Would this be good for powering my HEQ5?

[AlanP_]

I couldn't find a Skywatcher 7AMP Power tank in stock anywhere which was recommended to me to power my HEQ5 mount, so I had to find a different one.

Would this one be ok? - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Outdoor-Extension-Weatherproof-Splashproof-Protection/dp/B07VXVHZNY/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=1CO0IT5QPCV08&dchild=1&keywords=outdoor+extension+lead+waterproof&qid=1609509567&sprefix=outdoor+%2Caps%2C148&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&smid=A2KLPKHO4ZIP5X&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUE3M01YVDM1ODdFUFAmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA4NzY0MDExRFFYTjNEQlpPMjFEJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA1ODUyNTFSUlRUQlpSODBDTjkmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

Ideally im looking for one that will be useful outdoors and be safe from any dew, but i'll probably place it in a plastic container regardless. Are there any better alternatives?

[AlanP_]

Actualy, I just came across this - https://www.picstop.co.uk/telescope-power-accessories/celestron-powertank-7-12v-7ah.html

I think it has the same specs as the skywatcher powertank. Can anyone confirm if it will work ok with my HEQ5? It'd be nicer to have the wireless compatability and not be dependant on mains.

I presume i'd need a cable like this then to power it? - https://www.firstlightoptics.com/power-accessories/lynx-astro-mount-power-cable-for-sky-watcher-mounts.html

Sorry for all the questions! Its quite confusing.

Edited January 1, 2021 by AlanP_

[Cornelius Varley]

27 minutes ago, AlanP_ said:

Actualy, I just came across this - https://www.picstop.co.uk/telescope-power-accessories/celestron-powertank-7-12v-7ah.html

I think it has the same specs as the skywatcher powertank. Can anyone confirm if it will work ok with my HEQ5? It'd be nicer to have the wireless compatability and not be dependant on mains.

It will work will your HEQ5, but it is only 7ah which means that you might only get a few hours use out of it before it drains down. For the price of the Celestron 7ah powertank you could get a 75ah deep cycle leisure battery 12V 75ah Leisure Battery ULTRA 80 85 DEEP CYCLE Leisure maintenance free: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike .

[teoria_del_big_bang]

Good advice from @Cornelius Varley.

It would help if we knew in total what you need to power, is it just the HEQ5 or do you have cameras, dew bands, focussers etc ?

A HEQ5 will probably take an average current of 0.5A when tracking and around 2A when slewing between targets so say an average of 1A.
So in Theory the Powertank you suggest will last 7 hours.
But in practice I do not think that will be the case, this will have a lead acid battery and you should not fully run the batter down otherwise it will never fully recharge. Also in very cold weather the capability will also be reduced. So even with just the mount I would guess it will last maybe 4 to 5 hours reliably, 

But if you do want to power a camera (especially if cooled) and dew band then this time will be greatly reduced.

The leisure battery is a far better option.

Steve

[AlanP_]

Thanks @Cornelius Varley and @teoria_del_big_bang. 

I dont mind charging the battery after each use if needs be. I'd probably be imaging a max of 3 hours a night anyways and it wont be every night due to clouds, unfortunately.

If I chose that battery you recommended, how would I get power from it to connect it to say my laptop, heq5 and anything else? I don't have a cooled camera, just a DSLR. Speaking of which, is there a way I can get constant power to my Canon without replacing batteries? 

[teoria_del_big_bang]

For up to 3 hours then a fully charged battery might just be okay for your canon but a more reliable way is to get a dummy battery. 
Something like This  but not sure this is compatible with your particular DSLR.

Power to your laptop from a 12V source is a little more difficult as most laptop power supplies are more like 19V, but I am going on laptops I have used and not had a new one for some years so newer ones may differ and also will probably last longer on their own battery.
Again for 3 hours maybe but a new battery and it may last 3 hours especially if you dim the screen and let it turn screen off altogether after a short while.
But if you do want to power laptop from 12V then you need something like This 

But now we are powering more than the mount you may not even get 3 hours out of that power tank, I can't say for sure, if fully charged and kept in good condition and you do not do a lot of slewing of mount which does take far more current then it might just last.

There was a thread recently on this very subject I will try to find it and give you the link..

Are you imaging from your back yard or from remote locations ?
If from home then so long as not too far from house many do use 240V, but obviously care needs to be taken.

Let me find the link to the recent thread.

Steve

[teoria_del_big_bang]

HERE is one thread about power tanks.

