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So I have an ETX 70 but I would much rather not use batteries, would prefer just connecting straight to the wall. Was wondering how I would go about that, there doesn't seem to be anything now-a-days because of its age. Thanks for any help

Hi, I am not sure where to post this so apologies if this should be somewhere else. when I use the jackery 500 power supply connected to the Pegasus Astro power box advance , it shows the voltage supplied to the devices as 13.3 volts. on the power box console, when connected from mains power to the power box the voltage is about 12.5 to 13 volts. I am not sure if it makes any difference that I am using the Pegasus unity platform to manage the devices? so far I have not seen any issues, but is this voltage of 13.3 volts going to damage the camera and other devices connected to the power box or is this acceptable?

Hi *any mods - not sure if correct section to post? - feel free to move if not 👍🏼 I’m looking to power a mini pc/Intel NUC whilst out in my camper van. It will need 19v , upto 5A I have a big leisure battery setup (220ah) so powering it isn’t an issue. Trying to find some sort of 12v to 19v 5A converter is...I’ve seen cheap ones for a fiver and those buck converters but I’m not trusting that to power an expensive PC Is there anything like a Pegasus pocket power box that has a 19v DC (smoothed and reliable) output anyone knows of? Even a ‘branded and reputable company’ made 12v to 19v laptop charger maybe? I know many will reply saying why not just use a laptop???? This is a mini pc designed for acquisition AND editing. I could just buy a laptop yes, but £ for £ they are over priced and underpowered, last around 2 hours until needing a charge and I don’t need a screen as I have a 27inch monitor/tv already installed in the van (luckily enough this takes a 12v DC input so no messing around) My current home pc isn’t suitable for editing anyway so my plan is to build a system that is capable of doing the job of a cheap acquisition stick pc/mini pc and also powerful enough to edit. Intel NUCs are brilliant for this job...I can use in the van to get the data and easily take inside once home to process. i could build a do it all NUC for around £500 ...a mini pc for acquisition and then a full desktop pc as well for editing would be at least a 1/3 more. If anyone has any experience powering something like this directly using a converter .. Or even uses a 12v DC car laptop charger that outputs 19v and is reliable please let me know. How do you guys power laptops if using out in the field/star party’s etc without a mains hookup? 👍🏼 Thanks Ant

Hi All, I have a couple of questions regarding an appropriate USB hub for outdoor use. I have my eye on the USB hub here and the USB A to USB B 5 metre cable here which will allow me to operate my mount and cameras on the balcony from the comfort of my living room. My concern is that the 5 metre length of the USB 3 cable will cause connectivity issues, does anyone have any exprience with this? I'll be connecting the following to the hub: Canon 450d ZWO ASI 120MM Mini USB 2.0 Mono Camera EQDIR USB Adapter for Sky-Watcher EQ3 Pro COOWOO Lens Heater (here) To keep the hub close to the OTA I'll need to set up power supply as close as possible, therefore outside. I've done a search on Amazon for Driboxes and I believe the one here would be best for simply housing the 3-way extension lead. Does anyone have other suggestions for keeping power supplies protected from the elements? S.

Hello, Hope you are all well. Trying to set up my new telescope and mount. I have a EQ3 Pro - Synscan. I have a wall plug that provides 12v 3A 36W. Will this be enough to run the slewing and synscan system with hand control connected? Thanks in advance for any help on this. Can't wait to star getting some good pics. Regards, Colin.

What is your experience with the small Tracer 12v lithium batteries? My new manually driven dobson will have a mirror cooling fan and, although I might not using it, I would like to think ahead about potential power sources. What are your recommendations for a small power supply? Thanks, Piero

I am about to build an EQDIRECT adapter to connect my laptop and HEQ5. I have a notebook docking station with good old serial port (I tought) so I planned not to struggle with usb to serial port finding, porfilic or FTDI, etc... BUT(!) make my own cheapo EQDIRECT.... Unfortunately I am not an electrical genius, but I learnt somewhat. And as I read the schematic a bit closer, I had a bad feeling about connecting the ground of the notebook serial port and the mount ground potential. Then, I aimed this topic in searching, and I found some issues that might be in connection with that. Now I am a bit afraid to buildmy own, based on the given schematic on the EQMOD website. (no offense) So I tried to figure out how to avoid problems with grounding. Here is what I came up with. Maybe it is an ... how to say ... overkill, but I do not want to be the one in the million, who burt his mounts' electronics becuse of a ground loop. I hope that there is somebody around with more electrical skill, who can check it and tell if it is a complete non sense idea or...? Some explanation: As I read, connecting the grounds no problem in case of batteries, or between DC power supply and batteies but two not well chosen DC power supplies are able to make some serious smoking... So I implemented an intermediate battery powered stage, which is in connection with the notebook RS232 line only, and the mount is fully isolated from those by optocouplers. Ah sorry! I just saw when I uploaded the pic, that possibly the optocoupler output signals must be inverted. While for example logic 1 from the mount would give logic 0 on the MAX232 input. So the other pin of the optocoupler should be used for reading the proper values, and pull down resistor instead of pull up resistor... but the principle of a battry powered "insulation" is the same. Well, some batteries and the circuitry still much cheaper than a new mount/laptop... what do you think? I appreciate all your comments!

