Finished wiring and general set-up

Cloudy today but not raining. I worked in the dome much of yesterday and today, and finished the cabling of the gear — at least for now. (I suspect this is one of those chores that is never finished.)

• All the multitude of devices with wires on the scope (cameras, guider, focuser, filter wheel, etc.) are cabled along the scope and mount body to minimize dangling.
• The platform between the plates on the SkyShed Pier top section makes a great place to put permanent connection points, so in there I put a USB hub (which means I only have to one run USB cable to the computer), the focuser hub, the USB-to-serial convertors, etc. Each is fastened in place with velcro.
• This left only 6 cables that need to go from the mount to the electronics bay — several power cables and the single USB. These all run down the side of the pier, held in place with peel-n-stick cable guides, then through “wiring channels” fastened to the floor.

It required lots of hand rotation of the mount on both axes to work out the right amount of slack in the cables so the mount can go through its range of motion without snagging. I’m very pleased with the results — the interior seems much tidier and more spacious without all the dangerous dangly bits.

I also checked various optical surfaces for cleanliness after the terrible spotting I saw on last week’s image tests, and carefully cleaned a few.

Next clear evening I’m looking forward to some new test images, this time with the filter wheel and flat frame box back in action.