heater bands

[faulksy]

might sound a bit silly this question but which way round do you fit a heater band. is it shiny side to scope body or velour material side to body. thanks in advance:confused:

[brantuk]

If you stretch it round the tube and the velcro doesn't hook up then you have it upside down - that way you never forget

[faulksy]

the velcro sticks both ways. thats why im confused

[banner001]

in that case remove it from the scope, plug it in and see which side heats up quickest would be my guess?

[Multi-Coated]

Should be velour side to scope with heat reflective internal material to outer , that said as has been suggested just run and see.

[brantuk]

Hmmm... double sided velcro - now I'm confused too lol. I'd go with MC and velour side down. Were there any instructions with it? And what make is it? Might be able to find a piccy on the inter web

[carastro]

Hmmm, have I been putting mine on the wrong way round all this time??? Seems to have worked though.

Carole

[AndyUK]

I use "dew not" strips - They're red nylon on oneside and "black fuzzy" on the other, but to be honest there's really only one logical way to fit them. For reference though, it's the red nylon side that feels hotter and that's what on the inside and goes against the OTA.

[faulksy]

thanks peeps

[JamesM]

AndyUK, those DewNot strips are really good don't you find. Seems a lot more people are getting them now.

James

[AndyUK]

Hi James - Yes... they are! And they don't need a controller .

[RS3100]

Hi James - Yes... they are! And they don't need a controller .

Can I ask why not? I've been thinking of getting some of these but thought I'd need a controller as well

[AndyUK]

Erm, I can't quite remember (it's been a while), but give Bern at Modern Astronomy a buzz - He sells these "dew not" strips (and he was the one that told me I didn't need a controller with them ).

A 4" strip takes 0.61A and an 8" takes 1.18A, so if you have a big OTA and you're running off a battery pack you may need to do some sums to make sure you have enough Ah - When running an 8" strip, mount, netbook and CCD camera, I'm pulling just shy of 6A

[RS3100]

Thanks Andy. I've discovered with a bit of googling that they apparently consume substantially less power than the competition for equivalent size bands, so connecting one without a controller is equivalent power-wise to running another type of heater band on a controlled low power setting.

I'm running a CPC925 off a 38Ah power pack which has been more than enough over the summer. I think I'll try the bands onn their own initially and see how I go - can always get a contoller later if I find it necessary.

Thanks,

Phil

[AndyUK]

Hi Phil - Yes, THAT was what Bern said... Sorry, must have been having a senile moment (or suffering from sleep deprivation - Hopefully the latter!). A 10" strap apparently pulls 1.5A...