Also HERE is another recent thread about using mains power supplies for backyard imaging.

If from home then the mains options is more reliable and easier BUT please if you do make sure it is safe using the proper equipment and an RCD is a must. Ideally use a garden socket fitted and wired ny a qualified electrician and cover any mains supplies with a splash proof box with enough air around the supplies to keep them cool. If using an extension then please get a proper garden extension and unroll all the cable, do not leave any on the reel, even a few turns left on the roll can get quite hot very quickly.

Steve

[jonathan]

If you went for a leisure battery with 75Ah instead of 7Ah, you could use a simple buck converter to make up the 19v or whatever your laptop required, the converter would be able to make any reasonable voltage and amps your laptop required by converting amps into volts or vice-versa (a decent leisure battery should have no problem providing the power), but obviously you need a powerful enough source to supply such a conversion (a little will always be lost in the process).

I use an 85Ah leisure battery for my NEQ6 Pro (non-goto), never had any worries about running out of juice, I don't run any additional equipment other than the mount and a dew heater, but a socket splitter could soon solve that problem.  Be sure to use an inline fuse in every power cable that carries significant amps and volts, the last thing you want in the dark is overheating or melting power cords (with potentially exposed wires carrying many amps!)

 

[AlanP_]

Appreciate the help guys. 

I'm still very confused about how everything wil be connected and what exactly needs power. So lets say I go for that Celestron 7amp Power Bank. I am presuming the mount needs this cigarrete plug cable that would go from the mount to the power bank? Correct me if im wrong. Then I could buy this dummy battery for my canon 600D (I have two normal batteries which I could also use to save some power from my power bank). Then, what im thinking of is having my laptop inside and buy a long USB hub coming from my laptop and connecting to anything that needs power such as a dew heater, or also that dummy battery.  Am I missing anything? I'm still waiting on stuff to come so its hard to visualise what it will all look like and how it would connect. 

Would that power bank suffice with that setup? I think I want to avoid using the car battery or anything like that as I don't know enough about how that works.

Edit: Actually, im not sure how that would work. How do I connect my camera/mount to my laptop

Edited January 1, 2021 by AlanP_

[Owmuchonomy]

I have personal experience of 'Powertanks' whether SW or otherwise and I was very disappointed.  They both lasted a few months and gave me 30 minutes maximum when plugged into my HEQ5 Pro.  I would concur with that said above and go for a leisure battery option.

[AlanP_]

8 minutes ago, Owmuchonomy said:

I have personal experience of 'Powertanks' whether SW or otherwise and I was very disappointed.  They both lasted a few months and gave me 30 minutes maximum when plugged into my HEQ5 Pro.  I would concur with that said above and go for a leisure battery option.

Oh, well that may change my plan on using that so. I seen this one in one of the threads @teoria_del_big_bang linked. Its a bit out of my budget, but would it be a good option for me?

[Owmuchonomy]

4 minutes ago, AlanP_ said:

Oh, well that may change my plan on using that so. I seen this one in one of the threads @teoria_del_big_bang linked. Its a bit out of my budget, but would it be a good option for me?

Quite possibly.  I know someone in the Dales who runs his Meade SCT and mount with one of those and swears by it.

[AlanP_]

1 minute ago, Owmuchonomy said:

Quite possibly.  I know someone in the Dales who runs his Meade SCT and mount with one of those and swears by it.

Probably wouldn't power my laptop though is the only thing if I wasn't at home..

I seen this jump starter also recommended - https://www.halfords.com/motoring/battery-maintenance/jump-starters/4-in-1-jump-starter-594335.html

How would that work? Does it need to be connected to anything? 

Edited January 1, 2021 by AlanP_

[teoria_del_big_bang]

26 minutes ago, AlanP_ said:

Probably wouldn't power my laptop though is the only thing if I wasn't at home..

I seen this jump starter also recommended - https://www.halfords.com/motoring/battery-maintenance/jump-starters/4-in-1-jump-starter-594335.html

How would that work? Does it need to be connected to anything? 

It has an invertor to deliver 240V so would power your laptop power supply. They are fairly inefficient and as it creates 240V ac from 13.8V DC then runs it through the power supply for laptop to bring it back down to 19V, or whatever your laptop requires you can see plenty of potential for power being wasted. 

So yes it would power your laptop but I still think converting 12V to your laptops supply voltage would be more efficient Using This but as I said with a good battery for laptop then maybe you only need to power the laptop with the external supply for an hour or so so maybe the invertor is fine.

