Battery for powering the SLT127

[Markinaboat]

Hi,

Just wondered if anyone would know if this would power a 127SLT (considering buying used as a 2nd travel scope for my boat) for maybe 2/3 hours? Seems good for the price and of course safer than a life-po battery.

http://www.spycameracctv.com/spycamera/12v-dc-rechargeable-li-on-lithium-6800mah-battery-for-security-cameras?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIybGcnqjD4wIVSLTtCh02CQywEAQYASABEgJadvD_BwE

 

Thanks

[Cornelius Varley]

The link doesn't work.

[Cosmic Geoff]

21 minutes ago, Markinaboat said:

Rather than start a new topic, just wondered if anyone would know if this would power a 127SLT (considering buying used as a 2nd travel scope for my boat) for maybe 2/3 hours? Seems good for the price and of course safer than a life-po battery.

That link didn't work. There are 57 different ways of powering these mounts.🙂  Three that I have actually tried are:

a 12v 7Ah sealed lead-acid battery (cheap and runs mount for ages, far more than 2/3 hours).

10x 1.2v rechargeables in a battery holder - this worked but you'd need to find or make a suitable 12v charger.

Celestron LiFePo 86WH powertank - expensive but lightweight for the capacity and totally safe, supposed to last longer than lead-acid.  Again, this will run your mount for ages. Any bad news you may have read refers to poor quality stuff from China, or misuse.

[Markinaboat]

1 hour ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

That link didn't work. There are 57 different ways of powering these mounts.🙂  Three that I have actually tried are:

a 12v 7Ah sealed lead-acid battery (cheap and runs mount for ages, far more than 2/3 hours).

10x 1.2v rechargeables in a battery holder - this worked but you'd need to find or make a suitable 12v charger.

Celestron LiFePo 86WH powertank - expensive but lightweight for the capacity and totally safe, supposed to last longer than lead-acid.  Again, this will run your mount for ages. Any bad news you may have read refers to poor quality stuff from China, or misuse.

Thanks Geoff,

 

The url wouldn't work if inserted as a url (security issue?) so I just pasted. If you copy the url and paste into your browser, it'll work.

I was also considering a simple SLA (sealed lead acid), maybe a motorcycle battery but jus wondered if this one would suffice?

 

[Cornelius Varley]

According to the specs the max discharge current is 2amps. which might be OK for the SLT mount but could be marginal.

[Markinaboat]

8 minutes ago, Cornelius Varley said:

According to the specs the max discharge current is 2amps. which might be OK for the SLT mount but could be marginal.

Yeah, I saw that as well but not a hope in hell's chance of finding out the power requirements for the scope!

[Cornelius Varley]

28 minutes ago, Markinaboat said:

Yeah, I saw that as well but not a hope in hell's chance of finding out the power requirements for the scope!

The min requirement for the mount is 12dc 0.75a. Check the reviews for the battery, there is one from a 127SLT owner.

[Markinaboat]

19 minutes ago, Cornelius Varley said:

The min requirement for the mount is 12dc 0.75a. Check the reviews for the battery, there is one from a 127SLT owner.

Thanks. Will search on the one I put the link in for.

[Geoff Lister]

23 hours ago, Markinaboat said:

Yeah, I saw that as well but not a hope in hell's chance of finding out the power requirements for the scope!

Well... perhaps not the 127SLT, but these are some current measurements that I made on similar mounts. The Skymax 127 is probably the closest combined setup, but the Skyprodigy and Cosmos give an idea of consumption with different peripherals.

These are some of my external 12V power sources.

I tend to use the plug-top supply in the garden, and for portable use, usually the 6V 2600mAh packs, borrowed from radio-controlled model sailing yachts.

Geoff

 

[Markinaboat]

thanks guys!

 

[Markinaboat]

Reply from Celestron - "When both motors are going it is using 1.5ah"

Have got my spare car battery and bought a cigarette lighter socket with croc clips for now ... sorted!

[Starlight 1]

I put a fuse on + &- battery in dark  easy to get the wrong way round.

[Markinaboat]

33 minutes ago, Starlight 1 said:

I put a fuse on + &- battery in dark  easy to get the wrong way round.

Good idea. will build a box eventually pre-wired.

