Observatory Power Supply from Rapid
Posted on: February 4, 2011 /
Whenever you buy a dew heater system you need something to power it, for some reason I went for a Battery Powerpack from Maplin, which is very good and has an invertor on it, compressor, 2 12v cigar sockets and a USB charger socket, battery clamps, a worklight etc etc.
But I hate having to remember to charge it every time the day before I want to observe. So to get around this I purchased a 12v 4.8w Solar Panel from Maplin to keep the battery topped up. This is a good idea, but the window in my observatory does not get much light and there is not much sun around in the winter.
So I decided to instead purchase a desktop power supply for the observatory, why I never bought one in the first place – god only knows! As I have power sockets in the observatory. It was probably because everyone seemed to have a Powertank so I thought I’d better get one as well.
After scanning the web and the astronomy retailer sites, I wanted an observatory power supply which did not have a fan in it (I like silence when observing), one that had enough amps to power my equipment and one that did not cost too much to have it posted to me, as these things are heavy.
In the end I purchased the Rapid 4A 13.8V Fixed output DC regulated power supply. It was only £43.20 inc VAT with Free Delivery.
I ordered it at lunchtime direct from Rapid and it came via UKMail the next day, looking at it, it seems very well made and robust and does the job nicely.
The new version is the 85-1714 Rapid PSU
I can thoroughly recommend it as a silent observatory power supply for your telescope, dew heaters, CCD cameras etc.
Rapid 13.8v 4-6amp Observatory Power Supply Features:
Fixed 13.8V DC output
Screw connectors and 12V cigarette lighter accessory socket
High stability
Low ripple and noise
Compact size
Overload and short circuit protection
Galvanised steel case
Polycarbonate front panel
Cooled by natural convection
Celestron Powertank Lithium