Although I have not gone this route personally I am very impressed with the leisure battery and holder also in that link I gave you and it gives you loads of power and about the same cost as the supply on Amazon you found.
This battery + This holder + a trickle charger. You do not even need this much power so there are some cheaper batteries with less A/Hrs on the same site.

Steve

Edited January 1, 2021 by teoria_del_big_bang

[AlanP_]

11 minutes ago, teoria_del_big_bang said:

It has an invertor to deliver 240V so would power your laptop power supply. They are fairly inefficient and as it creates 240V ac from 13.8V DC then runs it through the power supply for laptop to bring it back down to 19V, or whatever your laptop requires you can see plenty of potential for power being wasted. 

So yes it would power your laptop but I still think converting 12V to your laptops supply voltage would be more efficient Using This but as I said with a good battery for laptop then maybe you only need to power the laptop with the external supply for an hour or so so maybe the invertor is fine.

Although I have not gone this route personally I am very impressed with the leisure battery and holder also in that link I gave you and it gives you loads of power and about the same cost as the supply on Amazon you found.
This battery + This holder + a trickle charger. You do not even need this much poser so there are some cheaper batteries with less A/Hrs on the same site.

Steve

Ah ok, thanks for pointing that out.

So if I bought that jump starter, I could power my laptop using that convertor you linked, and then connect the other 12V outlet to my Mount. Then if I needed the USB ports I could buy a hub and connect it to the power starter too. Would that work ok? 

Just had a look, that holder is out of stock unfortunately! 

Really appreciate your help with this, i'd be lost otherwise  

[teoria_del_big_bang]

If you mean this on Amazon then the invertor could power your laptop using your existing power supply for the laptop as it is 240V. But I am not sure how efficient it is so the battery inside may last a bit longer with that 12V device I linked maybe better , I really couldn't say.  But I assume your laptop has a battery so if you know how long the battery lasts then just use the 240V invertor as you probably only need it plugged in for 1 hour or so. It is rated at 150W and I would think more than enough for a laptop (check rating on your laptop power supply) my laptop is like a brick and power supply is only 65W.

I cannot sy how good the one on amazon is but @Owmuchonomy knows someone who uses one so sounds okay.

Then use the 12V outlet to power your mount - the link to the cable I think is fine but was very expensive (good quality mind). I thought you should have got a cable with the mount but I am sure there are cables good enough for around £10 maybe less.

The USB are only for power so would not fit a hub to it personally, there are 3 USB ports already not sure why you would want more. You could use one with the dummy battery for DSLR you saw, although reading some of the reviews some say they did not work, but again maybe they had them plugged into USB ports with not enough power as many only can deliver 0.5 A but these are over 2A so maybe fine and if faulty just return to Amazon they are pretty good at refunds.

Also it uses a LiFePO4 Battery which is easier to maintain than a lead acid so that is good.

It is a bit of a guess, but at  166Watt/Hrs  at it should last around  13 hours just powering your mount, that is maximum assuming mount uses average 1A at 12V (=12W) then can provide 166/12 = 13.83. A HEQ5 does take about 0.5A when tracking and 2A when slewing so it does depend on how often you slew at fast speed from target to target but an average of 1A is about right, 

But now as you add other equipment that time will reduce.

The camera, not sure what this takes but as it states 5V at 2A lets assume that is 10W (5 * 2) we now have 22W so maximum time is now 166/22 = 7.5 hrs.

If you do add a dew band then depends on size, a small frac probably about 0.5 A, a bigger reflector maybe 1A.
Lets assume 0.5 A at 12V we now have another 6W (12 * 0.5) so total 28W and time is now 166 / 27 = 6 hrs.

The big one is now when you add your laptop, again no idea what the power consumption is. My laptop power supply is rated at 65W but will require less than that to power the laptop as that is a maximum. 
But lets say it takes 40W (if a new modern laptop could be much less than this)  but at 40W we now have 67W and the time is now 166 / 67 = 2.5 hrs.

So the laptop could drain the battery much quicker that your other equipment so I do keep saying to get a good battery for it and if you know how long it lasts then make sure battery in laptop is fully charged and start with laptop plugged in at start of session and if battery lasts 2.5 hours then unplug 2 hours from end of session and it will allow the power station to supply the mount and camera longer. Also get a controller for the dew band and run at lower power if enough to prevent dew may not need full power.

I think my calculations are all correct however, they are assuming no power losses and battery is in tip top condition and fully charged. There will be power losses and so the actual times will be shorter than I quoted.

