power supply for EQ5 goto

[msacco]

Hello, I'd like to get more information about portable power supply for the EQ5 goto mount, I searched quite a lot, there were many many threads about this, but couldn't really find the answers I want, so first, what power connection do I need for the EQ5 goto? Is it this cable:

If so, what power supplies are recommended? I saw the celestron 7ah power tank, but its quite expensive and shipping to my country will make it much more expensive, so Im not sure if its worth it, I thought about something similar to that: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/A-High-Quality-Auto-EPS-69800mAh-Multi-Function-Car-Jump-Starter-Battery-Booster-Charger-Mini-4USB/32675933039.html

Will this work? If so, how long will it last? Also thought about buying a few batteries if it works like this https://www.aliexpress.com/item/new-dc-12-in-a-9800-much-lithium-ion-super-battery-and-charger/32380163481.html

Any advices? should those work? How long will they last? Thanks

[wookie1965]

You will need at least 3 amps for the mount so anything putting out more than that will do, plenty of people use these,

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12V-Car-Jump-Starter-Battery-Start-Booster-Charger-Leads-Air-Compressor-Portable/142853563595?hash=item2142bc64cb:g:6RAAAOSwds1bUAsQ

I made a battery box then bought two of these one for the mount one for a dew strip,

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Realistic-PRO-2042-Scanner-Car-Cigarette-Lighter-12v-Adapter-Power-Cord-NEW-/182295719236?hash=item2a71abed44

[msacco]

13 minutes ago, wookie1965 said:

You will need at least 3 amps for the mount so anything putting out more than that will do, plenty of people use these,

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12V-Car-Jump-Starter-Battery-Start-Booster-Charger-Leads-Air-Compressor-Portable/142853563595?hash=item2142bc64cb:g:6RAAAOSwds1bUAsQ

I made a battery box then bought two of these one for the mount one for a dew strip,

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Realistic-PRO-2042-Scanner-Car-Cigarette-Lighter-12v-Adapter-Power-Cord-NEW-/182295719236?hash=item2a71abed44

The 12v car jump starter you sent me is not a battery right? if its just a charger for a car battery I already have one at home(not battery, just a car battery charger and its not portable), my parents just got rid of old car battery so I don't really have where to get one now, and Im not sure buying a new one is the best idea.

I've read that the EQ5 need 11-15v at 2 amps, the items I've sent are not strong enough to power that? And what other options do you suggest?

[wookie1965]

The car jump starter has a battery in I've not used one myself as like I said I built a battery box. As far as I know the EQ5 uses 2 amps but can use more when slewing better off getting something with more.

[msacco]

24 minutes ago, wookie1965 said:

The car jump starter has a battery in I've not used one myself as like I said I built a battery box. As far as I know the EQ5 uses 2 amps but can use more when slewing better off getting something with more.

Unfortunately the item you sent me does not ship to my country, do you know if this works the same? https://www.ebay.com/itm/12-24V-14Amp-Car-Jump-Starter-Battery-Start-Charger-Portable-AUTO-Van-200000mAh/382205137231?hash=item58fd33914f

Its just really hard finding something good because most items are like 50-100$ more for shipping.

edit - I found this:

for about 40$, do you think its something worth getting? 14 Ah with 4.2A current seems pretty nice for the price, will it work?

[wookie1965]

If you are going to use a battery it will have to be a lot more than that as the battery will run down as you use it mine is this one it will work for a good two night session before needing to be charged.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12V-75AH-Heavy-Duty-Leisure-Battery-LUCAS-LM22MF-Caravan-Motorhome-Marine-Boat-/201993432596?hash=item2f07bf2e14

[msacco]

33 minutes ago, wookie1965 said:

If you are going to use a battery it will have to be a lot more than that as the battery will run down as you use it mine is this one it will work for a good two night session before needing to be charged.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12V-75AH-Heavy-Duty-Leisure-Battery-LUCAS-LM22MF-Caravan-Motorhome-Marine-Boat-/201993432596?hash=item2f07bf2e14

Well yeah ofc it will be a good battery, but its also quite expensive, and doesn't ship to my country either way ?. The thing is Im not really sure I'd need a battery that will last for 2 night sessions. The battery I sent says that it should last 14 hours, which sounds pretty nice, what do you think?

[wookie1965]

I just dont want you buying something and it does not work say 2 hours in to a viewing session the mount stops because not enough power.

Could you not search for similar batteries in you country so there is no need to have one shipped to you..

[msacco]

1 hour ago, wookie1965 said:

I just dont want you buying something and it does not work say 2 hours in to a viewing session the mount stops because not enough power.

Could you not search for similar batteries in you country so there is no need to have one shipped to you..

Just for general understanding, if it says that is should last for 14 hours, why would it last for 2 hours? and a similar car battery as yours would probably cost me around 150$+ here, and the telescope Im purchasing is kinda already at my budget limit, so Im not really sure about spending so much on it atm, might do it later, but Im not sure for now.

Any ideas about this one: https://www.amazon.com/Stealth-Cam-12V-Battery-Included/dp/B0015ZWSMW/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

Saw it being recommended here: http://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/reviews/portable-power-telescopes.html Thats like the only thing I saw that doesn't cost about 50-100$ shipping and only 4$ for shipping.

[wookie1965]

Yes that looks fine just a basic one like that will do.

I never believe what suppliers say there are a lot of factors to consider, cold drains batteries quicker that is why I insulated my battery box. 

It does not say what it is powering to last that 14 hrs if it was using 1amp then great but if your mount uses 3amps only get a 3rd of that with a full charge maybe 5 hours and depends how it drains the battery could be quicker if a cheap one so you may only get 2-3 hours. That one you got the review from looks just about write to power the mount.

