27 replies to this topic

[BKBrown]

WesC has a great thread on installing the TEMP-est fans for Edge HD SCTs, but there are some lingering questions in my mind. I get the mechanics of installation, it's pretty straight forward. But I don't recall getting instructions with mine (might well have misplaced them!) and I don't recall what size plug it has. Guess I'll be dropping by Radio Shack and checking 2.1mm and 2.5mm plugs to figure out what I have. Easy enough. What I would like to see are some pix of folks power hook ups, the plugs, connectors, and whatnot that move the juice. I understand the requirement for a 12v power source, but (being electrically challenged) not what all the options are and what they look like. For instance, I would like to run mine off of my Kendrick and Dewbuster controllers...is that doable? How are you doing yours?

Clear Skies,
Brian

[Patrick]

Good guestion on the Dew Buster controller as a power supply to the tempest. The bottom two ports on the Dew Buster are 12 volt outlets so I don't see any reason that it would not work. I've been thinking of solutions too, so I think you may have hit on one! Thanks!

Patrick

[Patrick]

So, the question now becomes is there a cable available with an RCA connector on one end and a 2.1 or 2.5mm connector on the other end?

Patrick

[CharlesW]

Here is mine. Just made it and am running a test to see how long it will last. Got the battery holder from Amazon, the cable came with the Tempest. I also need to figure out how to attach it to my mount. You really need to pay attention to +- as the Tempests do not like to be run backwards. I also picked up the Fastar fan but I'll use a deep cycle battery when that's installed.

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[Patrick]

I also need to figure out how to attach it to my mount.

Sounds like a good job for Velcro!

Ed...if you're listening...It would be nice if Deep Space Products included a battery pack or power plug with the fans. At $165 for a set of fans, one would think it might be possible...

At any rate, I went ahead and bought the optional 6' cord only to find out that one end of the cord had no plug on it. I was expecting at least a cigarette lighter plug. That was a little inconvenient because I then had to spend an hour running around trying to find a plug. I ended up buying a whole new cord from Radio Shack because it was cheaper than buying a connector by itself. It works now though.

I really like the idea of plugging into the Dew Buster unit though. I picked up a set of RCA plugs today at lunch and think I'll make use of my optional 'DSP $5.00 plug-less 6' power cord' to plug it into the Dew Buster. Now I just hope I get the positive side of the power cable set up right on the plug.... Otherwise I'll be really upset when the fans blow up.

One other thing while we're talking about Temp-est Fans. Does anyone know where I can get one of the little screws that holds the fans in place? I twisted one of mine off accidentally by cross threading it. Those little guys are not very strong and it broke with very little force.

Cheers!

Patrick

[CharlesW]

I did exactly the same thing. Go to Home Depot/Lowes and get four metric socket head screws. Much better.

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[nemo129]

Sounds like a good job for Velcro!

Great idea Patrick, I use this stuff and I swear it could hold a fire extinguisher on my mount!

[WesC]

So, all I do is plug the fans into my 4 input cigarette plug adapter on my Duracell DPP-600

You can see it in this pic if you're eagle eyed!

[Patrick]

I did exactly the same thing. Go to Home Depot/Lowes and get four metric socket head screws. Much better.

Those screws look great! Do you know what size the screws are off hand? They are very tiny...

Patrick

[CharlesW]

An update on my battery pack above. Those are new Eneloops that I picked up at Costco on sale. They ran the two rear cell fans for over 10 hours with no sign of slowing down. That is a whole night's run so I gave up trying to kill them. Now I have some older white Eneloops in the pack to see how they fare. I'm using a Powerex MAHA MH-C9000 WizardOne to charge them back up. Hopefully in less than a day or I'll have to buy a third set of batteries.

[JMW]

When on my AP900GTO, I just plug into the 4 port power distribution attached to the tripod or pier. When on my DM6 mount, I use a little 3 amp-hour battery on the top of the mount so I don't worry about cord wrap.