Power when in remote situations without mains power is always a headache and generally we do not realise how much power we do need. Quite often people have more than one power source as they bought a small power tank and realise it is not enough so buy another.

Steve

Edited January 1, 2021 by teoria_del_big_bang

[AlanP_]

7 minutes ago, teoria_del_big_bang said:

If you mean this on Amazon then the invertor could power your laptop using your existing power supply for the laptop as it is 240V. But I am not sure how efficient it is so the battery inside may last a bit longer with that 12V device I linked maybe better , I really couldn't say.  But I assume your laptop has a battery so if you know how long the battery lasts then just use the 240V invertor as you probably only need it plugged in for 1 hour or so. It is rated at 150W and I would think more than enough for a laptop (check rating on your laptop power supply) my laptop is like a brick and power supply is only 65W.

I cannot sy how good the one on amazon is but @Owmuchonomy knows someone who uses one so sounds okay.

Then use the 12V outlet to power your mount - the link to the cable I think is fine but was very expensive (good quality mind). I thought you should have got a cable with the mount but I am sure there are cables good enough for around £10 maybe less.

The USB are only for power so would not fit a hub to it personally, there are 3 USB ports already not sure why you would want more. You could use one with the dummy battery for DSLR you saw, although reading some of the reviews some say they did not work, but again maybe they had them plugged into USB ports with not enough power as many only can deliver 0.5 A but these are over 2A so maybe fine and if faulty just return to Amazon they are pretty good at refunds.

Also it uses a LiFePO4 Battery which is easier to maintain than a lead acid so that is good.

It is a bit of a guess, but at  166Watt/Hrs  at it should last around  13 hours just powering your mount, that is maximum assuming mount uses average 1A at 12V (=12W) then can provide 166/12 = 13.83. A HEQ5 does take about 0.5A when tracking and 2A when slewing so it does depend on how often you slew at fast speed from target to target but an average of 1A is about right, 

But now as you add other equipment that time will reduce.

The camera, not sure what this takes but as it states 5V at 2A lets assume that is 10W (5 * 2) we now have 22W so maximum time is now 166/22 = 7.5 hrs.

If you do add a dew band then depends on size, a small frac probably about 0.5 A, a bigger reflector maybe 1A.
Lets assume 0.5 A at 12V we now have another 6W (12 * 0.5) so total 27W and time is now 166 / 27 = 6 hrs.

The big one is now when you add your laptop, again no idea what the power consumption is. My laptop power supply is rated at 65W but will require less than that to power the laptop as that is a maximum. 
But lets say it takes 40W (if a new modern laptop could be much less than this)  but at 40W we now have 67W and the time is now 166 / 67 = 2.5 hrs.

So the laptop could drain the battery much quicker that your other equipment so I do keep saying to get a good battery for it and if you know how long it lasts then make sure battery in laptop is fully charged and start with laptop plugged in at start of session and if battery lasts 2.5 hours then unplug 2 hours from end of session and it will allow the power station to supply the mount and camera longer. Also get a controller for the dew band and run at lower power if enough to prevent dew may not need full power.

I think my calculations are all correct however, they are assuming no power losses and battery is in tip top condition and fully charged. There will be power losses and so the actual times will be shorter than I quoted.

Power when in remote situations without mains power is always a headache and generally we do not realise how much power we do need. Quite often people have more than one power source as they bought a small power tank and realise it is not enough so buy another.

Steve

Thats a brilliant response Steve! Cant describe how appreciative I am for that. 

That does seem like a good option, and at worst case 2.5 hours would probably be enough for my needs. However, if I wanted to add a guidecamera in the future, that would more than likely reduce the performance even more so. 

If im honest, I'm kind of liking the idea of using this jump starter.  The main reason it's nearly 3 times as cheap and i've spent far too much than I should have already! Plus, I need to buy the laptop invertor and likely another cable or two. 

Am I wrong in thinking that 4 in 1 jump starter would work just as well? 

 

[teoria_del_big_bang]

13 minutes ago, AlanP_ said:

Thats a brilliant response Steve! Cant describe how appreciative I am for that. 

That does seem like a good option, and at worst case 2.5 hours would probably be enough for my needs. However, if I wanted to add a guidecamera in the future, that would more than likely reduce the performance even more so. 

If im honest, I'm kind of liking the idea of using this jump starter.  The main reason it's nearly 3 times as cheap and i've spent far too much than I should have already! Plus, I need to buy the laptop invertor and likely another cable or two. 

