4 replies to this topic

[SM881]

I have been asked to do an outreach at a location without access to the electrical grid. I don't have a battery. One of the participants has an electric Ford F-150 and offered to plug into his vehicle.
Is it safe to power the mount (AM5) and PPADV (with the usual power supplies (120V/12V) from the F-150 outlet? Is the power regulated well enough for connecting astro gear without issues?

Thank you

[norvegicus]

The power regulation is done by your 12V power supplies.  So yes, perfectly safe, and way more capacity than you'll need.  

[hyiger]

If you can power your house with a F150 EV then you can certainly power your rig. 

[SM881]

Thank you both.

[Matt78]

EVs use a separate 12V system that runs accessories like computers and power steering. That system gets recharged from the main high voltage battery. I am not an electrical engineer, but I’d imagine it fluctuates less than a system run on a belt driven alternator (I DO know that voltage can go up and down a bit depending on engine load and RPM). The EV should make very consistent voltage. I don’t have an F-150, but I’ll put a multimeter on the 12V some time and see what happened if I have my wife turn the stereo up or the lights on and off, and reply here if I remember.