[BKBrown]

Great discussion so far! Today I dropped by Radio Shack and picked up a package of Size L Coaxial DC power plugs and a 12 foot stereo cable with an RCA plug and stripped ends. I will put this together and take some pix to share, hopefully this rig will allow me to use the 12v jack on my Kendrick controller. I'll let ya'll know soon...

Clear Skies,
Brian

[BKBrown]

So I finally got around to assembling my experimental power solution today, and I am happy to report that it seems to be working perfectly. Since I have a Kendrick controller with under utilized ports, I wanted to use one of the dedicated 12v jacks for the fans. I crimped a size "L" coaxial DC power plug to the end of a stereo cable with an RCA jack on the far end...everything I needed came to just over $10 at Radio Shack. So the fans are now installed on the C11 Edge, softly purring as they move the air, and tonight I will take TEMP-est for a test drive. Thanks!

Clear Skies,
Brian

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[mnshanny]

The screws are 2.5mm dia. I could not find the Allen head variety at true value, so I guess I'll try the two places mentioned. I also would much prefer them.

[Paul G]

McMaster-Carr

[CharlesW]

If anyone cares at this point, eight Eneloop AA's will run the Fastar fan for a one hour cool down along with the rear cell fans. Then, they will keep the rear cells running for another 12 hours with no discernable loss in power. I picked up the batteries on sale at Costco a few weeks ago, $13. It takes a total of three hours to recharge the batteries in a Powerex Maha charger. "Mouser" is also another source for connectors.

[Sarkikos]

I installed TEMP-est fans in my EdgeHD 8" a couple days ago.  I was able to direct the connecting cord from one vent hole to the other without using a weight on a string.  Pretty easy if you take your time and have bright lights to show you the way.  I did not want to risk having the string or weight fall off into the OTA.

 

I haven't tried the scope with fans in the field yet.  Two portable 12v battery packs Velcroed to the fork arm power my setup.   One supplies the dew controller, the other the NexStar mount and TEMP-est fans.  I'm going to use straight 12v to power the fans.  

 

I don't understand the rationale for supplying the fans from a dew controller, unless it's for the sake of convenience.  Yes, you could vary the fan speed from the controller.  But is that really necessary?  These fans don't appear to induce vibrations in the OTA and are not incredibly strong.  I wouldn't want them to push the air any less forcefully than they already do.

 

Mike

Edited by Sarkikos, 26 November 2014 - 11:14 PM.

[Sarkikos]

 

Sounds like a good job for Velcro!

Great idea Patrick, I use this stuff and I swear it could hold a fire extinguisher on my mount!

 

 

Scotch Hook and Loop Fastener Tape.  Lasts 3x longer than Velco?  That would be nice.  But it doesn't matter how strong the hook and loop side is if the adhesive on the back is comparatively weak.  They need to make sure the adhesive is strong.

 

My dark site is very dewy.  Over the course of a night, a couple of the Velcro patches on my NexStar mount began to come lose because of the moisture.  So I attached "industrial strength" double-sided tape to the adhesive back of the Velcro.  The Velcro hasn't come undone since then.  I'm not sure if the Scotch Hook & Loop would be stronger than that.

 

Mike

Edited by Sarkikos, 26 November 2014 - 11:21 PM.

[BKBrown]

I don't understand the rationale for supplying the fans from a dew controller, unless it's for the sake of convenience.  Yes, you could vary the fan speed from the controller.  But is that really necessary?  These fans don't appear to induce vibrations in the OTA and are not incredibly strong.  I wouldn't want them to push the air any less forcefully than they already do.

 

Mike

 

Convenience and tidiness. When you have multiple imaging rigs on a single mount you have lots and lots of cables to manage. Using the available 12v port on the Kendrick lets me keep everything organized and avoids having another outlet/plug to deal with. Not really an issue for one OTA, visual only nights in the field..

 

Clear Skies,

Brian

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[Sarkikos]

 

I don't understand the rationale for supplying the fans from a dew controller, unless it's for the sake of convenience.  Yes, you could vary the fan speed from the controller.  But is that really necessary?  These fans don't appear to induce vibrations in the OTA and are not incredibly strong.  I wouldn't want them to push the air any less forcefully than they already do.

