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Pages: 1 James Cunningham Carpal Tunnel Reged: 08/07/10 Loc: Maryland How long does Arizona power brick last?       #5362036 - 08/10/12 04:21 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I have an Arizona power brick. About how long does one last if fully charged on a 11 inch SCT? Thanks. Post Extras:       guangtou sage Reged: 03/27/10 Re: How long does Arizona power brick last? [Re: James Cunningham]       #5362892 - 08/11/12 06:11 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   You mean this? http://starizona.com/acb/Starizona-Power-Pack-II-P3398C119.aspx?UserID=19418083&SessionID=PDfCgqlFiWkUc81X61gt If so, I have the older version. It lasted maybe 5 hours when I first got it, depending on how slew-happy I was. Now it lasts 3. Post Extras:       rmollise Postmaster Reged: 07/06/07 Re: How long does Arizona power brick last? [Re: guangtou]       #5363015 - 08/11/12 09:09 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Power "brick" usually means an AC power supply. Are you talking a about that or about their power _pack_ battery? If the latter, at 8 amp hours, it should go all night. You are paying a rather high premium over a jump start battery for the convenience of its small size. Post Extras:       James Cunningham Carpal Tunnel Reged: 08/07/10 Loc: Maryland Re: How long does Arizona power brick last? [Re: rmollise]       #5363021 - 08/11/12 09:14 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I have exactly what the previous poster has. Evidenly, it will only go about 3 hours if its old. Mine is about 3 years old. Post Extras:       MikeBOKC Post Laureate Reged: 05/10/10 Loc: Oklahoma City, OK Re: How long does Arizona power brick last? [Re: James Cunningham]       #5363086 - 08/11/12 10:11 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   My older one has gone fine for 5 hours or so, which is probably the longest I have used it. Post Extras:       rmollise Postmaster Reged: 07/06/07 Re: How long does Arizona power brick last? [Re: MikeBOKC]       #5363298 - 08/11/12 12:45 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   "Old" is often not the problem. What is usually the problem is how the battery is treated. --Don't discharge it all the way. --Charge for 12 hours after each use. --Charge once a month if it has not been used. That said, 8ah is not a lot of reserve power; if you do a lot of slewing you are better off with a 17ah jump start battery from Walmart, Pep Boys, or Harbor Freight. Post Extras:       DarthNebula member Reged: 10/27/08 Loc: Ontario, Canada Re: How long does Arizona power brick last? [Re: rmollise]       #5403020 - 09/04/12 01:38 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I get a kick out these small amp hour batteries...I use a marine deep cycle; its 110 amp hour...and costs less(however its a little heavy)! Will last you weeks; not hours! DN. Post Extras:       Ashfall member Reged: 05/28/12 Loc: Texas Re: How long does Arizona power brick last? [Re: DarthNebula]       #5403350 - 09/04/12 04:05 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I have the newer 8ah version and it works great. My CPC1100 will get through the whole night on it. This past weekend it was still tracking at dawn, but I didn't do any slewing between 1am and 5am. Another thing I love about it is that it rides on top of the mount so there are no cord wrap issues. Too bad it isn't enough to power my dew heaters. Post Extras:       brianb11213 Postmaster Reged: 02/25/09 Loc: 55.215N 6.554W Re: How long does Arizona power brick last? [Re: Ashfall]       #5403437 - 09/04/12 04:54 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: I have the newer 8ah version and it works great. My CPC1100 will get through the whole night on it. This past weekend it was still tracking at dawn, but I didn't do any slewing between 1am and 5am. Hmmm. My CPC 1100 (mount & handset only) draws around 2A when tracking and over 2.5A when slewing. I don't like to exhaust batteries under 25% capacity (not even deep cycle types) because they don't survive many charge/discharge cycles if you do. Quote: Too bad it isn't enough to power my dew heaters. Yes, that's the really big issue, and that's why I use large capacity deep cycle batteries. Post Extras:       HeyJP sage Reged: 12/11/10 Loc: Boulder, CO Re: How long does Arizona power brick last? [Re: brianb11213]       #5403563 - 09/04/12 06:13 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Brian said: "My CPC 1100 (mount & handset only) draws around 2A when tracking and over 2.5A when slewing. " Brian, Where did you get those numbers? According to the Celestron Spec Sheet, the CPC 1100 draws: • 340mA idle current (I assume, tracking) • 640mA one axis slew • 900mA two axis slew Which, if correct, the Starizona 8AH battery would let you slew 2-axes for over 8 hours or track for over 20 hours. I've done a pair of 5 hour observation sessions (with a mix of tracking and slewing) with a single charge. Only had my 8AH Starizona for a short time, so not a good statistical basis built up yet with the cloudy summer we've had in Colorado. Jim Post Extras:       rboe Reged: 03/16/02 Loc: Phx, AZ Re: How long does Arizona power brick last? [Re: HeyJP]       #5403582 - 09/04/12 06:28 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Long story but I ended up with a Lithium Iron battery for a motorcycle that I now use for the scope. Have not used it over night yet (shoot, I don't last that long!) but I suspect it will power the Starizona to shame. Not cheap though but it is light! For the same bike I have an adaptor with a female cigerette lighter type socket that I tap into for the NexStar. Works great. The charger I have for it (standard car battery charger) gives me plenty of good feedback on the charging state. Post Extras:       rboe Reged: 03/16/02 Loc: Phx, AZ Re: How long does Arizona power brick last? [Re: rboe]       #5403584 - 09/04/12 06:31 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   This is tbe battery I bought. Surf around if you need more power. Post Extras:       brianb11213 Postmaster Reged: 02/25/09 Loc: 55.215N 6.554W Re: How long does Arizona power brick last? [Re: HeyJP]       #5403787 - 09/04/12 08:15 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: Brian said: "My CPC 1100 (mount & handset only) draws around 2A when tracking and over 2.5A when slewing. " Brian, Where did you get those numbers? I measured it. With a multimeter (supposedly accurate to better than 1%). Which I know how to use. Post Extras:       DarthNebula member Reged: 10/27/08 Loc: Ontario, Canada Re: How long does Arizona power brick last? [Re: brianb11213]       #5404943 - 09/05/12 01:54 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Sounds right...the A/C D/C adapter for the CPC line is 12v 2.5 amps. Post Extras:       teskridg Pooh-Bah Reged: 01/15/08 Loc: PA Re: How long does Arizona power brick last? [Re: DarthNebula]       #5437748 - 09/24/12 09:46 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   The d/c battery from Starizona is ideal with the CPC isofar as it can be mounted on the base plate of the telescope and thus the Cordwrap feature can be turned off. I hate the Cordwrap feature- having to slew 359° from one object to another gets real old, and I only observe an hour or two at a time anyway. Tim Post Extras:       sawacs sage Reged: 03/15/06 Loc: KOKC Area Re: How long does Arizona power brick last? [Re: teskridg]       #5445868 - 09/28/12 09:24 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I was using a 7AH battery on my CPC11 and it was out of juice after about 5-6 hours.. The simple solution for a nights observing is a marine/car battery placed next to the scope: will last forever. Hope this helps Shawn Post Extras:       Pages: 1

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