Am I wrong in thinking that 4 in 1 jump starter would work just as well? 

 

It will work probably about the same power, but needs maintaining well as it is a lead acid batter (same as a car battery) so do not fully drain the battery and keep it topped up, so recharge after every use and it if sits unused for a while then make sure you trickle charge it every so often to keep it charged.

It will last a couple of hours, maybe a bit more if not using laptop on it all the time but generally you will probably find the performance gets worse after a year or two and without replacing the battery there is no way to recondition it. A bigger leisure battery would last much longer as you will never drain it anywhere near fully .

Are you just starting out with astro imaging then ?
If so if you can start off near to your house then at least to start I would power stuff from the mains with a good quality garden extension powered via an RCD for safety.
Starting out gives you enough headaches without running low on power after a couple of hours. Also you will be slewing the mount a lot to begin with trying to find targets so power drain will be greater. Also then if you buy a 12V power source gives you time to see how long it lasts before going anywhere remote. At least then you have a chance to plug into mains and keep the session going.

Also gives you chance to do a bit more searching and asking questions to chat others use, or save for a better power source. 

Steve

[AlanP_]

2 minutes ago, teoria_del_big_bang said:

It will work probably about the same power, but needs maintaining well as it is a lead acid batter (same as a car battery) so do not fully drain the battery and keep it topped up, so recharge after every use and it if sits unused for a while then make sure you trickle charge it every so often to keep it charged.

It will last a couple of hours, maybe a bit more if not using laptop on it all the time but generally you will probably find the performance gets worse after a year or two and without replacing the battery there is no way to recondition it. A bigger leisure battery would last much longer as you will never drain it anywhere near fully .

Are you just starting out with astro imaging then ?
If so if you can start off near to your house then at least to start I would power stuff from the mains with a good quality garden extension powered via an RCD for safety.
Starting out gives you enough headaches without running low on power after a couple of hours. Also you will be slewing the mount a lot to begin with trying to find targets so power drain will be greater. Also then if you buy a 12V power source gives you time to see how long it lasts before going anywhere remote. At least then you have a chance to plug into mains and keep the session going.

Also gives you chance to do a bit more searching and asking questions to chat others use, or save for a better power source. 

Steve

Ah, I didn't know about that actually. Probably would end up spending more money in the long run if that's the case. 

Yeah, I dont even have my mount yet its on route to me as we speak! I'm also waiting for my camera and telescope to come. Hence all of the questions! 

I'm trying to get everything sorted before it all comes though. I'd be annoyed if I was missing a cable or something silly after everything arriving.

This power bank seems to have far more power and decent reviews. It's double the cost of the jump starter, but cheaper than the other power bank. Decisions, decisons...

[teoria_del_big_bang]

I know this is not what you want to hear but the real truth is that providing 12V at the sort of amperage we need, which tends to be at least 3A for a small rig and when we are talking a guidescope as well with a couple of dew bands, maybe focuser more like 5A does not come cheap.

Throw a laptop into it and it is far worse.

By far the cheapest way is a decent size leisure battery and make some for of carrier up yourself (can be a wooden cradle or just some form of carrying strap. but it would need some connectors fitting so does need some knowledge of what to do but I am sure instructions can be found on line, look at websites for camping maybe.

Otherwise you are really looking at £150+ possibly £200+.

Like I say without the laptop the jump start battery will work, probably up to 3 hours but I bet in 2 years it is only delivering 1 to 2 hours. 
I do most of my imaging from backyard so not got this issue yet and have a more power hungry rig than yours, but am starting to look into it because I do want to go to dark sites at some stage .

I do have one of these Celestron Powertank but I need to ditch my laptop though and use a tablet I think and still probably need another source so will look at the leisure battery option.

Steve

[SMF]

Hi,

This was discussed a few weeks ago in another thread, after spending sometime debating what to use I went for this in the end:

https://www.fishingmad.co.uk/31508-bison-battery-box-carrier-with-usb-charger-led-meter-breaker-and-12v-socket-.html
and

https://www.batterymegastore.co.uk/product/hankook-xv27-leisure-battery/
 

 

You don’t need to but I added two extra fused 12V ports, switches and a natty little USB 3A double with volt meter from Amazon.

Then I took the inverter from the truck and tacked it on the side.

90AH, 240V at 600W, three 12V sockets, one at 20A, two at 5A and three USB.

I recon that’s enough power for any night.

