NEQ6 Power Supply question...

[morls]

Finally picking up my new mount this week, and was wondering about the power supply, as I'll be running it from mains while at home. The Skywatcher manual says 11-15V 2A, so I'm thinking a 15V 2A would be good. Is there any reason not to go this high, i.e. shorter electronic component life?
Cheers
Stephen

[Startrek]

I have a HEQ5 and EQ6-R mount both used for astrophotography
These mounts need a solid power supply with spare capacity ( ignore their specs there not written for Australian mains voltage 230v +- 10% )
I’ve used Powertech 12V 7.5 amp power supplies for a couple of years now and no issues at all
The Powertech 12V 5amp will do the job but using the 7.5amp means it’s half loaded and will last longer
I also use a second Powertech 12v 7.5amp power supply to run my camera and dew heater equipment etc...
They are available from Jaycar or Bintel
There are other brands but these have proven their reliability , the main thing is to half load these things ( made in China ) and they will last longer
Cheers

[ChrisV]

Yep. You are right on the edge getting a 2A supply. Plus you'll find that you'll get other bits and pieces. That will push it over the limit. I got a 10amp one from jaycar a few years ago. It's still chuggng along. So something like the power tech Martin mentioned

So think about what other gearyou might get (eventually) and factor that in. Like a dew heater - there's a few amps already ... If you got one with the cigarette plug then you can use the cable that came with your mount and use it for other devices

[Hemi]

12v is the critical bit....to try and keep above. My AZ EQ6 is finicky about this.

I think the mount can draw >2Amps, so get a supply with a generous spec. The mount will only draw what it needs.

I used a 15v 10amp from Jaycar which was perfect. I had DC splitter cables at the end to supply the NUC and the Camera cooler as well as the mount. So 10+amps should give some spare capacity.

In the end, I now prefer separate supplies for everything, so I can control them individually. I remote power up and operate the NUC in the daytime to get the data off etc. Don't need to power up the mount etc for that.

Cheers

Hemi

[Wavytone]

The issue is the peak current drawn when slewing - not voltage - and the ability of the source to supply that without falling below 11V. Do not increase the source voltage beyond 15V - you risk damaging the electronics in the mount and handset. It means what it says.

As one with an AZEQ6, when it’s slewing on both axes it can draw rather more than 2A briefly - I measured 4A. The little 240V/12 DC wall-wart shipped with it is inadequate and can’t supply that - the output voltage dropped below 10V and the result is the motors stall.

The solution is a dc power source that can supply a current such as 4A without dropping the voltage significantly. An easy solution is an SLA battery, capable of large currents for short periods. One with 9 or 12 amp-hours is plenty.

The other aspect is to avoid having cables running outside at night. Trip hazard and also electric shock hazard if dewy.

[Wavytone]

Do not increase it beyond 15V. It means what it says.

Also note that with little or no load (eg when the mount is tracking) most power supplies produce rather more volts - it’s not uncommon to see 13...15V from devices nominally rated to produce 12V.

As one with an AZEQ6, when it’s slewing on both axes it can draw rather more than 2A briefly - I measured 4A. The little DC wall-wart shipped with it is inadequate and can’t supply that - the output voltage dropped below 10V and the result is the motors stall.

The solution is a dc power source that can supply a current such as 4A without dropping the voltage significantly. One way is a 12V 4A power brick. Another easy solution is an SLA battery, capable of large currents for short periods. One with 9 or 12 amp-hours capacity is plenty.

[poppasmurf]

I used a 12v 7amp power suply on my old NEQ6 for 10 years and it's still going.

[morls]

Thanks for all the replies. I'll keep to 12V in case of spikes, and get higher amperage.
Much appreciated!
Stephen

[Merlin66]

Stephen,
I’ve been using a DC converter, 12v to 15v rated at 120w on both my HEQ5 and NEQ6 for the past ten years - no issues, no drama.

[Earl]

Can I just throw my $0.02 in and suggest that power supplies that spike much over 15 volts can cause damage to these mounts.

[dikman]

Wouldn't matter whether you were running 12v or 15v, any "spike" is likely to be significantly higher. If it was me I would use a 12v supply, only because they are more commonly available than 15v.

[Hemi]

https://skywatcheraustralia.com.au/product/neq6-pro-mount-with-steel-tripod/

As you can see, 12-16V 2amps. The AZ EQ6 is the same but 4Amps. I suspect there is some tolerance in these figures as well.

15V is fine. Its made a big difference to my mount. 12v 10amp equivalent from Jaycar would whine and stutter when it dropped significantly below 12V. There were some threads on cloudy about this exact same thing. I discovered them precisely because my new AZ EQ6 was stuttering and whining when slewing. It turned out to be the Power supply voltage drops.


As always YMMV :thumbsup:

H

[morls]

I've picked up a 12V 10A supply from Jaycar:
https://www.jaycar.com.au/120w-12vdc-10a-desktop-style-switchmode-power-supply/p/MP3241
I got it before seeing your post Hemi, but it should do the job. Grabbed a 5m extension lead for the DC end as well, and after securing the connection with a bit of heatshrink I can now keep the AC components in the shed and just run the DC lead to the mount. A couple of doormats to keep things tidy/avoid tripping hazards and I think I'm set.
Thanks again to all for the advice.

Stephen

[morls]

Rather than start a new thread, I thought I'd update this one with latest...
The first night showed some flickering of the red LED on the mount when slewing, and so I thought there was an issue.
After some investigation with Andrew and Bill at Optics Central in Mitcham it turns out that the Version 5 Synscan handset shows 1VDC less than the version 4 handsets. (this is the voltage shown in Utilities menu on the handset). Andrew will investigate further with Saxon, but we were thinking that the addition of a USB port on the hand controller might explain the voltage drop.
In the limited time I've spent with the mount there are no issues with slewing or tracking using the 12V 10A power supply, even though the voltage drops to around 11.3 and even down to 10.9V momentarily when slewing on both axis. The flickering LED has stopped after removing the DC-side extension cord.
Perhaps the voltage on the controller board is still 1V higher than what the handset is showing?
Anyway, will keep testing and see what Saxon come back with.
Cheers
Stephen

[Sparkydan]

I use one of these for my setup. Has ajustable 12-15v , excellent DC regulation , quality components , quality filtering on the DC output. Runs my AZEQ6-GT , zwo cooler , 4 X dew heaters , with room to spare . I have mine at stock 13.8v output and it's rock steady. Quality power supply.
https://www.radioparts.com.au/product/33771670/spa8330b-33a-cont-36a-max-13.8vdc-power-supply-bench-top-black#.XRhTDreuY0M

High RFI immunity
Wide Range AC input voltage
Quiet cooling fan variable speed operation
Over load, Short circuit, Over temperature protection by constant current
Power Factor Control
Isolated Ground
User adjustable fine tune setting (10 - 15V)
Binding post and cigar socket DC output

[morls]

The problem is not the power supply. I took my PSU into the shop and powered a NEQ6 there at 12.4V. When I put my V5 hand controller on this mount the voltage dropped to 11.4V.
Using a V4 hand controller with my mount gives 12.4V as well.
The V5 hand controller has a USB port, so I think this might be part of the issue...

[dikman]

Sounds a bit odd, I can't see how a USB port should cause a voltage drop. If it does it's poor design in the voltage regulation of the HC.

[morls]

It is odd. I'm only guessing, but this is the point of difference between V3 and V4 handsets.
It was verified with 2 different mounts and 2 different power supplies.