power supply for 14" Skywatcher GoTo Dob

[hunty]

Hi folks,

I recently bought a Skywatcher 14" GoTo Dob and want to buy an appropriate pwer supply. I'm torn between buying a battery (which one?) and a separate charger, or buying one of those combo products called Jumpstarters which have a battery and charger built in, but are bigger and heavier than a battery alone. I'm concerned about the weight and size of these types of things sittin gon the base of the scope as it motors around azimuth. Money is very tight, so I need an adequate power supply for a typical 6 hours viewing session, but not spend too much of the ready.
TIA
Rob :)

[asimov]

I just use a standard 6 cylinder car battery & the cheapest charger I could find. Works for me & I've been doing that for 6 yrs with all my mounts.

[hunty]

Thanks John

[knightrider]

http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/online-store/starting-power/jumpstarts/jumpstarts.aspx?id=70601

I bought the 1200amp one.

It comes with a 240v wall charger to charge it also.

For my 10" goto it hardly puts a dint in the battery after about 2-3 hrs use. I could've got away with the 900amp I reckon but the 1200 was on special for $99 anyway. Mines 10kg but doesn't fit on the base. The 900amp is 7kg

[hunty]

tnx knightrider

[2stroke]

Get a jumpstarter there the most portable, safest ( no shorts due to exposed terminals or acid leaks), maintenance free (simple 240volt trickle charge, no level top up) and fairly priced systems around. Yes you could get cheaper but for such a cheap thing what price do you put on peace of mind.