[cletrac1922]

On 20/07/2019 at 21:26, Markinaboat said:

Hi,

Just wondered if anyone would know if this would power a 127SLT (considering buying used as a 2nd travel scope for my boat) for maybe 2/3 hours? Seems good for the price and of course safer than a life-po battery.

http://www.spycameracctv.com/spycamera/12v-dc-rechargeable-li-on-lithium-6800mah-battery-for-security-cameras?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIybGcnqjD4wIVSLTtCh02CQywEAQYASABEgJadvD_BwE

 

Thanks

Mark

For me ED80 and EQ5pro mount, I use car jump battery pack

Have used for 5 days at Astrofest 

John

[Carbon Brush]

A word on batteries and safety if I may.

Lithium is safe if used correctly.

Lead acid or NiCd are equally unsafe if used incorrectly.

It is not the chemistry as such that causes the problems. it is way it is used.

 

[StarDodger]

On 20/07/2019 at 12:26, Markinaboat said:

Hi,

Just wondered if anyone would know if this would power a 127SLT (considering buying used as a 2nd travel scope for my boat) for maybe 2/3 hours? Seems good for the price and of course safer than a life-po battery.

http://www.spycameracctv.com/spycamera/12v-dc-rechargeable-li-on-lithium-6800mah-battery-for-security-cameras?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIybGcnqjD4wIVSLTtCh02CQywEAQYASABEgJadvD_BwE

 

Thanks

Well, good luck using that on a boat... tracking may be difficult...😀 unless it’s in dry dock... 👍

[Markinaboat]

On 31/07/2019 at 02:11, cletrac1922 said:

Mark

For me ED80 and EQ5pro mount, I use car jump battery pack

Have used for 5 days at Astrofest 

John

Thy're good. Had one with my last CPC setup.

[Markinaboat]

On 31/07/2019 at 14:57, StarDodger said:

Well, good luck using that on a boat... tracking may be difficult...😀 unless it’s in dry dock... 👍

🙂

[DaveL59]

I just got one of these, thinking the car outlet would be an easy hookup for the SynScan and be able to drive the mount for a good couple hours. My spare 17Ah lead batteries are just too past it after a couple years in UPS so wanted a lightweight option if I was going to have to go buy something new. Got lucky and caught a limited time deal so figured why not.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/YABER-20000mAh-Waterproof-Portable-Flashlight/dp/B07N5XNTN8/ref=sr_1_67?keywords=lithium+car+starter&qid=1564774612&s=gateway&sr=8-67

So it arrived today, looks well made and includes a case and the car starter plus ciggy socket in the kit. BUT, checking the car output it reads 16v so that's a lot too high I think. I plan to stick a DC-DC buck converter in front of it to give a stable 12V to power the mount rather than risking it.

[DaveL59]

OK so the buck converter arrived today now rigged up and tested. Seems to give a steady 12v - the meter reads 11.99 in the pic as I'm using contact weight so can take a piccy 🙂 Decided to stick with a ciggy plug to make hookup to the LiPo pack easy and wired 2x 5.5/2.1mm short leads to the buck output side so I can go direct to the SynScan motor control module and add a 12v camera later down the road.

Hooked up to the SynScan on the EQ5 and had a play for a while and its driving it just fine at fast slew and tracking speeds so a fairly neat lightweight unit for mobile power I think.

[2Karl]

I use these things for my 130SLT :

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01IN4E4BA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_qW.sDbR3M06JC

they're Lithium ion, but AA sized, and each has an individual charging port, so you plug them into the supplied 4 way micro-USB cable, stick em in a USB port and then let them charge. usually lasts me a couple of nights before I have to recharge them.

[PlanetGazer]

Why not use something like this battery and the adapter in the second link? which I assume have more capacity

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sealed-Lead-Acid-Rechargeable-Battery/dp/B002S4T0F2/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Lead+Acid+Battery&qid=1566424113&s=gateway&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Battery-Cigarette-Lighter-overload-protection/dp/B01CDUU536/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=battery+to+car+adapter&qid=1566424150&s=gateway&sr=8-3

I use a similar battery with a different brand (cheaper locally), and no problems so far. Though it's for the best if you wait for more comments on this, as I'm only a beginner.

Edited August 21, 2019 by PlanetGazer