Power distribution for imagers

[TerryMcK]

All imagers need some sort of power supply to power our rigs. 13.8 volts is the nominal voltage supplied either by a mains power supply or a battery.

I have both in the form of either Nevada ham radio power supply or a Jackery 500va battery when occasionally operating out in the field.

These power supplies and astronomy gear all share the common pitfall. That is the car cigarette lighter plug which can easily be pulled out in the dark of night.

To alleviate this situation a lot of people utilise the Anderson PowerPole type connectors. These connectors can be fitted to the end of the power leads once you have removed the cigarette light plugs.

Then the prepared PowerPole connector fitted lead can be plugged into an Anderson PowerPlug distribution box. This in turn is connected to the power supply using the heavy duty terminals usually on such power supplies. The Jackery has 8mm power plug sockets which are far better than cigarette sockets.

 

I have had my fair share of power disconnections caused by cigarette plugs coming out so have decided to rewire all my rigs with Anderson PowerPole connectors. There are many solutions on the market some very expensive like the RigRunner range of multi connectors intended for Ham Radio installations. I found a cheaper 4 connectors distribution board from SotaBeams https://www.sotabeams.co.uk/powerpole-pp-4-way-1/

which can be purchased in kit form or fully built at a very reasonable price.

They also do them with fuses for extra safety.

https://www.sotabeams.co.uk/powerpole-fused-dc-connector-box-1/

 

 

Combine this with a set of connectors and a crimp tool (that you can share between astro friends) and gone are disconnects in the middle of the night.

 

I’d be interested to see what you are doing about power distribution in your observatories.

[Graeme]

That looks like a good robust system Terry.

 

I used my Pegasus Power Box Advance for 12V distribution but it doesn't individually fuse the outputs and I was getting disconnections when the mount slewed. 

 

So I got one of these and fed it from the power supply then fed the PPBA from it.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/364309603321

 

The PPBA now just does USB and Dew heater control and it's much happier. And I can still use it as the NINA Weather data source.

 

Graeme

 

 

[Feock]

Terry  A big thumbs up!  I have used the power pole system for many years and have one mounted directly on each of my telescopes. They power on each OTA  the computer, focuser, fan and dew heaters. I keep the 26c camera on a separate supply. This means I have only 2 sets of power wires and the usb cable leaving the OTA's. I have also found that running the mount, heaters and computer on 13.6 volts seems to give much better performance.

 

The wiring in the image below is a bit of a mess as the scope is in the workshop but it may give people a few ideas.

 

Ross