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6v power supply

Daveyboy

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Daveyboy

Daveyboy

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hi guys , may seem like a stupid question but ,,,,,, I have a skywatcher 150p on an eq3-2 mount ,. my girlfriend bought me the tracking motors from F.L.O for a Christmas prezzie :) the question I have is ,, does any one know where I could get a power supply to run the motors with ? I might have totally missed these if they are available ,but I cant seem to find a dedicated supply for them . I have tried a universal one but this doesn't seem to have the umph to run them . thanks in advance Dave ;)

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Daveyboy

Daveyboy

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hi jambo , I know absolutely nothing about electronics to be honest all I know is they run off 4 dcell batteries . I would imagine its down to the amps to run the motors ?  just need to finds a supply strong enuff to keep them turning as it cost a fortune in batteries lol . cheers and beers Dave

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JamesF

JamesF

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I ran the motors for my EQ3-2 from a 6V PSU that I happened to have lying about.  I just chopped the connector off and fitted one of the correct size (2.1mm centre positive, I think).  If you can find a 6V regulated supply on your favourite auction site that would probably do the job.  The handset is sensitive to voltage and incorrect polarity though, so make sure you get a regulated one and make sure the polarity is correct.

James

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Daveyboy

Daveyboy

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thanks for the info james . ill get looking .  so is 1 amp enuff ? the reason I ask is because I was looking earlier at a site and they seemed to think that 4 dcell batteries would be about 3 amps continuous ? cheers  Dave

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Cornelius Varley

Cornelius Varley

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thanks for the info james . ill get looking .  so is 1 amp enuff ? the reason I ask is because I was looking earlier at a site and they seemed to think that 4 dcell batteries would be about 3 amps continuous ? cheers  Dave

1 amp should be sufficient to power the dual axis motors. The alkaline batteries have a capacity of about 3amp/hour but the motors will only draw what they require from the batteries/PSU.

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Tonys

Tonys

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I use the Maplins L06BR supply, at 6v it says 2.5A.

Plugs into mains and comes with a set of different sized tips.

Seems to be £20, sure it was £15.

I use this model too, without problems. just make sure the tip you use has the correct polarity, which if the same as mine is the red one ( positive tip)

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JamesF

JamesF

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Sky Watcher power adaptor - not the cheapest but made to go with your motors. I'll be buying one very shortly after another manufacturers power adaptor failed to turn the motors :(

http://www.harrisontelescopes.co.uk/acatalog/SkyWatcher_and_Celestron_Compatible_12v_Mains_Power_Supply.html

That appears to be a 12V supply and will make the 6V handset for the dual axis motors very unhappy indeed.  Not for very long, though.

James

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Bizibilder

Bizibilder

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I use a 6v 4Ah lead acid battery on my EQ5 (6v motors) and that supplies plenty of power for 2-3 hours without the battery going flat.  You also need a 6v charger - I settled for a dual 6v 12v from the bay of fleas.  The motors are sensitive to voltage (as said above, so the battery will be fine - charged, mine runs at 6.4v).  As the battery is far less sensitive the charger can be cheap and cheerful as it will not need to be a regulated supply type.

Btw if you are not an electrical whizz kid - the term Ah means Amp-hours.  Something that draws 1 amp for one hour has used 1 amp-hour.  So a 4Ah battery should provide a mount (that uses just under one amp) with power for 4-5 hours.  However you should never run a battery until it is fully discharged so 2-3 hours is a safe loading.

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BritAngler

BritAngler

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That appears to be a 12V supply and will make the 6V handset for the dual axis motors very unhappy indeed.  Not for very long, though.

James

Well, the 6V power supply from another make didn't work, and neither did the battery pack c/w Duracell batteries. The only time I've seen the motors working is with an AstroEQ module (also 6V) :confused:

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BritAngler

BritAngler

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With the batteries or the 6V supply that you have, does the LED on the controller box light up at all?

James

Yes, it lights up red. When absolutely totally new Duracell batteries were fitted, it glowed green. Perhaps they were too cold last night to give their full power....

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JamesF

JamesF

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Yes, it lights up red. When absolutely totally new Duracell batteries were fitted, it glowed green. Perhaps they were too cold last night to give their full power....

In my experience, if the light is red and won't change to green then the unit is unable to draw enough current from the power supply.

I've just checked the one I use and the PSU is rated for 1.5A.

James

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BritAngler

BritAngler

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In my experience, if the light is red and won't change to green then the unit is unable to draw enough current from the power supply.

I've just checked the one I use and the PSU is rated for 1.5A.

James

Well it was cold last night. So cold that on my way home I saw a brass monkey crying his eyes out and looking for a welder.... In future, I'll be sticking to my AstroEQ module when stargazing, it's just a pity the motors can't be unhooked easily if I just want to do a bit of star-hopping. Last night I had to keep adjusting the 'scope by hand (not a big problem in low power eyepieces).

Daveyboy - have a word with Tom Carpenter (TCWorld) on http://www.astronomyshed.co.uk/forum/index.php , I think the AstroEQ module will work with the motors on your mount. It's a lot cheaper than the SkyWatcher GOTO system, works from your laptop (assuming you have one) using Stallerium or Cartes du Ciel (both freeware), and provides good finding, slewing and tracking. One problem with the SkyWatcher handset on my EQ5 is that they are so damn slow to slew to another target, but the AstroEQ gizmo is so much quicker.

If you still just want to just use the motors without a guiding system, try Harrison Telescopes http://www.harrisontelescopes.co.uk/index.html . If they can't help you, no one can.

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