Since building this though the weather has been pants so not used yet for it’s intended but it’s come in handy for a few site jobs for work already. 
 

Steve

ps. Total cost, less the inverter was under £150.00

Edited January 1, 2021 by SMF

[Sunshine]

That looks like it would power my home in an outage.

[teoria_del_big_bang]

5 minutes ago, teoria_del_big_bang said:

I know this is not what you want to hear but the real truth is that providing 12V at the sort of amperage we need, which tends to be at least 3A for a small rig and when we are talking a guidescope as well with a couple of dew bands, maybe focuser more like 5A does not come cheap.

Throw a laptop into it and it is far worse.

By far the cheapest way is a decent size leisure battery and make some for of carrier up yourself (can be a wooden cradle or just some form of carrying strap. but it would need some connectors fitting so does need some knowledge of what to do but I am sure instructions can be found on line, look at websites for camping maybe.

Otherwise you are really looking at £150+ possibly £200+.

Like I say without the laptop the jump start battery will work, probably up to 3 hours but I bet in 2 years it is only delivering 1 to 2 hours. 
I do most of my imaging from backyard so not got this issue yet and have a more power hungry rig than yours, but am starting to look into it because I do want to go to dark sites at some stage .

I do have one of these Celestron Powertank but I need to ditch my laptop though and use a tablet I think and still probably need another source so will look at the leisure battery option.

Steve

The £99 powertank has the same 17A/hr battery as the cheaper one on Amazon so you are not gaining anything really. The setup above by @SMF is really the way to go and what I will be doing. I am sure the battery holder will come back into stock. I just think you will be frusrated with poor performance from the smaller ones unless you can power the laptop with the laptop battery itself. But even then eventually you will need a bigger battery as you build your gear up and the power requirement increases. For around £150 the above setup is probably the cheapest option and it will be future proof.

Steve

[teoria_del_big_bang]

1 minute ago, Sunshine said:

That looks like it would power my home in an outage.

Not mine with two kids leaving all lights on 🙂 

Steve

[AlanP_]

9 minutes ago, teoria_del_big_bang said:

I know this is not what you want to hear but the real truth is that providing 12V at the sort of amperage we need, which tends to be at least 3A for a small rig and when we are talking a guidescope as well with a couple of dew bands, maybe focuser more like 5A does not come cheap.

Throw a laptop into it and it is far worse.

By far the cheapest way is a decent size leisure battery and make some for of carrier up yourself (can be a wooden cradle or just some form of carrying strap. but it would need some connectors fitting so does need some knowledge of what to do but I am sure instructions can be found on line, look at websites for camping maybe.

Otherwise you are really looking at £150+ possibly £200+.

Like I say without the laptop the jump start battery will work, probably up to 3 hours but I bet in 2 years it is only delivering 1 to 2 hours. 
I do most of my imaging from backyard so not got this issue yet and have a more power hungry rig than yours, but am starting to look into it because I do want to go to dark sites at some stage .

I do have one of these Celestron Powertank but I need to ditch my laptop though and use a tablet I think and still probably need another source so will look at the leisure battery option.

Steve

Ok you're right. I rather buy quality stuff rather than buying something only for it to be useless in a few months or a years time. I am very new to all of this, so I wont be straying from my backyard for a long, long time if at all. The furthest I will be is probably 5-7M from my back door. So I would only need a mains plug for my mount and possibly laptop charger if needs be. Can you recommened a safe, outdoor mains extension cord? I will probably buy a protection box too to keep it from getting damp. 

Plus, it saves me some money.

9 minutes ago, SMF said:

Hi,

This was discussed a few weeks ago in another thread, after spending sometime debating what to use I went for this in the end:

 

https://www.fishingmad.co.uk/31508-bison-battery-box-carrier-with-usb-charger-led-meter-breaker-and-12v-socket-.html
and

https://www.batterymegastore.co.uk/product/hankook-xv27-leisure-battery/
 

 

You don’t need to but I added two extra fused 12V ports, switches and a natty little USB 3A double with volt meter from Amazon.

Then I took the inverter from the truck and tacked it on the side.

90AH, 240V at 600W, three 12V sockets, one at 20A, two at 5A and three USB.

I recon that’s enough power for any night.

Since building this though the weather has been pants so not used yet for it’s intended but it’s come in handy for a few site jobs for work already. 
 

Steve

That looks quite powerful! Out of stock everywhere unfortunately. That is something I could see myself using further down the line though. I think my best option for now though is just sticking with a mains adapter as I really won't be straying too far.