Reasonably priced 12v power box ?

[Northernlight]

Hi all,

I'm looking for a reasonably priced 12v power distribution box.  looking at ones from Astro resellers are Crazy Money  - £400-£500., which is ridiculous money which i refuse to pay for a power splitter

 

 

[Fellside]

Hi

I have been using one of these for a couple of years now. I fitted a couple of brackets on the back to allow for a more secure fitting on the mount. It has five outputs plus a powered USB, three outputs are switched, all are fused, LED indication. Mine cost just over £12.00. They seem to be out of stock at the moment, maybe Chinese production problems. A model shop some ware may have one.

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/hobbyking-powerstrip-fuse-protected-power-distribution-board.html?queryID=f652c9d2778130497b5237eefc3bda50&objectID=38455&indexName=hbk_live_magento_en_us_products

Yes £400-£500 is a lot of money to spend. I rarely uses the switches on my Powerstrip and very never have to cycle the USB on and off. I have a SharpSky Pro that runs my focuser and dew strips.

I did own a Powerbox for a couple of months then sold it on. I shouldn't have justified the cost to my self🙂

Anyway £12.00 well spent, great value.

Graham

 

[m.tweedy]

Why not an Anderson Powerpole

I have used these for years and they work very well with a secure connection.

I have tended to use it in conjunction with a 12v powered USB hub

https://www.dewcontrol.com/Powerpole_Distribution_Box/p3099125_20055344.aspx

 

Edited May 26, 2020 by m.tweedy
additional info

[david_taurus83]

Or if your looking for something simple which is 12v in (5.5 x 2.5 barrel plug) and 5 no. 12v out ( standard 5.5 x 2.1 barrel plug) and 2 no. USB 5v out. Its tiny as well!

https://deepskydad.com/dchub2

[m.tweedy]

7 minutes ago, david_taurus83 said:

Or if your looking for something simple which is 12v in (5.5 x 2.5 barrel plug) and 5 no. 12v out ( standard 5.5 x 2.1 barrel plug) and 2 no. USB 5v out. Its tiny as well!

https://deepskydad.com/dchub2

Oh I do like that.

 

[david_taurus83]

31 minutes ago, Fellside said:

Hi

I have been using one of these for a couple of years now. I fitted a couple of brackets on the back to allow for a more secure fitting on the mount. It has five outputs plus a powered USB, three outputs are switched, all are fused, LED indication. Mine cost just over £12.00. They seem to be out of stock at the moment, maybe Chinese production problems. A model shop some ware may have one.

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/hobbyking-powerstrip-fuse-protected-power-distribution-board.html?queryID=f652c9d2778130497b5237eefc3bda50&objectID=38455&indexName=hbk_live_magento_en_us_products

Yes £400-£500 is a lot of money to spend. I rarely uses the switches on my Powerstrip and very never have to cycle the USB on and off. I have a SharpSky Pro that runs my focuser and dew strips.

I did own a Powerbox for a couple of months then sold it on. I shouldn't have justified the cost to my self🙂

Anyway £12.00 well spent, great value.

Graham

 

I really like the look of these. I have a triple cigar socket type thing between mount and PSU but I'd much rather something like this and banana plugs. I'd probably just add a voltmeter/ammeter before this to monitor supply at mount end 15m from PSU.

[Juicy6]

7 minutes ago, david_taurus83 said:

... to monitor supply at mount end 15m from PSU.

15 m cables - you need to look at this:

Voltage drop calculator

 

Christer, Sweden

[david_taurus83]

1 minute ago, Juicy6 said:

15 m cables - you need to look at this:

Voltage drop calculator

 

Christer, Sweden

Yes I'm dropping around 4v after adding a coolbox for my camera and total draw of 6amps. I prob need 2.5mm cable (currently 1.5mm) but looking for something that stays flexible. My current cigar socket thingy has a voltmeter. So 16v output from PSU and I have 11.9 at the mount!

[Juicy6]

2 minutes ago, david_taurus83 said:

So 16v output from PSU and I have 11.9 at the mount!

Not a good plan. You will have correct voltage at full amperage but way too many volts when only low consumption is drawn. You need to use thicker cables!

[david_taurus83]

2 minutes ago, Juicy6 said:

Not a good plan. You will have correct voltage at full amperage but way too many volts when only low consumption is drawn. You need to use thicker cables!

