Will this 6V power supply be ok for my EQ3

[stardust steve (Steve)]

Hi. i have been reading about power supplies and had a brain wave.
My question is ( as i am not too electronically savvy), i have a 6V battery in my boy's quad bike. Will it be ok to power my EQ3 motors (mainly just the RA stepper tracking motor) with out any damage or flaws.
I have a charger from a mobile phone that i twitched in a 6V adapter plug to make a charger for the 6V quad as it did not come with one and the charger seems to work although i do not know if it is charging the battery fully.
Ideally i would like to "acquire" this battery to power my mount remotely.
I intend only to use the battery for RA tracking widefield images.
Attached are the pics of the Charger and plug, the 6V battery that is in the quad bike and the hand controller for the EQ3.
I have plugged in the home made charger plug into the handcontroller and it fits and feels like it connects, it's just that the male plug is longer than the standard power lead from the stock battery pack.
Any info is greatly appreciated.
Thanks

[MrB (Simon)]

It should be fine.
There is nothing on the hand controller to indicate the polarity, the vast majority of products using barrel plugs are centre positive, but there are the occasional things that are the opposite with centre negative. The original power supply for the mount may have it marked somewhere.

If the mobile phone charger is regulated(maintains approx. 6v), then yes you are undercharging the battery, in the long run you will end up with sulphated plates. If it is not regulated, there is a chance it may actually be overcharging the battery. Only way to tell is to check the open circuit (no load) voltage of the plugpack. If it is over 7.5v(as marked on the battery for cyclic use) then you are overcharging.

[stardust steve (Steve)]

Thanks for your reply Simon. Now i just have to tell the boy that his Quad accidentally broke

[LewisM]

Cheapskate

Go to Super Cheap Auto (or their equivalent in SA), buy a battery charger/pack for $79.

Mine has jumper cables, dual cigarette lighter ports, an LED light bar, and even has USB out on the back. Pay extra and you get an air compressor

$79... cheaper than ruining your sons fun

[MrB (Simon)]

Lewis, it is 6v, not 12v.

Another option is a 6v 4.2Ah SLA battery (same size as the Quad battery) for $14.95
Or a 6v 12Ah(3 times the capacity) for $29

Both from Jaycar, and from experience, far better quality than any SLA supplied in a jumppack.

[LewisM]

Oh yeah... I'll shut up now...

(I forgot the old controllers with the battery boxes etc!)

[stardust steve (Steve)]

Originally Posted by LewisM

Cheapskate

Go to Super Cheap Auto (or their equivalent in SA), buy a battery charger/pack for $79.

Mine has jumper cables, dual cigarette lighter ports, an LED light bar, and even has USB out on the back. Pay extra and you get an air compressor

$79... cheaper than ruining your sons fun

I pride myself on making do and getting by with what i can use. I have been looking at those jump starters. . . they have their advantages with their extras offered, and yeah my boy would get to keep his Quad
The jury is still out . . .

[stardust steve (Steve)]

Originally Posted by MrB

Lewis, it is 6v, not 12v.

Another option is a 6v 4.2Ah SLA battery (same size as the Quad battery) for $14.95
Or a 6v 12Ah(3 times the capacity) for $29

Both from Jaycar, and from experience, far better quality than any SLA supplied in a jumppack.

That is another good option Simon thanks. I have a Jaycar just up the road.
Yeah i was thinking if i did use the 12v, i would have to get 6V converter for it.

[stardust steve (Steve)]

Originally Posted by LewisM

Oh yeah... I'll shut up now...

(I forgot the old controllers with the battery boxes etc!)

Thanks anyway for your reply. Always good to have some food for thought

[LewisM]

I DO have an old Toshiba laptop power supply you could HAVE for the price of postage - I think it's 19V, but you can step that down. The wife is ALWAYS telling me to get rid of stuff in the garage.But of course, it is NOT too portable, unless you have a REALLY REALLY long extension lead

[stardust steve (Steve)]

Originally Posted by LewisM

I DO have an old Toshiba laptop power supply you could HAVE for the price of postage - I think it's 19V, but you can step that down. The wife is ALWAYS telling me to get rid of stuff in the garage.But of course, it is NOT too portable, unless you have a REALLY REALLY long extension lead

Thanks for the offer. I will keep it in mind.