Project:
HEQ5 as portable mount

Contents:

1. Introduction
2. EQDIRECT from D-sub to RJ45
3. Power terminal of HEQ5 changed
4. Installing the 300 mm lens on HEQ5
5. Rewiring the electric cables
6. Connecting the Raspberry
7. Setup GPSD
8. Setup GPS NMEA
9. Power consumption
10. Battery power cables
11. Tweaking auto guiding parameters
12. Rowan Belt Modification Kit
13. Making the tripod to a low rider
14. Redesign of mount head details
15. Raspberry Pi4 bracket
16. Brackets: temperature sensor, spirit level and stepper motor
17. Transport box
18. EQDirect cable
19. Brackets reinforced and adapt it to EQ6
20. Cut the length of the GPS cable
21. HEQ5 and TS130 refractor ?
22. To be continued

Related projects:

1. HEQ5 as portable mount
2. Pentax 645 300 mm ED IF f/4 lens
3. KStars / EKOS and Raspberry Pi4

Note:
I take no responsibility or liability for what are written here, you use the information on your own risk!

2: EQDIRECT from D-sub to RJ45

This is the connector that is different from the EQ6 mount. It's a telephone / internet plug, a RJ45 eight pin connector. The EQ6 mount has a 9-pol D-sub connector.

I followed this instruction how to connect the cable:

• http://eq-mod.sourceforge.net/ eqdirect2.htm

I had one RJ45 cable with a broken contact. I can use the working end of it and connect to the EQDIRECT cable I already have but with wrong contact, the 9-pol D-sub which EQ6 mount use.

First I check that the plug on the cable is mechanically correct.

The network cable is a bit stiff and I cut it short.

The old EQDIRECT cable I already have is an USB to 9-pol D-sub cable, this is the connector that I have to replace. On the other end it's USB terminal with built-in FTDI chip.

I open the enclosure, there are only three cables in there:
Green wire, RX connected to pin 6.
White wire, TX connected to pin 9.
Black wire, it's the common ground connected to pin 4 and 5.
RX is the receiver and TX is the transmitter cable.

According to the instructions above I should have a 12 Volt wire also, but there is no one here, I don't see what need it can be of it either. The chip must take the 5-volt power from the USB connector.

The pin layout of 9-pol D-sub:

• https://www.virtual-serial-port.org/ article/ what-is-serial-port/ rs232-pinout/

Note:
The function of each pin is different in this case.

Now I only have to connect cables to each other. Follow the first link and this how to connect them.

RJ45 pin layout:

• https://satoms.com/ ethernet-cable-pinouts/

Note:
The colors of the cables can be different.

I install a short bit of shrink tube on each wire and a big one around the whole cable. Important to not heat the shrink tube when soldering the cable. I try to protect it from heat with the crocodile clamp.

Second wire soldered.

The wire I don't use I keep, put a shrink tube on top of each to not make any short cut between them.

The outer shrink tube shrinked and the cable is finished.

I bought this cable from a friend who had lot of problem with the communication over it, and another friend to me made this cable. We are not sure what caused this problem, if I also get in trouble I found this link that will be of great help:

• https://indilib.org/ forum/ mounts/ 6464-heq5-no-go-with-eqdir-only-with-pc-direct-handset-any-ideas.html

I took apart the USB contact to see what's inside.

With Windows system this driver is recommended for this cable, it has the FTDI chip:

• https://ftdichip.com/ drivers/ vcp-drivers/