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!

18: EQDirect cable

I have used an EQDirect cable I made for my EQ6 mount, that mount has a DSUB 9 pin connector. To use it to this HEQ5 mount I made an adapter to RJ45 connector. Now I make a new cable that I can connect direct to the HEQ5 mount. You can read about my EQ6 cable here .

This is the adapter I made earlier, several times it have get loose. Better with a cable that connects direct with the RJ45 connector. But main problem is that the cable is too long for this setup, it risk to get stuck on protruding devices.

This is how the USB to TTL Volt 5 Volts cable looks before I cut the cable. The CTS and RTS signal isn't used in this case, not the VCC Voltage either.

I didn't have a correct tool to crimp the RJ45 contact direct to the cable and I instead use an old Ethernet cable that I cut and solder together with the TTL adapter cable.

Some information how to make the cable:

• http://eq-mod.sourceforge.net/ eqdirect2.htm
• https://incentre.net/ ethernet-cable-color-coding-diagram/

Note:
The Tx and Rx depends from which side you refer to. One device send out Tx and at the other end of the cable the other device receive it as an Rx signal, easy to mix them up. The 12 Volt supply wire isn't connected, the cable I have has the TTL level converter built into the USB connector and take the power from that 5 Volt. The red wire from the TTL adapter is 5 Volt, not 12 Volt. This cable has the FTDI chip, look carefully that it isn't a replica.

I tested the cable and it didn't work, maybe better to attach the connector direct on the cable and don't use a joint with an old cable.

I to be sure that I don't ix the wires I compare with the cable I already and work, I connect the wires on this new exact as the old one.

This time I have bought a new crimp tool for the RJ45 connector.

Now with a new RJ45 connecter mounted it looks professional. Connect it to the equipment and did a new test, it didn't work this time either, no connection. I have to buy a new TTL to USB adapter, something must be wrong with it.

Update:
Later I realized that this was one of many serial to USB serial adapter cable which has the faked circuits, faked chips, bad luck. I have three bad adapters in my collection. My GPS receiver has one too, but that is connected to a Linux system which can handle this problem. Most of them works with Windows 7 but can't handle Windows 8/10.