ChrisWright Posted September 28, 2020 Share Posted September 28, 2020 So I have suffered cable drag and wanted to try and mount more of my equipment on my rig to expediate setup time as well. This included a Gigabyte Brix mini PC that I remote control, a DeepSkyDad mini 12v power management unit and HitecAstro DC focusser. Before this weekend my rig (and associated spaghetti) looked like this:Firstly I ordered an Altair Astro 350mm Losmandy bar to give me more mounting space than my current 180mm bar. First came the mounting of the mini PC. With some advise I shamelessly copied a fellow enthusiasts option of mounting the PC below the bar. At first sight the mini PC had M3 holes but I soon realised that would not give the best orientation for the USB ports so a quick drill and some M3 bolts, washers and screws and the mini chassis was ready for mounting on the bar:Then I wondered the best way of mounting the other control units which ensuring the setup would accomodate larger refractors. I ended up creating a 'quick and dirty' mounting bracket from some aluminium plate from a hardware store. This was cut, bent and drilled and attached to the Losmandy bar:For now I have attached the focusser and 12v control units with velcro but will create a more permanent fixture in future. This is till a work in progress. I have a photography mount cheese board coming tomorrow to mount a USB hub on top of the scope and more wiring is required but pleased with what in reality was a couple of hours work. Looking forward to testing out on clear skies soon! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyvern Posted September 28, 2020 Share Posted September 28, 2020 That looks awesome, shame my mini pc is not quite mini enough to bolt to my rig or I'd be following those instructions right now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy 274 Posted September 29, 2020 Share Posted September 29, 2020 My obsy is a rats nest too. Really need to sort my cabling out. Great job 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisWright Posted September 29, 2020 Author Share Posted September 29, 2020 Thank you @Wyvern and @Andy . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skipper Billy Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 Posted by: @Wyvern That looks awesome, shame my mini pc is not quite mini enough to bolt to my rig or I'd be following those instructions right now.Velcro works a treat! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hallingskies Posted October 8, 2020 Share Posted October 8, 2020 I’m intrigued by your mini PC. How is it powered? I’d like to run a set-up off a 12v Li 35Ah battery but conventional laptops would drain that in no time. I’ve looked at a few specs on Amazon but they are vague about power requirements. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skipper Billy Posted October 8, 2020 Share Posted October 8, 2020 @Hallingskies It is supposed to need 19v but in practise it runs just as well off 12v. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hallingskies Posted October 8, 2020 Share Posted October 8, 2020 @skipper-billyjust wondered what the overall power draw of a mini-pc was. Ordinary laptops seem to pull anywhere between 30-70w running at 18v. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skipper Billy Posted October 8, 2020 Share Posted October 8, 2020 @Hallingskies It draws about 22 watts when starting up, about 7 watts at idle and over a full imaging session it averages out at about 11 watts at 13.2 volts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hallingskies Posted October 8, 2020 Share Posted October 8, 2020 @skipper-billy Thanks for the info, I’ll have to have a closer look at these, looks like they aren’t too hard on batteries... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisWright Posted October 8, 2020 Author Share Posted October 8, 2020 I hadn't even realised it could run off 12v. I had run a second cable extension from the pc to the spreader plate and plugged in the original PSU there. I will certainly using the 12v. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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