Power supply for vixen GP..

[Fozzie]

Hi all, im thinking of trading in the 8No D type battery power pack for a lithium power tank or similar.. not sure which one will be suitable from our sponsers @FLO.. any suggestions based on the attached mount specs etc..

Http://www.firstlightoptics.com/batteries-powerpacks.html

Thanks

Fozzie

[Fozzie]

Just going to bump this.... @FLO 

My batteries just ran out and 8x type D are not cheap.....

Any thoughts on a power pack! 

Ta

fozzie 

[Cosmic Geoff]

It needs +12v at one amp minumum, so any of the suggestions aired on this forum for various GoTo mounts would work - mains PSU, astro 'power tank', sealed lead-acid accumulator, jump-starter, or lithium power pack.

Seems you are thinking of portability, so maybe not a retired car battery.

[kens]

Be careful with polarity. Some Vixen controllers have the polarity reversed - that is they have centre negative instead of the centre positive. I don't know which way the DD3 is wired but check first before you plug in a 12V supply.

[Stu]

Don't forget to get the polarity right. I believe (but please check!) that these are centre negative being of Japanese manufacture.

[Stu]

Just now, kens said:

Be careful with polarity. Some Vixen controllers have the polarity reversed - that is they have centre negative instead of the centre positive. I don't know which way the DD3 is wired but check first before you plug in a 12V supply.

Snap  

[Ludd]

I use one of the Tracer packs, 22Ah is probably overkill for you but it is still quite small and it holds its charge for years - literally! I made my own connector to make sure the polarity was Vixen-style for my Skysensor system. 

[Fozzie]

I have an answer after speaking with Martin @FLO the DD3 is negative polarity and therefore an adapter is required, namely the "Vixen Cable JP - SX Cable Adapter" which should allow connection to say a celestron LifePO4 tank or Tracer pack using the 12V/car adapter..

Question is do I go for the Celestron with added USB charging, but is a big old thing in relative terms to a smaller tracer Battery that would fit on the shelf under my EP tray out of the way...

 

[Stu]

3 minutes ago, Fozzie said:

Question is do I go for the Celestron with added USB charging, but is a big old thing in relative terms to a smaller tracer Battery that would fit on the shelf under my EP tray out of the way...

If you can afford the Tracer I would go for that. You can always add a USB charging socket, something I have done with mine by buying this....

Very handy.

[Fozzie]

I've order the LifePO4 and vixen adapter for ease and one less adapter to worry about..

big thanks to all and the might FLO for assistance.

hopefully now running out of D type batteries will be a thing of the past...

[pete_gamby]

Just to clarify the description and purpose of the cable mentioned.

We call it "GP-SX Power Cable Adaptor" because it converts from a Vixen GP-style 2.1mm centre negative female socket  to a Vixen SX-style EIAJ centre positive male plug. The Vixen description is a rather less helpful "DC Output Cable AC Adapter 12V/3A". The Vixen part number is 2537 and our order code is 75237.

HTH

Cheers, Pete

[Fozzie]

18 minutes ago, pete_gamby said:

Just to clarify the description and purpose of the cable mentioned.

We call it "GP-SX Power Cable Adaptor" because it converts from a Vixen GP-style centre positive female socket (i.e. suitable for standard 2.5mm power adaptor plugs as supplied with the Celestron LiFePO4 etc) to a Vixen SX-style EIAJ centre negative male plug. The Vixen description is a rather less helpful "DC Output Cable AC Adapter 12V/3A". The Vixen part number is 2537 and our order code is 75237.

HTH

Cheers, Pete

Thanks Pete... hopefully the description above is just a typo on my behalf... GP-SX would make more sense than JP-SX as it's for a GP mount....

[Fozzie]

So apparently the vixen DD3 handset is actually tip positive, and not tip negative like we all thought it might be...

I found this out after I tried to connect everything up and no light came on, but worked perfectly with the old batteries!  I thought I was going made at first, but my electronics guru on site spotted the issue..

that and this sign on the back of the handset..  kind of give it away..

So I've been back in touch with Martin @FLO but thought I'd update here also for reference information..

@pete_gamby is there an adapter can be used to fit the tip positive from the powertank?

Ta

Fozzie

[pete_gamby]

Sorry Fozzie - I've edited the text in my post to correct the errors. Duh.

Not sure why the cable doesn't do what I'd expected it to - it definitely switches polarity from centre negative to centre positive and I've used one with a Maplin "standard" power supply so if the Celestron tip is centre negative it should work... Confused.

There isn't a "straight through" cable from Vixen I'm afraid.

Cheers, Pete

[Fozzie]

Hi @pete_gamby sorry just seen this..  There's a bit of confusion all round here I think... If I summarise my understanding and requirement then maybe it'll make more sense if anyone comes across the same in the future.  I think most of the issue has come from the belief that the vixen DD3 is centre negative, and the power tank is centre positive and a converter is required to this effect.

I have checked, will post photo's tomorrow, the following.

1. The vixen 8x D battery pack is centre positive.
2. The Vixen DD3 handset, as per the symbol on the handset is also centre positive.
3. The LiFEPO4 powertank is also centre positive however does not have the correct "plug/pin" to connect to the DD3 power port.
4. The GP-SX (part number 2537) which connects to the power tank has a plug to the DD3 that is centre negative.

In short what is required is a adapter from the LiFEPO4 power cable to suit the DD3 power port, as the entire system is centre positive throughout.  It is now this type of adapter I am trying to source..  However i'm not familiar with the technical names for each power socket/plug type..

If I can source this adapter then all is well.. the only other option is to try and alter the GP-SX so that it is tip positive.

Don't know if that clears anything up..

Will copy @FLO in here as I've being dealing with them and they have helped/been helpful every step of the way... as is standard!

Ta

Fozzie

 

[pete_gamby]

@Fozzie - the GP-SX cable switches the polarity so if the Celestron is centre positive, that cable then becomes centre negative at the DD-3 end, hence why it doesn't work. I am just surprised that the Celestron is centre positive - had I known I'd not have recommended the cable.

If you can wield a soldering iron, then you could chop the cable and wire one of these on:

https://www.maplin.co.uk/p/maplin-21-x-5mm-dc-power-line-socket-jk11m

But if you're not confident to do that, arrange to get the GP-SX cable back to us via @FLO and I'll get one of our service techs to rework it for you and send it back.

Cheers, Pete

[Fozzie]

Many Thanks @pete_gamby.. That solution gives me an option, so I will speak with our machine guru here as I believe he's thinking of something similar... I'll speak with @FLO and if my whiz is happy to go then I'll give that a try, if not I'll post back to FLO.

What I will do is double double check the polarity of everything..

Thanks again..

Fozzie

[Fozzie]

All sorted,

we have a light and power to the DD3.

In short the mech engineer in the factory here has spliced the GP-SX wire behind the Spike/surge protector and flipped the wires so that it's straight through and not inverting the polarity to tip negative.  He's then sealed the wire back up with heat wrap and closed the job off, very neat and tidy.

The LiFEPO4 Powertank and GP-SX adapter are now positive through out all the connections, and the DD3 is ready to go.

Big thanks to Martin at @FLO and @pete_gamby for the assistance on this one..

Happy days...

ta

Fozzie