0

How To Build Custom Serial Cables And Specifically What Is The Pinout For SkyFi III To Celestron AVX Hand Set? (Answer: Read On!)

Dirtbagpook

May 31, 2019 04:05

Answered

Follow

Hi folks!

I purchased a SkyFi III and cable from you folks to hook it up to both my CPC 1100 and AVX. Works great! However, the phone jack clip broke off of the smaller connector. It is now a work of art involving Duct Tape and looks ghastly. I have access to a crimper and can get the male ends but I want to verify the pin outs on the cable. I have gone slightly bonkers trying to find the answer in theforums and then attempting to enter a support request to no avail. Can you folks point me in the right direction?

Thanks in advance!

Kind regards,

Mark Force

• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn

3 comments

• 0
  
  Keiron Smith May 31, 2019 19:18

  Hi Mark,

  The following is copied from this page: https://www.skysafariastronomy.com/products/skyfi/serial.html

  Building Custom Serial Cables

  Carbon 12 AstroSystems builds high quality serial cables which can connect directly from SkyFi's serial port to the serial ports on a wide variety of different telescopes. Click here for details.

  Alternately, you can build a custom serial cable to connect your telescope to SkyFi, without using SkyFi's RJ-11-to-DB9M adapter.

  Like SkyFi, most telescope serial ports also use 4- or 6-wire modular jacks. Unfortunately, telescope manufacturers have not standardized on a common serial port pinout. In other words, pin 1 on the serial jack for a Meade LX-200 may carry a different serial signal than pin 1 on the serial jack for a Celestron NexStar GPS.

  If you can obtain the pinout diagram for your telescope's serial port, you can build a simple "telephone" cable to connect SkyFi's serial port directly to your telescope's. The following diagram shows the meaning of the pins on SkyFi's serial adapter cable:

  

  Pinout diagram for SkyFi's RJ-11 to DB9-M serial adapter.

  This diagram, combined with your telescope's serial pinout diagram, should allow you to construct a simple telephone-like cable for connecting SkyFi's serial port directly to your telescope's serial port. The following table lists the pinouts for SkyFi's serial adapter, and for several common telescope models. Note that some telescope serial ports use a 6-pin RJ-11 connector similar to SkyFi's; while others use the smaller 4-pin modular "handset" connector. Check your telescope manual for details, and expect some trial and error.

  Manufacturer:	Simulation Curriculum	Generic	Simulation Curriculum	Celestron	Celestron, Others (*)	Orion	Orion	SkyWatcher	Meade	Meade	StellarCAT	Wildcard	Losmandy	Starmaster
  Model:	SkyFi	Phone Cord	SkyFi	NexStar, CGE, CPC, SLT, SE	AstroMaster, Others (*)	Sirius, Atlas	Intelliscope	SynScan	ETX, LX-90, LXD55/75	LX-200 Classic, GPS	ServoCAT	Argo Navis	Gemini	SkyTracker
  Connector:	6-pin RJ-11	Conductor Color	DB-9 Male	4-pin modular	6-pin RJ-11	6-pin RJ-11	4-pin modular	6-pin RJ-11	4-pin modular	6-pin RJ-11	6-pin RJ-11	6-pin RJ-11	4-pin modular	6-pin RJ-11
  	2	Black	3	4	3	5	2	5	4	5	2	3	3	5
  	3	Red		3	1	4	4	4	X	X	4	5	1	3
  	4	Green	5	2	4	3	3	3	1	2	5	4	2	2
  	5	Yellow	2	1	2	2	1	2	3	4	3	2	4	4

  X = do not connect this pin/wire!

  (*) The Celestron AstroMaster shares the same pinout as a number of other encoder control boxes based on the Tangent Instruments BBox. In addition to the BBox, such encoder-based systems include the JMI NGC-MAX, Lumicon SkyVector, and Orion SkyWizard.

  Pins are numbered 1 to 6 from left to right when facing the connector with the pins down and plastic clip up, as pictured above. Note that the outermost pins (1 and 6) are not used on any 6-pin RJ-11 connector!

  For ServoCAT and Argo Navis users, this document contains cable pinout diagrams and setup instructions. For Starmaster Sky Tracker systems, this documentcontains the equivalent instructions.

  Please note that Simulation Curriculum does not provide support for building custom serial cables.

  Thanks!

• 0
  
  Dirtbagpook June 01, 2019 00:20

  Hi Keiron et al,

  Thanks! That's the ticket! You guys rock as usual. Keep up the good work and many thanks for all the hard work all of you put into the product. For what it's worth, you have my permission to take a break and have a beverage of your choice. 8^)

  Have a great weekend,

  kind regards,

  Mark

• 0
  
  Terry Pundiak September 11, 2019 00:03

  These directions would be ludicrous if it was not so depressing. 

  The diagram is one thing but the chart is all over the place.  Quite ambiguous.   

  It didn't help solve my problem as my Sky Wizard still does not communicate with Sky Safari.  

  Terry