International travel - Power options?

[900SL]

16 hours ago, OK Apricot said:

There may be better locations as @Louis D points out, but for my personal goals of the trip Dallas seems to be the best compromise.

I actually think I'm leaning towards a couple of locally sourced leisure batteries at this point with a method of charging from both mains and a car, particularly for Fuerteventura. It looks like professional photography batteries can be found for rental in Vegas so I think that covers that base too. Still have to look further into it. The inverter idea has been ditched. 

@malftobe Texas looks very good from a light pollution perspective, there's certainly going to be some driving involved to get to the darkness! The hobbyking jobby looks like a good unit, red to red and black to black and you've got some power. I used to buy loads from there back in my days of RC racing 😂 Very reputable company. 

https://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/battery-to-battery-chargers.html

[Louis D]

3 hours ago, malftobe said:

Have you had any difficulty with the airlines when flying with the Lithium batteries?  I used to have nightmares about having to check my carry on bag full of all camera gear or having to throw away my spare camera batteries when I used to travel!

The FAA (US) prohibits all spare (uninstalled) lithium batteries from traveling in checked baggage:

Spare (uninstalled) lithium metal batteries and lithium ion batteries, electronic cigarettes and vaping devices are prohibited in checked baggage. They must be carried with the passenger in carry-on baggage.

[Carbon Brush]

I have received a reply from Talentcell about their certification.

Starting with the declaration of confirmity. This document means it is entitled to carry a CE mark.
The tests solely EMC related. In laymans terms - will it cause interference to other electronics, or will it misbehave when near other electronics.
The test house has tested one sample. But claims the certificate to cover several products.
One of the standards is obsolete.
The name 'Talentcell' is not used anywhere in the test report. Only a part/model number.
The applicant is named as a different Shenzen company.
The test date is 2015. This means if the product has been changed in the past 8 years or the individual who signed the certificate is no longer in post, a new certificate is required.
I note there is no safety testing. However, this is probably covered by the transport certificate.
Bottom line. It is probably OK. But if a container full of these arrived at the dock, trading standards have enough grey areas in the paper trail to hold it up.
However, it does give the impression that something like this was tested.
If I was buying lots of these for my work, I would be looking for much more evidence of compliance.

[Carbon Brush]

Moving on now to the important air transport approval.

This multi page document the describes onerous test procedures and their outcome.
Basically you abuse multiple battery packs in all sorts of ways and ensure it does not cover you in noxious chemicals or catch fire.
The equipment is reported to have passed. Issued in 2019.
However, the manufacturer (and applicant) name is Yabo Power, not Talentcell. But an email contact has a Talentcell email.
The photos in the report look like the Talentcell box. But that is the plastic box.

In conclusion. This report probably refers to the talentcell product on offer.
However, they should really be updating and tidying up the paper trail for UK or EU import.

If you want to take this product on a plane, the conformity certificate probably carries more weight with non technical and approvals people.
Essentially the border makes it look good and it is a single page.
The UN approval really is what they should be looking for but it is multi page and part chinese text!

 

YB1208300-USB UN(1).pdf

[Elp]

3 hours ago, malftobe said:

AZ Gti can use AA batteries

Have you had any difficulty with the airlines when flying with the Lithium batteries?

From experience, the azgti doesn't work well at all via AA batteries, it's one of the reasons I bought the first LT. On AA batteries, full batteries would just act like empty batteries, I'd have constant WiFi disconnects so couldn't control it, it'd disconnect mid slew, so I stopped using them.

Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to travel with any of it yet.

I was surprised with your battery issue, when I went to Europe a few years back my Canon had both of its batteries removed and in my backpack, they didn't even check it other than the regulatory x-ray check.

I tend to use a usb dummy battery now, just lasts longer with a small mwh power bank.

Edited March 21, 2023 by Elp

[Elp]

4 hours ago, malftobe said:

 

Duplicate post. Might as well edit it.

Worst case, if you're going somewhere fairly developed you could always buy a battery whilst you're there. Telescope specific equipment however may prove difficult to source.

Edited March 21, 2023 by Elp

[OK Apricot]

@Carbon Brush thanks for following up with the certificates and such. Should be useful in the event of an x-ray interrogation.

The SA GTI can run on AAs similar to the AZ but as @Elp said its unreliable at best so not an option I'm considering. Perhaps it may be best to have a backup, one of these Talentcells taken with me so I can get something while I'm out there should I not be able to source anything locally. 

[malftobe]

Thanks for the info on the unreliable AA battery powering the portable mounts @Elp and @OK Apricot . Saves me a load of unnecessary head scratching and trouble shooting - probably whilst trying it for the first time abroad - thanks for doing my homework once more!!!

 

2 hours ago, Elp said:

I was surprised with your battery issue, when I went to Europe a few years back my Canon had both of its batteries removed and in my backpack, they didn't even check it other than the regulatory x-ray check.

I tend to use a usb dummy battery now, just lasts longer with a small mwh power bank.

Sorry for being really lazy in my language. So as not to confuse others, I haven’t had any actual problems taking spare dslr batteries, just imagined ones!

 

I used to do a lot of multi day hiking and  camping, so would take 6-8 spare dslr batteries on international flights. All with original boxes and literature.  I never had a problem, but I’d worry beforehand that I would have to discard some batteries at the airport and have to ration even more than I normally would. 

[900SL]

Never had an issue with batteries, and my carry on luggage was always closely inspected when travelling from Saudi through Frankfurt. Last time I had D610, D5600, two batteries for each, separate 20,000 mA powerbank, Nitecore torch with 18650 battery, half a dozen rechargeable Panasonic AA batteries, and a big Godox flash head with a power brick inside. I always had the plastic caps for spare batteries or had them in small snap top plastic boxes to prevent accidental shorts