101nut

You can use a 7808 and an output diode to drop 0.6v and give 7.4V output over a fairly good current range ... how accurate has it got to be bearing in mind the camera probably has power regulators on board to cope with the battery voltage varying?

AndyG

Nice first review!

If you're not tall, how do you get up onto the seat at its high position as there are no footpegs to step onto or support your feet when to get there. Or is it just lower than it sounds?

AndyG

I've got the 80ED, optically it's good and it's very robust.

However for astro work it has limitations. There's no flat surface to mount a finder for a start so accurate pointing is really difficult. The eyepiece is fine at wide angle but zoomed in is not so good. You can replace it with a standard 1 1/4" item but check optical compatibility before spending money. Also note that the eyepiece clamp is a rotating parallel type and very tight fit (it's waterproof after all) so swapping eyepieces is not that easy.

Personally I'd buy a small grab and go reflector for astro instead.

AndyG

There are three types of supply

1) Unregulated - voltage varies and drops with load

2) Regulated on load - voltage can vary but will regulate once a minimum load is reached.

3) Fully regulated - voltage output is independent of load. 

I suspect the Maplin supply will be (2). Check the spec of the supply and see whether it needs a minimum load, stick a resistor, lamp or whatever across the supply to generate that load and measure the voltage again.

AndyG