Power supply for HEQ5

[Ironh59]

I just received my first mount. Now just waiting for Sydney skies to clear up.

I was thinking of a way to power it when I take it to the darker skies. There are so many different options, with their own pros and cons. Just wanted to see what most people use here to power their mounts, camera, laptop and the other accessories.

While looking at the options, I came across deep cycle battery and battery box in Kmart. It will be just over $200 for 80Ah. Would it work with HEQ5, or do I need something else to make it work?

https://www.kmart.com.au/product/rechargeable-deep-cycle-agm-battery-80ah-12v-42963905/

https://www.kmart.com.au/product/portable-battery-box-42959441/

[pmrid]

That battery would be fine to run your mount. It would also run most of your imaging rig as well and you could expect it to run for a full-night session. It would be best to recharge it fully the next day of course.

[AG Hybrid]

80ah holy cow. Kmart coming in swinging with the value proposition. 23.2 kg though ��. It would run your mount and pretty much all of your other equipment.

[Rerouter]

When balanced and tracking mine draws on average 4.2W, so 80Ah on a lifepo4 would last you over a full night, been through and made a power budget for similar ends :)

Also the 268c has been fine running at 14.4, i think the spec sheet is just a little picky

[DarkArts]

I also made a power budget for everything based on measurements using a power meter where I could. Having a power budget is a good idea (if I do say so myself).

Lead acid deep cycle batteries shouldn't be regularly discharged below around 50% but you can push it a bit further occasionally. There's a relationship between depth of discharge and expected battery life - here's one explanation: https://www.pveducation.org/pvcdrom/lead-acid-batteries/characteristics-of-lead-acid-batteries

That battery will give you 40Ah accessible capacity, which should still last you all night for the modest equipment you're using. And get a decent multi-stage charger for your battery - poor charging regimen is another thing that shortens battery life.

[Ironh59]

Thank you all. Maintaining a power budget is a good idea as I add more gear.
What do you all use to split power supply to different devices?

[AdamJL]

Very cheap price for what it is! 80Ah, that's a lot of juice, though you really get half that with lead acid before voltage drops too low.

[pmrid]

I use these 2 devices. The one on the right is a RigRunner favoured by amateur ham radio operators. It’s a fused distribution box. You need to use mini Anderson plugs with them so a little fiddling required but it’s a good system.

[Rerouter]

I just have an octopus lead, found jaycar sell leads with the quick change heads so just bought 8 of them so i can flip things around on the fly the 8 pin plug goes back to the battery with circuit breaker fuses