Date
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Power Problem
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Terry Johnson <tjohnson@...>
Dan, great desciption of the problem you are having. I have found that the
AP control box cannot take an electrical surge whatsoever. Any device that you
power up after you have already powered up the AP control box may cause the
keypad to freeze. When I powered on my PC for autoguiding later, after I had
completed polar aligning using the keypad, I found often enough, my keypad would
freeze.
With respect to the Dew system, the Dew system cycles on an off as
part of its design and will also cause the keypad to freeze.
If I am not using my Dew system, I have found that I can eliminate the
keypad freezing by powering up the PC before I power up the AP control box which
eliminates the surge. I have not had the keypad freeze when I power up in
this order.
I am thinking of getting a smaller battery to power the AP control box and
a larger one to power PC, CCD, Dew System, Inverter, television, air
conditioner, espresso bar, heating blanket, ice maker, and so on.
Thanks again for your note...Terry Johnson
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Mark Jenkins <markj@...>
on 6/27/00 7:00 PM, Terry Johnson at tjohnson@... wrote:
I am thinking of getting a smaller battery to power the AP control box and aLet's see... You will be the one with the 50ft Winnebago complete with 10' automated dome and hydraulic ram to "set your pier", satellite dish and 64" projection TV at the Nebraska Start Party... right? oooh, wouldn't that be cool! Hook up an STV to the 64" projection TV and display dso's for all to see! Now that's sidewalk astronomy! ;-) Just sitting here like a little kid at Christmas waiting for my 400GTO, 48" pier and oodles of mounting hardware to arrive! -- Clear Skies! Mark Jenkins markj@... http://www.pcsincnet.com/astronomy/
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rck <rkuberek@...>
Terry and group,
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This is exactly what I do--two batteries, one 60AH deep cycle just for the scope and one 100AH deep cycle for PC and Camera. Putting a dew heater together with the scope on one battery (large or small) is just too much. With just the dew heater (on the large battery) I get around 12.25 volts, but when I add the scope I get only around 11.75 volts and the keypad freezes on GOTO often. Regards, Bob K. Terry Johnson wrote:
I am thinking of getting a smaller battery to power the AP control box and a larger one to power PC, CCD, Dew System, Inverter,
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Mark Jenkins <markj@...>
I have a 90AH deep cycle battery and man is it heavy! I plan on using this
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for just the 400GTO. I want to get a 100-140AH deep cycle for Laptop, CCD and Dew heater. The 100-140's are even heavier! I found a nice solution to this bulky problem at Lowe's this last weekend. It is a heavy duty large, black "tool box" on wheels. It has a metal handle with a rubber comfort grip that slides into the box when not in use. I plan on dedicating 1/2 of the bottom to power. I will have various outlets and switches on the side of the box to accommodate several 12v DC, 2 to 4 120v AC and of course a master switch for each circuit as well as a charger hook-up. A self-contained, rolling power source that will be able to be charged at any standard 110/120 household outlet. The rest of the box will be foam lined and used to carry all the other equipment including the mount. It also has a pull out top "tool carrier" that I plan on lining with foam and utilizing as a potential eyepiece holder. The only downside to the top carrier is its color. Yellow I will probably paint it black or red. The top is flat and will make a nice table for star charts, red gooseneck lights etc. It is really only limited to one's imagination what can be made from this box. It about $40-$50 if I remember correctly. Nebraska bound I am! -- Clear Skies! Mark Jenkins markj@... http://www.pcsincnet.com/astronomy/ on 6/27/00 9:36 PM, rck at rkuberek@... wrote:
Terry and group,
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Jeffrey D. Gortatowsky
All these power problems... you'd figure Roland, Marge, and Chuck would have
long since run into all this and solved the sensitivity if it's truely very sensitive. This 'sounds' like a problem that would drive people nuts. Are most of you experiencing power problems? A quick survey. How do most of you power your mounts? Just a one liner is informative enough. This and polar alignment seem to be real bug-a-boos with GTO mounts. At least on this group! <g> Or is it just a case of a vocal/wired few? Jeff "New 400 GTO owner" G
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rck <rkuberek@...>
"Jeffrey D. Gortatowsky" wrote:
All these power problems... you'd figure Roland, Marge, and Chuck would haveActually, I was wondering if there is a some kind of regulator that could be put on the circuit that would guarantee that the voltage does not drop below 12 (for some period of time). Bob K.
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David A. Silva <dasilva@...>
Jeff
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The battery stuff is not unique to AP mounts, which I found out last weekend. I have a 17 AH gel cell that I've been using for my GM8 +/- Kendrick's dew heater. Last weekend as soon as I plugged in the DH, the GM8 would not slew. My battery has probably aged enough that it doesn't have the oommph it used to. I had read last year that many floks advocate separate batteries for mount electronics. I didn't see the point, but I now do. -David ( saving up for a GTO )
On Wed, 28 Jun 2000 08:54:10 -0700, Jeffrey D. Gortatowsky wrote:
This 'sounds' like a problem that would drive people nuts. Are most of you
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Chris Spratt
I use the 17amp Kendrick battery (standalone). I feel it is a bit small and to
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ensure reliability I have to charge it before and after every observing session. Chris. Spratt "Jeffrey D. Gortatowsky" wrote:
All these power problems... you'd figure Roland, Marge, and Chuck would have
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