DayStar QUARK 5V 30Ah Power Pack ?

[Al.Grant]

Slightly confused  

For use with my Quark filter I bought a  "Daystar Quark 5v 30Ah  power pack with solar panel" 

Printed on the back is ....

So unless I'm going crazy that's not 30Ah!  It didn't come with any other documentation/manual where I can check and there's nothing else on the power pack that gives any figures for the amp/hour

Could anybody else who has one of these check to see what it says on the back of theirs.

I know there are a number of similar power packs available, but this one is advertised as 30Ah

===============Edit===============

If possible the weight of this unit would also be helpful .....  mine is much lighter than the weight given on the advert.

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Regards

    Al

[Pig]

The Quark 2 draws around 1.5 amps so 20 claimed hours of use.

I have used mine all day without any issues and it went down to 1 light so the 30Ah is a little over rated   and now it has broken altogether and it does not put out enough current to power the Quark   I think it is a cheap piece of kit and if I am honest and you will be lucky to get 10 hours.... not that you need any more than 20 minutes with the amount of sun we have had lately 

[Al.Grant]

Mine is only 10Ah and the seller has agreed with that (hard not to!) it has now been returned for a refund.

I'm not actually using a portable battery for the Quark at the moment.  

When I'm using the Quark it's on my HEQ5 Pro, this is powered from a 12v leisure battery so the obvious thing is to draw power from that!

I'm using one of these RAV 12v in car USB adapters to feed the Quark.  It supplies 3 x 5V 2.4Amp usb outputs and the Quark led turns green in a little over 5-8mins.

The leisure battery (110Ah) is easily enough to run the mount, quark and also my laptop for an imaging session so no need for another battery just yet and one less thing hanging off the mount is always welcome.

Al

[Luke]

This one is still going strong for me nearly one year on. Not the cheapest option at about £32 but it feels well made and I have not managed to run it near empty in a single day. No fancy solar charging:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00GBTSHZE

Cable inside is short, I use this 2.5m one instead:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00KE34A86

[Pig]

I have had nothing but trouble with the battery pack supplied with the Quark and to top it off  SCS are no longer dealing with Daystar. 

I have been has promised a refund if I do not hear from Daystar. However, as any comms with daystar tend to run into months I am not holding my breath  I am not even sure why I am having to deal with it.

If I am honest I am a tad cheesed off with the whole Shenanigans and wont be spending any money with either of them again.

[Al.Grant]

I have now had a full refund for the 30Ah 10Ah battery charger and the retailer has changed the description to state the capacity as '10Ah'.

I've had no issue with the Rav USB charger running from my leisure battery, although I am planning a more mobile set up on a lighter non goto/non powered mount so I'll need a battery at some point.

Al

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I have read that the ones labelled 30000Ah are actually closer to 9Ah in reality (in some review). 10Ah may be closer to the truth in any case

[Luke]

Hiope it is sorted soon, Shaun. My battery has been as good as gold so far, it has had plenty of use and many charges. Sarah has one too. Bit heavy but I don't mind that, won't blow away in the wind

That's a shame you are having to go direct, I had never really thought about what happens when the retailer no longer deals with a manufacturer.

I have had nothing but trouble with the battery pack supplied with the Quark and to top it off  SCS are no longer dealing with Daystar. 

I have been has promised a refund if I do not hear from Daystar. However, as any comms with daystar tend to run into months I am not holding my breath  I am not even sure why I am having to deal with it.

If I am honest I am a tad cheesed off with the whole Shenanigans and wont be spending any money with either of them again.

[Pig]

Luke, Kieran at SCS is going to give me a refund on the charger today. He is a decent chap and I do feel for him as he has done his upmost to help.

I bought a replacement off amazon the spec seems more realistic and the charger looks like its in a different class altogether, all's well that ends well

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00M1J93TC?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

[Luke]

That's good to hear, Shaun, Kieron was great about replacing my problem Quark and he also let me use the problem one while waiting for the replacement to ship over. Thanks to Kieron, I got 17 straight days on hols! I guess I would buy Quark from APM Germany now, they were top notch about a replacement too.

That Anker looks very nice

[Pig]

The retailers are a lot better than the OEMs when it comes to astronomy, this is especially complementary when you consider the retailers are a one / two man band.

Hopefully the Anker will do the job

[Al.Grant]

Luke, Kieran at SCS is going to give me a refund on the charger today. He is a decent chap and I do feel for him as he has done his upmost to help.

I bought a replacement off amazon the spec seems more realistic and the charger looks like its in a different class altogether, all's well that ends well

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00M1J93TC?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

Interested to know how you get on with that Anker charger.

