EL Panel power supply question

[Helen]

I'm about to get an EL panel. I've looked on the site and it talks about it coming with a 12v inverter, but a mains adapter is extra. So a simple question for those of you who've got one - do I need the mains adapter or can I run it from either a powerpack or a Maplins bench supply?

Thanks

Helen

PS if my biggest scope is an 8inch can I get away with A4?

[Beyond_Vision]

No reason why not Helen as long as the PSU can supply enough current. Just make sure the polarity is correct.

[steppenwolf]

I have looked into these and they are on my Christmas list. A 12v Powerpack would be fine but it MUST reliably give 12v and not drop much below that to work correctly. I found that the A4 size (8.25" wide), gauged with an A4 sheet of paper, was too small for my 8" Newtonian as it did not fully cover the front aperture of the telescope. Just offer up an A4 sheet to the front of your 'scope - if it covers the aperture completely then you will be OK but I reckon you will need the next size up (A3).

[SteveL]

I use mine with the supplied 12v inverter, and just connect it up to my 12V bench supply.

As for size, if its the Elsmann sheets, contact them and ask for the size of the illuminated area. I discovered that my A3 sheet illuminates slightly larger than the usual A3 size, and so JUST covers my C11. Its the illuminated area of the sheet that is A3 or A4, not the overall size of the sheet itself (which will have an edge that doesnt illuminate).

As A4 is 210 × 297 and the C8 aperture is 203mm (not the outer tube... the aperture), you should be OK, but contact them to ask about the real illuminated area dimensions.

[Helen]

Just what I needed - many thanks guys!

Just thinking, if I wanted to get flats with the hyperstar in place, could I put the dewshield on and put the panel over the end of that, taking care to ensure the cables are fixed in position (or would it be better to remove the cables?)

Helen

[SteveL]

If you move the cables after imaging but before taking flats, then you have broken your flats by changing the image train (not sure by how much though)

[kookoo_gr]

i have an a3 el panel but the power supply/inverter i have is for mains power. in order to use it with a 12 volt supply can i use a modified syne wave inverter or do i need a pure syne wave inverter? also does anybody what is the power consumption of the power supply/inverter?