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Powering 5V lens heaters from ZWO/Altair Camera USB Hub


Ratlet

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Looking at getting some lens heaters for my imaging rig.  The ones I'm looking at are 5V powered by USB with adjustable temperature control.  I was wondering if anyone has any experience of powering these through the USB hub on the back of an astro camera (I've got an Altair Hypercam, but I guess it will be mechanically similar to a ZWO).

TIA

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I think the Hypercam is powered itself from the USB connection, I use a USB powerbank to run the 5vDC dew strips. My Hypercam is the 183C and runs from the computer but some have a 12vDC input so maybe you can run heaters from them, not sure. I'm new to all this camera stuff and don't have a clue really😁.

Edited by Franklin
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5 minutes ago, Franklin said:

I think the Hypercam is powered itself from the USB connection, I use a USB powerbank to run the 5vDC dew strips.

Should have said in the OP, hypercan 533.  It's got an external 12v power.

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Just now, Franklin said:

Plug it in and see if it warms up. 

 

That's pretty sensible tbh.  I can't imagine it'll break the camera.  I have had issues running the guidecam through it but I suspect that because it's trying to pass data along the same cable as the 533 is passing data along.

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Some day, someone, will start making telescopes that have a built-in heated element as part of the lens cell itself and then we can do away with all these wires! It could even be powered by the mount via a contact on the dovetail bar.

Edited by Franklin
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2 hours ago, Ratlet said:

.... I can't imagine it'll break the camera....

Famous last words! The USB 2 standard allows for up to 2.5 Watts of power, not much for a dew heater. Most USB dew heaters are designed to powered from a USB power port that can supply far more power. I guess it will depend how well the camera USB hub is designed to cope with an excessive load before it fries.  Perhaps the camera user guide mentions the power available from the hub ports? You can then compare it with the power requirement of the dew heater to see how they match up.

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You can try it, but I highly doubt it will work as dew heaters are the worst power hungry things to add to a setup, I don't like having to use them as it means carrying out one or two more power banks just for their use. I can run a whole AP rig on one 12v power bank and still  see decent charge left after 3 hours on a not so cold night, but plug my C6 dew ring or a twin usb heater band to its own 12v power bank and it's close to drained within the same amount of time. Also, not all dew heater bands are created equal, the first lot I had are very power hungry but my more recent ones are less so.

Edited by Elp
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I'll need to have a rake around for a usb power hub in the house.  Better safe than sorry.  I'm sure there will be a spare one.  Rather not detonate the camera.  Just means an extra cable to route.

 

  I'm all mains powered so power consumption isn't an issue.

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I have 2 of these, Coowoo branded or similar, bought off Amazon. They work quite well despite being only 5v. That said, they are thirsty! On low setting they draw around 0.7 amps and on high they draw around 1.2 amps! Much more than the usual 500mah from a typical USB supply. I plug mine into a Bison leisure battery box with 2.5ah USB ports. I wouldn't use any USB device unless it has a dedicated USB socket that can deliver 2.5ah

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All my dew heaters are cheap usb ones. Work perfectly.usually I have on low setting. However they pulse. Ie low is just on off at certain frequency. As each pulls 2.5a using asiair/camera/pc usb sockets will not work.

My solution in the obsy is that I have dedicated 5v power supply for them.

Alternatives - cheap usb power packs work well but some will only be able to cope with one plugged in (each of my rigs has 2- one for ota, one for guider).

Another alternative (not tested) is to wire 2 in series (chop usb plugs off AND the wee controller). You could then power off asiair 12v direct and make use of its variable voltage dew heater controller. A bit of a faff to make but you'd get 2 quality dew heaters for 30 quid, and no need for extra power supplies.👍

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