Craig - as someone who spent many years as a tech;much of it with power supplies and lighting/power plants with deep cycle storage/back-up, as well as more conventional (auto etc) lead-acid battery/electrical systems; let me sift the wheat from the (fair amount of) chaff flying around re your requirements!
- Andrews edict is to protect both them and you from claims/liabilities arising from overly-high voltages applied to the HEQ5 Pro (of which I own one) as well as giving you some commonsensical warning/advice.
- As someone has pointed out, voltage regulation in the above context, commonly refers to power supplies that convert (supply) 12 volt DC from 240 volt AC (mains) supply.There are other applications but these do not concern your mount or these matters.
- A re-chargeable battery (and this is most commonly a lead-acid type, whether it be standard/auto, deep-cycle or Gell cell etc) will, when fully charged, maintain a stable output voltage more than sufficient for your needs - unless the mount load, ie current drain (amps) versus battery capacity (amp hours) is incompatible.
- In this situation your battery will discharge very quickly and its' output voltage will drop - not good for the battery or your wants but causing no harm to the mount motors.
- Operating the mount via a battery whilst said battery is "on charge" via a charger can be quite permissible if (a) the battery charger/power supply is a well-regulated type or (b) the charger etc is a trickle charge (low current output) device and your battery has a reasonable capacity. (amp hourage)
- This is because, as one person said, batteries in themselves act as regulating devices for any additional power fed to them via chargers etc.
- Regulator devices (IC chips) can be placed across the battery outlet to supply the mount lead and plug. These are simple, inexpensive and small devices that will provide good protection for the mount. (available at Jaycar etc)
- Also, as someone pointed out; if you are running your mount from the car's battery it would be unwise to start the car (and thus its' charging system) whilst operating the mount for above reasons.
- A "jumpstarter" battery pack of suitable capacity is most probably the most cost effective, convenient device for your needs (I and many others use these units without any problems for said purpose) as it should, if a suitable capacity one is chosen, adequately run the mount for a full night's useage before needing recharging.
- They are easy to cart around, display their terminal voltage and employ a trickle charge accessory that whilst best not used during operation is unlikely to cause problems if one does. They have a light (which I've made a snap-on red acrylic cover for) and a positive tip 12 volt take-off that can be plugged into the HEQ5 Pro (though it's best to use the mounts right angle plug) and also have at the other end of the cable which takes the 12 volt power from the jumpstarter unit, a cigarette type plug that doubles as a charger for the jumpstarter when a car is your only source for recharging it.
- You can also jumpstart your car with them!
Cheers, Darryl.