Can anyone tell me if they know of a source for a flexible Cat-5 cable ? I want to start using a Cat-5 cable instead of the USB cable to connect my camera to my laptop and I am concerned that the normal Cat-5 cables which are very stiff might cause guiding issues.
Hopefully someone will chime in with a suggestion on a cable source. If you live in area with cold winters you should consider cables that have Teflon / PTFE insulation, as they don't get stiffer at low temperatures. Here are some general guidelines on camera cabling - it goes for everything connected to the eyepiece end of a telescope: Do not let the cable simply drag off the camera - that will indeed cause major guiding problems. Tie off the cable to the telescope tube near the axis. This will minimize the lever arm that the cable can exert on the telescope. (This is the most important point!) You do not necessarily need to tie down the cable to the mount / pier, but make absolutely sure it can't snag on anything as the telescope moves around the entire sky. If you do tie it down to the pier, leave a generous loop and again check that it can't snag. If you do this the cat 5 cable stiffness shouldn't be an issue.
Hi Mike, L-Com makes a lot of quality cables, and has some very flexible CAT5e available - for example: http://www.l-com.com/ethernet-shielded-category-5e-extreme-high-flex-ethernet-cable-rj45-rj45-100-ft They have a lot of product and specs are on their pages. Check them out as an option. Everything they have is good quality. Cheers Colin
Thanks for the suggestions Doug & Colin. I have checked out the L-com website and it looks like they have what I need.
Just an update on the cabling. I went to the L-Com web site and the ultra flexible cable that was described above by Colin is not really a flexible cable but is rated for repetitive movement (certified for 10 million cycles)without failing. Unfortunately, the cables themselves are very stiff, and they are quite expensive. However, L-Com offers a flat Cat 5e cable that uses stranded 30 AWG wires that is even more flexible than the RJ11 tracking cables that come with the cameras. Here is the link: http://www.l-com.com/ethernet-molded-flat-cat5e-patch-cables I don't think these cables are shielded though. If a shielded cable is required, L-Com also offers a low profile shielded Cat6/6a cables that use 28AWG stranded wires. These are also quite flexible, but not as much as the flat cables. http://www.l-com.com/ethernet-cat-6-6a-28-awg-slim-ethernet-cables
