I use 2 different electrical configurations depending on the observation site updated: 2020-02-24
- Electrical configuration at home:
To connect my outdoor equipment (mount, telescope etc.) with my indoor equipment (laptop) I'm using the follwing components (that are also mentioned on the Electrical Configuration page):
- a small 4-port USB3 HUB with it's own power supply that is fixed to the treepod of the mount
- a 30m USB 3 extender cable, also with a separate power supply
- a cable drum with 4 integrated 230V sockets and a 30m cable to supply the mount, the hub, the camera cooler and the USB extender cable
- The laptop can remain inside during the exposure sequence, but is required outside during calibration and sequence setup
- Electrical configuration outdoor
Here you depend on batteries... you should first test how long the battery of your laptop will last, because this is the most power consuming device of the entire equipment.
Important: when you shut down your laptop at home before you leave for a photo session, disable all superflous apps and processes (like file syncs, backups etc.). You might even disable all network adapters (LAN, WiFi, Bluetooth), but this may become a problem if you try to plate solve during the sequence.
Alternative 1: You can use a DC-AC converter (e.g. 12V = > 230V~) and run your laptop on the battery of your car. I have not yet tested this and in this scenario check that the battery of your car is still in a good shape so that you still can get home at the end of the session.
Alternative 2: you can run the mount easily from a recharable 12V battery (e.g. Celestron Powertank Lithium LiFePO4 84Wh ) that has enough capacity for several nights, but the Laptop is still the limiting factor. Instead of using a astro camera, which requires some kind of computer to monitor and download the pictures, you shoud consider using a DSLR camera instead for longer sessions.
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