 

Mike

 

Convenience and tidiness. When you have multiple imaging rigs on a single mount you have lots and lots of cables to manage. Using the available 12v port on the Kendrick lets me keep everything organized and avoids having another outlet/plug to deal with. Not really an issue for one OTA, visual only nights in the field..

 

Clear Skies,

Brian

 

 

IIRC, the Kendrick has straight 12v ports in addition to ones that can be varied.  Hooking the TEMP-est fans to a straight 12v port would make sense, if your controller has one available.  

 

But I got the impression that some users were going to supply the fans from variable ports on controllers, similar to the ones on my Dew Not controller.  I think that should be avoided.  AFAIK, full 12v power is what is needed for the fans.  That's why I'm going to power the fans with straight 12v from a portable power supply that I attach to the mount.  The same power supply will provide power for the NexStar mount itself.  Another power supply will service the dew controller.

 

Providing power for visual only can be complicated enough.  I stay clear of AP!

 

Mike

Edited by Sarkikos, 27 November 2014 - 02:41 PM.

[mark379]

So, all I do is plug the fans into my 4 input cigarette plug adapter on my Duracell DPP-600

You can see it in this pic if you're eagle eyed!

Very nice setup! How much do you think the Tempest fans cut your cool down time to?

[WesC]

Well, it all depends on how quickly the night temperatures drop. Some nights in the summer it's around 30 minutes. In the winter I can be chasing equilibrium for hours. That's life with a cat. They do work though and are totally worth every penny. 

[BKBrown]

 

 

I don't understand the rationale for supplying the fans from a dew controller, unless it's for the sake of convenience.  Yes, you could vary the fan speed from the controller.  But is that really necessary?  These fans don't appear to induce vibrations in the OTA and are not incredibly strong.  I wouldn't want them to push the air any less forcefully than they already do.

 

Mike

 

Convenience and tidiness. When you have multiple imaging rigs on a single mount you have lots and lots of cables to manage. Using the available 12v port on the Kendrick lets me keep everything organized and avoids having another outlet/plug to deal with. Not really an issue for one OTA, visual only nights in the field..

 

Clear Skies,

Brian

 

 

IIRC, the Kendrick has straight 12v ports in addition to ones that can be varied.  Hooking the TEMP-est fans to a straight 12v port would make sense, if your controller has one available.  

 

But I got the impression that some users were going to supply the fans from variable ports on controllers, similar to the ones on my Dew Not controller.  I think that should be avoided.  AFAIK, full 12v power is what is needed for the fans.  That's why I'm going to power the fans with straight 12v from a portable power supply that I attach to the mount.  The same power supply will provide power for the NexStar mount itself.  Another power supply will service the dew controller.

 

Providing power for visual only can be complicated enough.  I stay clear of AP!

 

Mike

 

 

Hi Mike,

 

In the pic above you can see the fan plug going into one of the sockets on the upper left side of the Kendrick 7...those two are 12v dedicated as you surmised. I wouldn't plug into one of the variable outlets either

 

Clear Skies,

Brian

[spongebob@55]

I just installed TEMPest fans for my C14 Edge HD.  They work great.  Here's how I powered the fans similar to some other ways mentioned here.  $6 at Radio Shack:

 

(1) 8-AA battery holder: http://www.radioshac...ml#.VHCqOP1nLwI

(1) battery clip: http://www.radioshac...ml#.VHCrHf1nLwI

 

Connect the battery clip to the output of the battery holder, which has the standard 9 volt connectors.  Then connect the TEMPest power cable to the battery clip cable lead (meaning twist/connect black/white <=> red, black <=> black).  Then electrical tape over the two connections and if you care put some connectors over them (blue below).

 

dj

 

 

Well I copied your parts and idea.   All I have to do is do the splicing.   Did you find a good place to mount the battery pack and run the wires?   I thought this idea was very clean and kept the wires from going all over the place and getting tangled in the mount.  Thanks!

Bob