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Portable power


hunterknox

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I’m looking for an easy way to power my portable setup, which just means powering an Astrotrac and a dew heater, but I can’t seem to find a stock, light-weight battery that will do both. All the astro power tank stuff seems to either have 12v cigar sockets, or a small DC outlet, but not both.

Happy to buy a new dew controller if needed but the only ones designed to power a mount as well as dew strips are on the massive side. 

Any ideas from the Lounge?

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8 minutes ago, hunterknox said:

I’m looking for an easy way to power my portable setup, which just means powering an Astrotrac and a dew heater, but I can’t seem to find a stock, light-weight battery that will do both. All the astro power tank stuff seems to either have 12v cigar sockets, or a small DC outlet, but not both.

Happy to buy a new dew controller if needed but the only ones designed to power a mount as well as dew strips are on the massive side. 

Any ideas from the Lounge?

It might be a bit more than you want to spend, but the  Celestron Powertank Pro has both 12v cigar socket and 12v dc output. I'm sure someone will be along shortly with a link to an adapter/splitter cable that will let you run both from a single socket. The powertank does have the advantage of being light, which may be an advantage for a portable set up.

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Thanks Shimrod - that looks like a backup option. 2kg is not that heavy in normal terms but not ideal on top of my other gear. Should have said I’m carrying everything off the beaten track so the lighter the better but I realise a compromise might be in order somewhere.

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1 hour ago, hunterknox said:

Thanks Shimrod - that looks like a backup option. 2kg is not that heavy in normal terms but not ideal on top of my other gear. Should have said I’m carrying everything off the beaten track so the lighter the better but I realise a compromise might be in order somewhere.

So maybe somthing like this usb-c to 2.1mm power  along with something like this powerbank ? I have a similar powerbank - the usb-c port puts out enough to keep my laptop charged and you might get enough from a standard usb port (with another adapter) for your dew heater. Only weighs 500g

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12 minutes ago, GordonD said:

Wow 22Ah for 70 quid is bit of a bargain!

Yep. Seems really well built and it's lithium ion. And has usb ports as well as 12v out via the 2.1mm DC socket or can use a 12v car socket adaptor which comes with it. Built in torch too. I intend on sticking some red gel over it for better night use. 

Edited by Bobby1970
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1 hour ago, Bobby1970 said:

I've just got one of these:-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07WG1JVYJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Z51FFb7EP7YY3

Not used it yet but seems well built and 22amps should be more than enough, hopefully. 

I cannot find any reference on the Amazon listing to Ampere/hours is there anything in the documentation you got with it, so I have no way of working out how long it would last on my setup. 

 

EDIT: Forget it I can see it now in the title 22A/hrs

Steve

Edited by teoria_del_big_bang
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26 minutes ago, teoria_del_big_bang said:

I cannot find any reference on the Amazon listing to Ampere/hours is there anything in the documentation you got with it, so I have no way of working out how long it would last on my setup. 

Steve

How many amps does your set up pull in total?

I can have a look tomorrow at the paperwork  as it's in the garage. Comes with a nice case too. 

Edited by Bobby1970
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Just now, Bobby1970 said:

How many amps does your set up pull in total?

I can have a look tomorrow at Tue paperwork  as it's in the garage. Comes with a nice case too. 

Its okay I have seen it now in the title says 22000 mAhrs so 22 A/hrs. 

I need to check what my setup pulls but if I don't so too much slewing of mount I would guess about 5A, so I would get around 4 hours. So not bad for that price. Might need 2 of them though 🙂 

Steve

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4 minutes ago, teoria_del_big_bang said:

Its okay I have seen it now in the title says 22000 mAhrs so 22 A/hrs. 

I need to check what my setup pulls but if I don't so too much slewing of mount I would guess about 5A, so I would get around 4 hours. So not bad for that price. Might need 2 of them though 🙂 

Steve

I did wonder if I was seeing things that weren't there. Lol

I also have an old car battery and a 7ah leisure battery. Hopefully I now have enough "juice" for my AsiAir, AZGti and cams along with a home made peltier cooler for my 178mc. As you say, cam always get another as the price is very good. You don't get a wall plug with it tho. It comes with a usb cable (usb c input) for charging but you probably have an old phone charger or something you can use ??

I had intended on getting the 17ah Skywatcher power tank. But the Amazon one is definitely better value and lithium Ion rather than lead acid. 

Edited by Bobby1970
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I’d be wary of that jump starter battery’s ratings. I’ve seen them quote the mah for the batteries at their cell voltage of 4.2v. So you’ll possibly only see 1/3 of that capacity. Considering a high spec 18650 battery can give you 3000mah at 4.2v. You’d need 21 cells to give you a pack with 12v at 21000mah. That’s quite a big pack 

If you want something reasonably light weight but with good capacity, you should have a look at LiFePo4 Golf trolley batteries. I’ve got a 12v 22ah one and that lasts me all night with a dew heater, mount and camera cooler. 
 

 

Edited by JimothyC
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I used the jump start battery pack last night and i had an issue.

Although it powered up my ASIAir and AZgti (via the ASIAir) the mount itself would not respond to slew commands or gotos etc.

It is definatley delivering 12v as it powers other equipment such as the 12v cooler mod i am working on for my camera.

When i replaced the battery pack with my old car battery the ASIAIr and AZGTI worked just fine. 

The jump starter states 12v/10a on it so i am a little perplexed as to why it wouldn't run the ASIAir and AZGti just as my old car battery does.

 

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Hi i use the celestron power tank and you can use the usb and not the telescope out put or the telescope out and not usb

I also use a powerpack it fits in my pocket and has a large amp hour rate 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/slredirect/picassoRedirect.html/ref=pa_sp_phone_search_atf_aps_sr_pg1_1?ie=UTF8&adId=A011655815U4ZWTX2NMX2&url=%2FStarter-Ultra-Safe-Battery-Charger-Portable%2Fdp%2FB088K5D88K%2Fref%3Dmp_s_a_1_1_sspa%3Fdchild%3D1%26keywords%3D12%2Bvolt%2Bpower%2Bpack%26qid%3D1602341522%26sr%3D8-1-spons%26psc%3D1&qualifier=1602341522&id=3125572137240767&widgetName=sp_phone_search_atf

All i did was remove crocodile clips and fitted a plug for my mirror fan and later on i will make a lead for a dew heater when i get it 

Edited by Neil H
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1 minute ago, Neil H said:

Hi i use the celestron power tank and you can use the usb and not the telescope out put or the telescope out and not usb

I also use a powerpack it fits in my pocket and has a large amp hour rate 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/slredirect/picassoRedirect.html/ref=pa_sp_phone_search_atf_aps_sr_pg1_1?ie=UTF8&adId=A011655815U4ZWTX2NMX2&url=%2FStarter-Ultra-Safe-Battery-Charger-Portable%2Fdp%2FB088K5D88K%2Fref%3Dmp_s_a_1_1_sspa%3Fdchild%3D1%26keywords%3D12%2Bvolt%2Bpower%2Bpack%26qid%3D1602341522%26sr%3D8-1-spons%26psc%3D1&qualifier=1602341522&id=3125572137240767&widgetName=sp_phone_search_atf

All i did was remove crocodile clips and fitted a plug for my mirror fan and later on i will make a lead for a dew heater when i get it 

looks very similar to the one i got 👍

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