dawson Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 I got an electronic focuser for my telescope of ebay a few weeks ago, image below: http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTA2NFgxNjAw/$%28KGrHqJHJDUE63ZS!6ZbBPuQ5SLwIg~~60_35.JPG It's a bit Heath Robinson, but it was £30 and it it's pretty handy. A ring goes around the OTA and on that ring is a motor which loops around the focus knob. The motor has a 3.5mm (ear phone) socket which the controller plugs into. The controller is a little Tupperware box with some electronics in and 3xAA batteries, and on the outside is the speed knob and the focus knob (left or right toggle switch). The lead is just too short. I got a 5m extension lead from the bargain section at Maplin the other day for £2, but as expected there isn't enough juice in the circuitry to now power the motor. How can I get around this? Can I some how run the handset and the motor (5m away) off the power pack via a 12v cigarette lighter and some kind of step-down device? I did GCSE electronics a few years ago (circa 1989) and I'm OK with a soldering iron, but haven't got a clue what to do with it. Any cheap ideas? Thanks James (from a now very cloudy West Bridgford) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bagman Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 Suspect the extention lead is for audio and hence the cables will be quite small, with large voltage drop for power. Can you fit the plug and socket to a length of mains cable? Chris (From snow covered Old Tupton) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Graham Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 As above but use speaker cable or bell wire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawson Posted March 11, 2013 Author Share Posted March 11, 2013 I can have a go. I'll get soldering. If you see a flash of light, it's either PANSTARRS in over drive or i've got positive and neutral the wrong way around again JD (Less cloudy now but i'm saving myself for Wednesday night) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawson Posted March 11, 2013 Author Share Posted March 11, 2013 Does polarity matter? James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bagman Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 I would suspect yes, if its a 2 core connection like to be safe except drive direction will be reversed. If 3 core could bang! Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bagman Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 Engauge brain, will probably require correct polarity for electronics in controller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawson Posted March 11, 2013 Author Share Posted March 11, 2013 Ok, i'll get some speaker wire tomorrow and give that a go. Thanks James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawson Posted March 12, 2013 Author Share Posted March 12, 2013 Great. I got 10m of Maplin's cheapest cable wire (49p / m) and male and female 3.5mm connectors and have just soldered them up, and it all works! Maplin-boy was very helpful too. Thanks for the advice. Really helpful. I forgot to put the sleeve on the wire before I soldered the connections, but luckily I hadn't soldered the other end so just threaded it over from the other end. I'm really not cut out for this DIY lark Thanks again James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawson Posted March 12, 2013 Author Share Posted March 12, 2013 I dripped a bit of superglue down the sleeve as it wasn't that tight around the lead and I wanted to secure it in place. The female jack hole is now filled with solid super glue. That was a daft thing to do. Luckily it was only £1.03, so I'll do mark 2 tomorrow. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawson Posted March 13, 2013 Author Share Posted March 13, 2013 All fixed. Though i again forgot to put the sleeve on the wire before soldering the connections so had to cut it off and do it again! Doh! James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 James .... get a grip lad.... lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RonC Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 'More haste, less speed' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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