I have one very similar ( Anker 2nd Gen Astro E4 13000mAh 2-Port (3A Output) ) and it has never turned my Quark led green, even after waiting for over 30 mins.

It does recharge my phone and tablet without any problems but no luck on the Quark!

The build quality of the Anker chargers seems to be quite good, a plastic case but the pouch should help prevent too many scratches and it feels very well put together.

Al 

[Pig]

Interested to know how you get on with that Anker charger.

I have one very similar ( Anker 2nd Gen Astro E4 13000mAh 2-Port (3A Output) ) and it has never turned my Quark led green, even after waiting for over 30 mins.

It does recharge my phone and tablet without any problems but no luck on the Quark!

The build quality of the Anker chargers seems to be quite good, a plastic case but the pouch should help prevent too many scratches and it feels very well put together.

Al 

The Quark is a 2 amp output I believe, thus 4 amps max over 3 ports or a single 3 amp port.

Yours is 2 port 3 amp max output, hence 1.5amps per port. ( no single port ampage detailed)

That's the theory, but we shall see

Thanks

Shaun

[Al.Grant]

The Quark is a 2 amp output I believe, thus 4 amps max over 3 ports or a single 3 amp port.

Yours is 2 port 3 amp max output, hence 1.5amps per port. ( no single port ampage detailed)

That's the theory, but we shall see

Thanks

Shaun

Yeah the one I have is this 2 port version of the one you linked to .... also from Amazon & same seller - Anker 2nd Generation Astro E4

It states "Exclusive PowerIQ Technology: Detects your device to deliver its fastest possible charge speed up to 3 amps"  I have only ever used it with a single device plugged in and the Quark led only ever glows yellow.

Maybe I need one of the other versions

Al

[Pig]

I think there all a bit iffy Al  The Quark goes red if not enough power is being delivered. I haven't seen yellow before, this may need the intervention of JamesF or Stu I will ask them both

[Al.Grant]

 In the Quark manual is says

"Yellow LED indication:

Your filter is adjusting to the wavelength chosen by the knob. Wait approximately 5-10 minutes for the temperature to adjust and then light should turn green, indicating that the filter has settled to its required temperature and is on band for viewing.

Yellow, never goes green LED indication:

If after 20 minutes of the same knob position setting the LED has not turned green, the ambient temperature may be too hot or too cold for the Quark to regulate the temperature. However, the filter may still be usable while slightly mistuned and performance may not be affected."

That's the best I get with the Anker battery.  I get a solid & steady green led when running from mains or from my leisure battery.

Al

[Pig]

Cheers Al, mine starts orange and goes green or red with the crappy supplied charger

[johnno]

I have one of these but not used it yet on the Quark, but have just tried it to see if it goes 'green' and it did after 13 mins from cold with the knob set at 3 o'clock

http://www.amazon.co.uk/20000mAh-Multi-Voltage-Portable-Notebooks-Compatible-Silver/dp/B00BUJCMUQ/ref=pd_sim_23_8?ie=UTF8&refRID=0JS4T0ANSWJZM52CJ8DS

[Pig]

Johno,

Which port are you using ?

[johnno]

Shaun, I'm using the USB port which it says is 2.1amp max

The powerpack was fully charged about 9 months ago and when I've just checked it 4 out of the 5 led's lit up and I left it running for about 10 mins to see if the Quark led changed back to yellow but it didn't

[Pig]

Cheers johnno, very much appreciated   That's encouraging for the one I have purchased.

[Davey-T]

Been using this one as recommended by Ewan, only used a couple of times but seems OK, cheap as chips anyway

Dave

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/243667-quark-solar-psu/?hl=%2Bsolar+%2Bcharger#entry2647552

[Pig]

Some positive news on the Anker battery pack I bought

The charger turned the light on the Quark from orange to bright green in seven minutes. I will leave the Quark switched on until one of the four LED indicator lights on the charger goes off, this may give some indication of how long a full charge will last.

Fingers crossed

[Pig]

Just a quick update on the test I mentioned in the previous post.

One of the four Led charge remaining indication lights went off after just over four hours.

So multiply this by four and the total suggests the battery pack will give enough charge to last sixteen hours.

This agrees with the stated specification of 25.6Ah on the battery pack (Quark 1.5 amps)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00M1J93TC?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Interesting result so far Shaun. I am not entirely sure the led indication will be linear. The last lights may drop sooner (or later). I am also not sure the Quark will draw the full rated 1.5 A all the time. it probably does when heating up, but will use less when it has reached the desired temperature. The main issue is of course that the battery lasts for hours of continuous use. That is what counts.