Bench Power Supply In The Cold

[zicklurky]

Hiya,

I had some strange issues last night. After a few hours of setting up outside, my mount started to malfunction. First dec stopped responding to guide commands, and then RA did the same, but dec started working again. I had a similar issue a while ago when I had a power pack and it was running low on juice. I now have a Maplin bench power supply which has worked flawlessly so far this winter, but last night was the coldest night so far. I was wondering if the cold can cause the bench power supply voltage to drop? I'm not quite sure what else could have caused the issue and everything has been working flawlessly until now. I tried switching everything off and on again, no luck. 

[cfpendock]

Strange.  Normally the voltage would increase as the cabling gets colder (less resistance).  Could it be the grease in the mount beginning to solidify?  But mounts should be designed to work in cold temperatures.

Chris

[StuartJPP]

Next purchase should me a multimeter, they are cheap and will give you the answer right away.

Depending on the design of the power supply the voltage reference could be severely affected by temperature...so although the display or setting is set to 12V for instance you may not be getting 12V at the actual output.

-5C is quite taxing for simple consumer electronics.

[Demon Barber]

I`ve recommended this power supply      http://www.rapidonline.com/Electrical-Power/Rapid-SPS-9250-209MG-SMPS-Switch-Mode-Power-Supply-15V-25A-with-Digital-Display-85-1824 .      the 40 amp  version for 5 years and it still has not let me down,also make up a insulated box (icebox etc) and you will have a much better output supply insulted against the cold.

HTH

Regards

Mike

[zicklurky]

Hmmmm I'll open up the mount and investigate. I did regrease it with lithium grease not too long ago.

[trazor]

Hmmmm I'll open up the mount and investigate. I did regrease it with lithium grease not too long ago.

I would set up inside, and see if the warmth removes the problem.