Hi Guy's
I need a bit of help here. Never having had a scope with a fan before and after trying to read very informative instruction sheet . What do I need to drive the fan, ie batteries, battery holder and connection to base of scope. Any help would be greatfully received.
I use one of those rechargable drycell batteries from a car parts shop. It is 12V 2.3Ah and runs a fan and LEDs all night for several nights between charges. It simply sits on my base and has velcro spots on it to fix it to the upright front board of my base. The wires from the fan loop over the front board into a connection box but you don't even need that to start.
For connections just extending your leads from the fan, putting a couple of clips on the ends and attaching them to the terminals would be crude but very effective. No switches necessary, easily done and leaves plenty of room for getting fancier later BUT it would have you up and running within 20 minutes of starting this "upgrade".
Cheers
P.S. Just make sure your fan is baffled so the air is forced around the mirror and up the tube for it to have its full effect.
What voltage does the fan need - Have a look at Jaycar or Dick Smiths or smewhere similar - they have lots of different sized battery enclosures, often with switches. I picked up one for 4*AA batteries (6V) on the weekend for about $2.....
if your fan is like mine it has a connector (no bare wires) built in
i use one of the 12 volt battery jumper units from supercheap auto (the red one -12amp hours ? $40 last time i looked)
i think it comes with a cigarette lighter type lead that you will find does the trick (think it is meant to be used as the recharging means from the car lighter socket)
you will find other uses of power from the jumper unit down the track
As you can see in the pic, it has a small male type plug next to the collimation screw. What I need to know is more or less everything from what fits into the plug hole in the pic to voltage needed to make the thing spin & everything in between.
Sorry to be a pain
The scope should have come with a battery pack I reckon. Others who bought fan-fitted dobs from Andrews or maybe Bintel should be able to tell you more about it.
Yep, it should have come as the supplied battery pack! Ring em up and tell em you didn't get it.
It holds 8 x AA batteries. I have had the same batteries in mine (Eveready Gold) for 18 months or more and use it regularly, and they still ain't flat!
Yes you should definitey have received a battery holder / power lead with the scope. The lead will plug directly into that socket. I also have an Andrew's Deluxe version GSO dob, it came with the lead too. Give them a call asap if you didn't get it.
Make sure you check that all other components have arrived too, I found a separate small cardboard box inside the main scope box that had the Deluxe "bits and pieces" in it. If you seem to be short on eyepieces, etc, check around to make sure you haven't missed it somehow.
Problem with having multiple smaller fans is low frequency vibrations from the slight mismatch in speeds between the fans. These vibrations are resonated by the air column inside the tube and adversely affect the view even at lower powers. At least that's my experience. Of course if you don't want to run the fans while observing that is not an issue. I like to keep it (just one big one) running because it helps keep dew away.
you're right about it... But i always put the fans working one hour before i use it and if the temperature goes down in the middle of the night i make a pause and do something like eat some cookies...
I only put the fans to reduce(a lot) the mirror temperature.
Thanks for posting the pic Ken, now I know what I am looking for. The scope is the one that Matt (circumpolar) sold me, so I will PM Matt to see if he still has it or not.
Thanks also to all the other guy's that posted messages.
. What do I need to drive the fan, ie batteries, battery holder and connection to base of scope. Any help would be greatfully received.
