Powertank - Run 2 mounts in Tandem ??

[Telescope40]

Hi All. Electrics not a strong point for me.  Basic question if I may.   Have a Maplin powertank and currently run my NEQ6 with no issues. 

Have recently bought a 2nd hand SW AZ Goto mount and was thinking of getting a bit cute by running both mounts off the powertank at the same time.  Both need the same power and was wondering if this would be a go if a bought a 2nd power cable and a cigar type " splitter "  (  Halfords / Wilkinsons  sell em )  so I could plug in both power cables to my powertank.  

Thinking this may work but presume loss of power  will happen quicker,  dependent on length of observing session. 

Any wisdom much appreciated as always  

John  

[szymon]

That should work just fine, I doubt very much that either mount will draw enough power for it to be a problem.  Be aware though that you'll run out of battery earlier ;-).

I did a quick search previously for what my HEQ5 might draw, it seems to be 1.6A when slewing and 0.9A when tracking.  I'd be surprised if your NEQ6 drew significantly more.  If the powertank has a 17Ah battery, it could in theory track for some 17 hours.  If you connect two mounts and they have similar draw, you'll only be able to track for half of that.

(In practise you probably won't be able to get the whole 17 hours as the voltage will drop below acceptable levels but the principle is sound; like choosing a mount for your imaging weight, you should over-spec for what you need).

[Cornelius Varley]

Do you know the amp rating of the 12v socket on the powertank ? Also max amp rating of the accessory adapter will also have to be greater than the combined max current of the two mounts.

[Telescope40]

Thanks for the quick responses.  The set up will be as below.  No idea of the amp rating.- it's a 12 v supply.  Told you I'm poor re electrics.

NEQ6 Pro and SW AZ Goto mount.

2x Skytrom power cables from FLO.

Powertank - 5 in 1 jumpstarter from Maplins.  Presume same as this link.  Not sure of the specifics but looks just like this baby. Ad mentions 400 amps.  Would like to think the one I have is the same.     Thx   John

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-in-1-Portable-12V-H-Duty-Car-Battery-Booster-Jump-Starter-Air-Compressor-1152C-/221530047283?pt=UK_Air_Tools_and_Compressors&hash=item3394384333

[Cornelius Varley]

The 400 amps is the rating through the thick cables.

[Telescope40]

Thanks Peter. As said. Apologies for my lack of electrical know how

John

[orly_andico]

I noticed something when running my CCD and mount off the same battery.

After a long slew (during which the mount was pulling a lot of power) the thermal regulation on the CCD would get stuck at 100% cooling, it thought the CCD temperature was 99.9 Celsius so it would run the TEC at full power.

So it seems that for certain types of equipment there are strange interactions when running off a single supply.