Its 13.5 when cooler switches off so no fear of going over but I understand your point.

[Northernlight]

Many thanks all, I like the simple astrodad design that allows bolting directly to the  dovetail, but i also found a 8 port web relay for 75 Euro's., which allows control over each relay meaning that i would be able to switch off each individual power connection. via a web page.

 

https://www.kmtronic.com/lan-ethernet-ip-8-channels-web-relay-board.html

 

 

[m.tweedy]

5 hours ago, david_taurus83 said:

Or if your looking for something simple which is 12v in (5.5 x 2.5 barrel plug) and 5 no. 12v out ( standard 5.5 x 2.1 barrel plug) and 2 no. USB 5v out. Its tiny as well!

https://deepskydad.com/dchub2

Just ordered one for my travel rig i am setting up

 

[david_taurus83]

Just now, m.tweedy said:

Just ordered one for my travel rig i am setting up

 

Just make sure you have a 5.5 x 2.5 barrel plug for the 12v input. I think hes done it this way so as not to get them mixed up. All the outlets are the standard 2.1 plugs

[Northernlight]

In the end i decided on the Pegasus power box, whilst it's still expensive  - its  seems like the best option for me as it has Ascom Drivers, a humidity sensor and manual control of power outputs.

https://pegasusastro.com/products/pocket-powerbox/

 

 

[m.tweedy]

Just now, david_taurus83 said:

Just make sure you have a 5.5 x 2.5 barrel plug for the 12v input. I think hes done it this way so as not to get them mixed up. All the outlets are the standard 2.1 plugs

Thank you. I bought a number from Dew Control on UKABS as he sells bespoke power cables. I needed to modify my cabling with the CEM120 having on saddle power (and USB3). This is soooo good.

[Northernlight]

Hey Michael,

I'm just down the road from you in Shiremoor.

[m.tweedy]

On 26/05/2020 at 20:18, david_taurus83 said:

Just make sure you have a 5.5 x 2.5 barrel plug for the 12v input. I think hes done it this way so as not to get them mixed up. All the outlets are the standard 2.1 plugs

Thanks David. I will be ordering some power cables from Dew control and note the 5.5 x 2.5 plug. This is the same as a couple on my CEM120 that i also ordered from him.

 

[m.tweedy]

On 26/05/2020 at 20:23, Northernlight said:

Hey Michael,

I'm just down the road from you in Shiremoor.

Not too far away but it could be a different planet at the moment. When this is all over you should pay us a visit on a Thursday or Sunday evening.  sunderlandastro.com

Edited May 27, 2020 by m.tweedy
additional info

[Northernlight]

Hi Michael,

Thanks for the invite - unfortunately with 2 young kids i seldom get a chance to stray too far, so i tend to be quite a solitary astronomer

[m.tweedy]

On 28/05/2020 at 00:31, Northernlight said:

Hi Michael,

Thanks for the invite - unfortunately with 2 young kids i seldom get a chance to stray too far, so i tend to be quite a solitary astronomer

Astronomy is a long game. As long as you are enjoying it. that is all that matters.

 

[Northernlight]

I was enjoying it until the electrical surge in my obs took out my £4500 QSI camera - hence looking for a more robust mechanism for power distribution with a bit more protection

[m.tweedy]

On 29/05/2020 at 21:11, Northernlight said:

I was enjoying it until the electrical surge in my obs took out my £4500 QSI camera - hence looking for a more robust mechanism for power distribution with a bit more protection

That is not good. Is the Observatory using mains electricity? To ensure all of my gear is getting a regulated voltage i have a transformer to ensure this does not happen. It has been going strong since 2014. You are getting a top of the range product with the Pegasus.

Can the camera be fixed?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007CGBTOQ?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_product_details

 

[Northernlight]

having a nightmare with UPS just to get is shipped properly insured to QSI/Atik - but i'm not hopeful for the amount of smoke that came from the camera.  

[m.tweedy]

18 hours ago, Northernlight said:

having a nightmare with UPS just to get is shipped properly insured to QSI/Atik - but i'm not hopeful for the amount of smoke that came from the camera.  

If any one can Atik/QSI can

[Northernlight]

Yes  it at what cost. If they come back with anything over £1000-1500 then it's not worth it. I managed to get arik to arrange a collection tomorrow,  so hopefully will have a repair cost next week.