Maplin have special offer on power supply

[ilove1995]

Heads up all...

Maplin are selling their battery jumpstart for £25. This is the same model I bought a few months back for £35 to power my Nexstar 4se which keeps it going all night.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/3-in-1-portable-jumpstarter-383992

Bargain!

[onesmallstep]

Thanks for the heads up

[tingting44]

i got this months and months ago!! i also got it on deal for this price, i have to say its been AMAZING! for the price i didnt have my hopes up, but as you say it powers it all night, and does not even take it below 75%! as long as you charge up after every use and top up charge every 3 weeks this looks like its going to last me veryyy good!!! cant fault it any way possible

[brantuk]

+1 for this power pack - I've had one running a scope for several hours overnight and then jump started a car with it next morning. It looks pretty basic but they're great vfm - good heads up

[astronomit]

Another thumbs up from me for this power pack - had this a while now and it's been great. As tingting says, just make sure you top it up after every use!

Tim.

[SBC]

Just bought one to power my Nexstar 6se. Thanks for the post, much cheaper than the celestron power tank.

[greglloyd]

I've a NexStar 6 SE arriving tomorrow. This sounds the ticket. So this will work fine? Are any other accessories / cables required?

[sologuitarist61]

Hey, thanks fpr the tip-off

[tingting44]

might have to pick another one of these up for when i do get a guider scope, its a pain only being able to power one piece of gear via this maplins charger.....does any one else power a single scope off of one pack? or is it ok to power a few things off of these?

[SnakeyJ]

Thanks for the post Ilove1995 - I was looking for an alternative to the ubiquitous power tank and a great price for 9AH. Probably not enough to start my car on a very flat battery, though no doubt it will power the synscan and a couple of dew heaters from dusk to dawn.

12 available at my local store so will be dropping in tomorrow

Don't forget to keep topping them up after every use and once every 2-3 weeks even when not used and hopefully it should provide several years good service

[tingting44]

Thanks for the post Ilove1995 - I was looking for an alternative to the ubiquitous power tank and a great price for 9AH. Probably not enough to start my car on a very flat battery, though no doubt it will power the synscan and a couple of dew heaters from dusk to dawn.

12 available at my local store so will be dropping in tomorrow

Don't forget to keep topping them up after every use and once every 2-3 weeks even when not used and hopefully it should provide several years good service

you would be surprised buddy!!! ive ran my snyscan from dusk till dawn, i was slewing about all night, and it didnt even take it down below 75% its unbelievable for the price!!!

[scoobee]

Does the unit have a cigarette socket? I might have miss read the spec.

[tingting44]

Does the unit have a cigarette socket? I might have miss read the spec.

yes it does, it does not how ever say it clearly in the description! even the guys in maplins were like erm no it does not have a 12v on it lol i had to ask them twice to open the box for me! and behold whats on the side!!!! a 12v socket, i was getting annoyed with mr know it all in maplins when i got mine, they need to know what they are selling, well the guy in my one does grhhhh lol

[scoobee]

yes it does, it does not how ever say it clearly in the description! even the guys in maplins were like erm no it does not have a 12v on it lol i had to ask them twice to open the box for me! and behold whats on the side!!!! a 12v socket, i was getting annoyed with mr know it all in maplins when i got mine, they need to know what they are selling, well the guy in my one does grhhhh lol

True statement if any, I phoned them and got a young girl that was Clueless after spending time explaining what it was and what i wanted to know she told me they don't sell them despite on the website it said five in stock.

[jnc71106]

might have to pick another one of these up for when i do get a guider scope

Once you start running a imaging setup these things really stop being practical and you better off with a leisure battery power tank

They are ok for visual where your slewing the mount around and that's all but for imaging setups not really

[tingting44]

True statement if any, I phoned them and got a young girl that was Clueless after spending time explaining what it was and what i wanted to know she told me they don't sell them despite on the website it said five in stock.

terrible isnt it buddy where do they get em from :D i bet they would have a lot more sales if they just knew what they sold lol

[tingting44]

Once you start running a imaging setup these things really stop being practical and you better off with a leisure battery power tank

They are ok for visual where your slewing the mount around and that's all but for imaging setups not really

i get ya buddy so not practical for say an EQ mount with an autoguider? which is my future setup in maybe 2-3 years once ive saved up lol

[scoobee]

terrible isnt it buddy where do they get em from :D i bet they would have a lot more sales if they just knew what they sold lol

Pay peanuts gets monkeys springs to mind

Is the socket on the back?

[scoobee]

Once you start running a imaging setup these things really stop being practical and you better off with a leisure battery power tank

They are ok for visual where your slewing the mount around and that's all but for imaging setups not really

thanks that a point to bear in mind

[tingting44]

Pay peanuts gets monkeys springs to mind

Is the socket on the back?

lol

the 12v socket is on the side buddy, right thats me out, night guys

[allcart]

I have a simllar model. I remover the starter cables, added an extra cigarette socket and 2 dimmer controllers and rca type sockets for my dew straps. I managed 4 hours running both straps, a dslr camara and the mount before I seemed to loose power to the mount. My last few subs showed significant star trails which led me to believe the mount wasn't tracking properly. I will test again soon to see if it happens again.

[jnc71106]

Keep running the battery that low and sooner rather than later it will either not charge or stop holding its charge they are not designed to be run flat. You want to try and keep them over 50%

a quick search on here will turn up many posts about these power supplies not charging or holding a charge after excessive use

They are a false economy when it comes to an imaging setup

just my 2p worth

[cantharis]

Once you start running a imaging setup these things really stop being practical and you better off with a leisure battery power tank

I don´t see why not - do imaging setups have a massive battery drain? I also run a 12V hairdryer from my Maplins jumpstart for demisting - intermittently, but the current taken is very high - it takes it all in its stride and keeps on powering my mount fine. As has been said, these things are brilliant value for money.

[jnc71106]

I don´t see why not - do imaging setups have a massive battery drain?

My setup uses 8-9ah so I'd not get even 1 hours worth of power from this pack and I consider my setup a fairly normal imaging rig

Mount + 2 Dew tapes + Dew Controller + Imaging Camera + Laptop Power

I think it's safe to say the battery isn't really 9ah and that using it in the cold reduces the efficiency as well. Plus the voltage drop as the battery power gets lower means the mount might not be getting enough juice so will struggle with tracking

[SnakeyJ]

JNC excellent post above and good point re the quality of the batteries - not all things are equal and at this price you won't be getting quality batteries. Though depending on the construction it may possible to replace the battery later on.

Out of interest how are you connecting and powering the laptop?

Commonly these to have 19V DC (for mains powered adaptors) and 11V -14V rated LIION batteries. Presumably its more efficient (but not simple) to connect directly to the battery contacts and this would remove any overheads associated with battery charging circuits. Whilst its possible to run battery - mains inverter - standard laptop charger - laptop, it does seem very inefficient.