2 about preferences of COM over USB vs BT. BT seems to be deprecated. More interesting the 2sec gap between Win10 clock and GPS. I had used the sync with network in the MSFT clock settings popup just 5min prior. Alas I probably hadn't let the GPS soak for long enough. Will try again. Ping for Ray : Any ideas about hand controller / joystick override for the ISS tracking ? Cheers, Gert
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Re: Power cable conductor gage (AWG) of
Sébastien Doré
Christopher,
I leave half of that work to the UL/CSA compliance guys.
And then, skin effect and velocity of propagation at 0Hz could be an interesting discussion... 😉
CS!
Sébastien
De : main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> de la part de Christopher Erickson <christopher.k.erickson@...>
Envoyé : 9 avril 2021 15:47 À : main@ap-gto.groups.io <main@ap-gto.groups.io> Objet : Re: [ap-gto] Power cable conductor gage (AWG) of At least nobody started talking about skin effect, nominal velocity of propagation, current NEC electrical code requirements, insulation dielectric characteristics, breakdown voltages, mutual inductance, impedance, hysteresis, magnetic fields,
reluctance, EMI shielding, plating techniques, ductility, annealing, connector MTBF, connector insertion lifetimes, NEMA ratings, EMP, lightning protection, R-56 compliance, insulation color coding, insulation UV ratings, US vs. ISO specifications, suppleness.......
_._,_._,_
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