https://stargazerslounge.com/forum/14-member-equipment-reviews/?do=add#https://stargazerslounge.com/forum/14-member-equipment-reviews/?do=add#https://stargazerslounge.com/forum/14-member-equipment-reviews/?do=add#My 12V power supply died when my beloved left it flat.... I looked around at possibly a new Powertank and found this. Yes it really is not much bigger than my mobile phone if a fair bit thicker. It has a good LED torch built in to annoy folks at star parties but no red light.... mind I always found the powertank difficult to balance on my head when observing so use a head torch. Is it man enough to do the job??? well correct me if I am wrong but the charge is bigger than the large powertank I had. AND its designed to jump start your car....... WHOOOOOHHH It comes with car Jump leads, a 12V out socket (.... yes only one but it will take a double adapter) , two USB leads to fit its 2 USB charging ports and a very sexy case. It was also a lot cheaper..... What do you guys think, anyone used one yet. I will let you know when darkness returns. Clear DARK skies. Bigwings

Hello Everyone! This is my first post to SGL, but it's certainly not my first visit. I've been a reguar leech to the wealth of information on here and have amassed a plethora of equipment for exploring the night sky that evolved from an 8" 200P Dobsonian, and finally up to its current "Mark IV" as the 8" Newtonian Equitorial you can see in the photo. I'm aware of the ettuiqette here, and this isn't a "hello" post, no. This is me sharing my write-up for the 12v Power Supply that I made myself in the eventual journey to my fully remote observatory (hopefully opening 2018) at the end of my garden. Hoping to maybe give something back to the community that i've taken so much knowledge and tips/tricks from over the last 18months; because 19months ago, I'd never even put my eye to a telescope eyepiece and now I'm flocked, guided, and powered. So thank you everyone for that. I've written half of the write up for it last night, pt 2 to follow soon I hope it's ok to share an external link to my personal Blog: http://milkandbourbons.tech/telescope-power Finally, its not in the Blog just yet, but here's the picture of the final, finished powersupply. It's a little rough looking 'cos I didn't order as much wire as I should have, but it does the job amazingly! Thanks for reading! Deano

I recently purchased a EQ5 mount with synscan. But rather then use the car adaptor running though a 3 pin convertor i bought a 12v 500mA DC power supply. The back of the manual states it requires 100mA (see image). So here i am thinking great this will do. Wrong. Its enough to start the hand controller and go through all the set up but it doesnt seem to move any motors. This being my first attempt i wasnt sure if i was doing something wrong. Did the brakes need releasing? - No. are the cables going to the right sockets? - Yes. After much head scratching i went back to to start and used the supplied 12v car style plus in a convertor i had. Sure enough it all worked perfectly. okay went back to my 500mA and nope nothing worked. After searching the house for a 12v 1A DC supply with the correct plug and trying that, Sure enough it all works fine. Have they simply missed a '0' off the manual or am i missing something else here? Tomorrow i'll probably go an exchange it for this 12V 1000mA Power supply. I'll let you know how i fair. And for anyone checking for power supplies (Like i did) your looking for a 5.5mm x 2.1mm power tip to for the unit.

Hi, Does anyone know the pin outs for a Canon 1100D battery pack? I am trying to build an external power supply for my 1100D and have bought a cheap replacement battery that I have pulled apart, but there are four contacts across it and I am not sure which ones are the +ve and -ve terminals. I have taken some pictures of the regulator board that was at the top of the two batteries: The first picture shows the component side with the three contact pads marked B+, B- and Bc. The B+ and B- pads were connected to the +ve terminals of the batteries and the Bc was connected to the -ve terminals of the batteries. However, when I connected these terminals up to a regulated bench power supply unit set to 10 volts DC, I was only getting a couple of volts at a couple of the contact pads (shown in the second and third photos). So rather than go through the regulator board, I thought I would just solder my dc/dc converter to the correct terminals to power the camera. This is where my question comes in. Which of the four contacts as shown in the last picture are the +ve and -ve terminals. Sorry for the waffle and thanks if you can help. BTW: there are no markings on the battery case or label itself to help - cheap copy component made in China.

Just spotted this in Avonmouth - might be interesting to someone in the area.... A "6-in-1 Power Station with 140w invertor". Output 230v~, max. 140w. Condition: Used. Working condition unknown, not tested. http://www.bumblebeeauctions.co.uk/XcAPViewItem.asp?ID=140125

To advanced astro_DIYers this little project will seem trivial, but it fixes something that was bugging me for ages My main problem was that my Skywatcher tracking mount requires a 12V DC power supply. I can use either a mains adapter or an 8xAA powerpack. The former tethers me to the house, and I don't much like running cables across the garden when there is a lot of dew. Rechargable AA cells are OKish, but only give a few hours worth of charge. Non-rechargables work better but cost a fortune. So, I went to Maplins and bought: a 4.2Ah sealed lead acid battery a connector to fit the SW mount power in socket a cable to connect the two crimp on connectors a charger for the lead-acid cell Assembly was literally: bare the wire cables and crimp on the connectors that slide onto the battery terminals, plug teh connector into the other end of the wire and plug that into the mount. I wasn't sure it would work - I've tried using one of those portable car jumpstarter packs before and found that the current was really variable, and that the charging process took ages. This battery gives a good constant current and charges fully in a few hours - much better than the 24h+ for bigger car battery size cells. I've done about 5 hours observing with it and it's not flat yet - I reckon I should be able to get 8h or more since the mains adapter supplies a max of 500mA. Compared to car-battery cells this unit is small (no more that a 10cm x 10cm x 10cm cube) and light (maybe 1kg?). I'm hoping this set up will meet my mount power supply needs - for now I am pretty happy with it.