 

[msacco]

5 minutes ago, wookie1965 said:

Yes that looks fine just a basic one like that will do.

I never believe what suppliers say there are a lot of factors to consider, cold drains batteries quicker that is why I insulated my battery box. 

It does not say what it is powering to last that 14 hrs if it was using 1amp then great but if your mount uses 3amps only get a 3rd of that with a full charge maybe 5 hours and depends how it drains the battery could be quicker if a cheap one so you may only get 2-3 hours. That one you got the review from looks just about write to power the mount.

 

Thanks for the answer, I read about the ampere/hour meanwhile so I see what you mean now, but Im not quite sure about the stealth box being better than the battery I sent earlier, in the Q&A of the item they replied that the ampere/hour is 7.5, which is less than the 14 ampere/hour I've sent before, but they also said that a 12v that consumes 2 amp should last 5-6 hours. Would you still recommend me buying the stealth box? Or should I look for something better?

[Cornelius Varley]

2 hours ago, msacco said:

Just for general understanding, if it says that is should last for 14 hours, why would it last for 2 hours? and a similar car battery as yours would probably cost me around 150$+ here, and the telescope Im purchasing is kinda already at my budget limit, so Im not really sure about spending so much on it atm, might do it later, but Im not sure for now.

Any ideas about this one: https://www.amazon.com/Stealth-Cam-12V-Battery-Included/dp/B0015ZWSMW/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

Saw it being recommended here: http://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/reviews/portable-power-telescopes.html Thats like the only thing I saw that doesn't cost about 50-100$ shipping and only 4$ for shipping.

Do you know the capacity of the battery ?. The dimensions suggest that is probably about 7ah , so not so good.

[wookie1965]

5-6 hours is a good session but you would have to charge every time which will shorten the battery life. If you can get one and afford it try get something that will last at least 2 nights viewing  remember when the battery gets down to 3-4 amps it will probably stop working the mount.

The battery is using volts all the time I have a voltmeter on my box if it gets to 9 volts I will charge again if it goes lower it will knock off because the mount draws volts as well as amps. Hope this helps. read down near the bottom.

 

https://www.batteryweb.com/pdf/inverter_battery_sizing_faq.pdf

Some more easy calculations here to work out what you would need.

http://www.streetmusician.co.uk/batterycalculation/comment-page-1/

[msacco]

7 minutes ago, Cornelius Varley said:

Do you know the capacity of the battery ?. The dimensions suggest that is probably about 7ah , so not so good.

Yes, it says in the Q&A, it is 7.5 ah, they also said that the battery should last 5-6 hours on 12v 2amp current, tho I can't really understand how..

6 minutes ago, wookie1965 said:

5-6 hours is a good session but you would have to charge every time which will shorten the battery life. If you can get one and afford it try get something that will last at least 2 nights viewing  remember when the battery gets down to 3-4 amps it will probably stop working the mount.

The battery is using volts all the time I have a voltmeter on my box if it gets to 9 volts I will charge again if it goes lower it will knock off because the mount draws volts as well as amps. Hope this helps. read down near the bottom.

 

https://www.batteryweb.com/pdf/inverter_battery_sizing_faq.pdf

I think that I'll get something small at first, I'll see how long I need to use it how often etc etc, and after that I'll decide how much I want to invest for my needs. Anyway, I kinda understand it much more now, so thanks a lot

[wookie1965]

You can write in this what you need and it will do the calculations for you.

https://www.batterystuff.com/kb/tools/calculator-sizing-a-battery-to-a-load.html

[msacco]

1 minute ago, wookie1965 said:

You can write in this what you need and it will do the calculations for you.

https://www.batterystuff.com/kb/tools/calculator-sizing-a-battery-to-a-load.html

Yeah I already checked that site, but I can't really know how long I'll power, so I can only estimate, but I think that 40-50 ah would be pretty much enough for me.

[msacco]

14 hours ago, wookie1965 said:

You can write in this what you need and it will do the calculations for you.

https://www.batterystuff.com/kb/tools/calculator-sizing-a-battery-to-a-load.html

Hey, I got one more question, I've seen that using a deep cycle battery is the best thing to use, now I've been looking for some, and its just super expensive, now my question is what would be better, a car battery with 62 ah, or a deep cycle battery with like 20-30 ah? A deep cycle battery with like 70 ah would cost me around 200$, which is really expensive ?

[wookie1965]

That's unfortunate as a deep cycle is the right way to go as they take a charge and discharge better than a car battery which promotes the life of the battery. If you can get one around 50ah that would do you.

[msacco]

33 minutes ago, wookie1965 said:

That's unfortunate as a deep cycle is the right way to go as they take a charge and discharge better than a car battery which promotes the life of the battery. If you can get one around 50ah that would do you.

There's actually a 70 ah deep cycle battery for 150$, anything lower than that is like 20-30 ah for around 110$, which is also rather expensive :x

How crucial is the difference between the two? Obviously its more suited for charging and discharging, but is it worth adding like 50$ for that? This sht is so expensive in my country, its sad ? I can't find anything from ebay/amazon/aliexpress as they usually don't ship those kind of things.

[wookie1965]

Sorry to hear that about prices but deep cycle will last a lot longer than a normal car battery you could pay out for one use it for 6 months then have to buy another one costing more money than getting a deep cycle I've had mine two years now and still going strong.

[msacco]

4 hours ago, wookie1965 said:

Sorry to hear that about prices but deep cycle will last a lot longer than a normal car battery you could pay out for one use it for 6 months then have to buy another one costing more money than getting a deep cycle I've had mine two years now and still going strong.

Ok, I'll see what I can do abou it, thanks.