Need help from EQ8-R owners - AC DC adapter - Forums

Topic starter

Jan 13, 2021

I'm currently waiting for my EQ8-R to arrive. I'm struggling to find a wall plug adapter for it. I live in europe, and the wall plug type that we have here (the one that I need) is this (230 Volts):

I contacted Skywatcher but they gave me no concrete answers. They said they recommend their AC DC adapter (but it does not have this wall plug type for my country).I would like to buy a regulated power supply to avoid damaging the mount/motors. It could be directly from the wall plug to the mount, or an adapter to connect to the lighter connection and then to the wall plug.

One solution that some have found and are happy with it, is this:
https://www.amazon.com/Pyramid-PS9KX-Universal-Regulated-Converter/dp/B0002BA570

But, since I searched and I couldn't find these with the wall plug type that I need, what do you recommend me to use? My concerns are the fact that I want to ensure that the power supplied to the mount is enough to handle higher power drain (when needed) since I'll connect some acessories to the mount too, and a heavy scope (heavy, but, of course, within the mount capacity).

Maybe I'm being unfair about I'm about to say, but, it sad for a company like Skywatcher not providing / selling AC DC adapters with different wall plug types than USA plug. Even worse, for an observatory-class mount, where it only makes sense using it with direct energy (no powertanks).
I believe that many on europe have bought this mount and that I'm not the only one struggling with this... If there's no other option, it is just ridiculous having to buy a powertank (since it is regulated and has the lighter plug directly from the mount) to use my mount on my own backyard, when I could be using directly with my home energy.

Maybe I'm bad at searching things... But I already searched for this on some astro stores.

Clear Skies

Engaging

Cedric Raguenaud

Jan 13, 2021

Hello,

You can get something like that: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B00GS2PQ6C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_IJ1.Fb0DWP07R
Or that : https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B08GHJS81M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_.S1.Fb41QKY01?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Check on the pages for more options.

Lots of people are very particular with their Mount's power supplies. I've used many kinds, for various mounts, including an EQ8. I've seen no difference.

Now I don't bother with the expensive or specific stuff : I use PC power supplies short-circuited to work without a PC. No problem to run a mount and they provide me with 12v and 5v.

Gerd Rudolf

Feb 7, 2021

Hello,

buy a power supply with 10 or 15 ampere power for the EQ8. I also had one with 5 / 8 Ampere at the beginning and it was too weak. At full speed the electric motors howled and stopped. Now I have a power supply unit that is intended for amateur radio. It can be trimmed to 14 volts and these power supplies have very little ripple. No more problems.

Something like this:
https://www.maas-elektronik.com/MANSON-SPA-8150-Schaltnetzteil-15-Ampere.2.html

Greetings Gerd

Helpful Concise

Nathan Duso

Feb 7, 2021

idk if it helps but I run mine off my Pegasus power pack. https://pegasusastro.com/products/pocket-powerbox/

IS_17m

Topic starter

Feb 18, 2021

Thank you for all your replies. I can see that there are all types of cases. And that's interesting...

@Nathan Duso your solution is very good, I can tell you that I've been thinking about buying one of those powerboxes from PegasusAstro.

It really helps to make the cable management *clean* and centered just in one thing.

For what I know (sorry if I'm wrong, I have read the powerbox manual) you can monitor on your PC what's the real-time voltage and current that is being used right?

Can you tell me how much amps does the mount pull with the motors moving at full speed? I ask this because Gerd (user above) told that at full speed the electric motors howled and stopped, using a 5/8 amps power supply.

For what I searched, the powerbox that you use, provides in total 10 amps, but, of course that you have more things connected to it, and just not the mount. So I believe that, if you are not having any problems running the mount using the powerbox, maybe the number of amps needed to run the mount without problems is not that high.

How much load capacity (of the 50kgs) are you using?

Thanks

Respectful Supportive

Nathan Duso

Feb 18, 2021 · Edited: Feb 19, 2021

@IS_17m Thank you for all your replies. I can see that there are all types of cases. And that's interesting...

@Nathan Duso your solution is very good, I can tell you that I've been thinking about buying one of those powerboxes from PegasusAstro.

It really helps to make the cable management *clean* and centered just in one thing.

For what I know (sorry if I'm wrong, I have read the powerbox manual) you can monitor on your PC what's the real-time voltage and current that is being used right?

Can you tell me how much amps does the mount pull with the motors moving at full speed? I ask this because Gerd (user above) told that at full speed the electric motors howled and stopped, using a 5/8 amps power supply.

For what I searched, the powerbox that you use, provides in total 10 amps, but, of course that you have more things connected to it, and just not the mount. So I believe that, if you are not having any problems running the mount using the powerbox, maybe the number of amps needed to run the mount without problems is not that high.

How much load capacity (of the 50kgs) are you using?

Thanks

Hello there,
Yes you can check the amperage being used when connected to a pc. When I had that setup I honestly don't remember seeing it go above 4 when everything was plugged in and working. 10amps is plenty. I'm currently using the setup but instead of using a mini pc I'm using the AsiAir instead so I cannot see how much power it's consuming.