Power supply guide for your Astrophotography Setup

[@Oxizee]

Ctechi sponsered my the GT200 240Wh powerstation. Verry happy with it!

[@MrGp3po]

I have a Bridna at 296 Wh and an Orion Lithium at 156 Wh. The past few days I have tried each on an AM5/AsiAir Mini/ASI83MC Pro/ASI120MM mini system. The Orion only made it 2 hours, while the Bridna goes about 6 hours with the same rig. Oddly, I had to run with the AC outlets and using a power strip. The 12V outlets just didn't seem to be compatible whether I used the cigarette type plug or the pin plug outlets. In one case I could not get the mount to work, but everything else (powered off the mount) worked fine. In another case, the ASIAir would not power up while the camera cooling off the ASIAir was working. Very strange those electrons.

[@nxu5107]

So Chris , given how you introduce yourself, you can’t let us down now with this video!

[@ChrizzlyUniverse]

Hi! what exactly do you mean by that? Do you need a specific recommendation? Clear skies!

[@tostativerdk]

Hi Chris! Love your channel, very useful and inspiring :) Is the CTECHi battery still holding up after longer use?

[@ChrizzlyUniverse]

Hi there👋🏻And thank you very much for your comment! Yes, I have it actually running in this very moment of writing! :D One thing thats notable is, during winter and very cold nights (-5 to -10 °C) I might not make it through the full night with the full astro rig + a lens heater running (heater draws quite a bit of power over time) but other than that, nothing negative to report. I would not recommend using the fast charge feature (12 V DC + USB C charging), my first unit stopped working after some attempts with my phone charger, but the support was really good and quickly swapped the unit to a new one. This might not even be CTECHIs fault because I used my phone's 50 W fast charger... My guess is that the fast charge protocol did something wrong. From there on I only used the original charger that shipped with it without the fast charging. No problems from there, though! Overall I'd still recommend it. Hope that helps :) ( btw I plan to do an updated version of this video not too far in the future) CS!

[@tostativerdk]

Thanks a lot for your answer! I read somewhere that especially EQ6R Pros like 13.8v more than something close to 12v. Do you know what kind of voltage the CTECHi outputs and how stable it is?

[@ChrizzlyUniverse]

@@tostativerdk I cant tell you for certain and cant measure it at the moment, but if my memory is correct it should output directly the voltage of the LiFePO cells, so depending on the SoC you get ~12-14 V. LiFePO cells have a pretty linear discharge curve, so in the mid SoC range (20-80%) the voltage is quite constant. Overall the voltage is higher than lead acid, so I think your point with the EQ-6R should be valid for this powerbank, too. I had no noticeable voltage drops or similar during my use, only thing is when its empty the BMS will shut it off completely ^^ Clear skies!

[@tostativerdk]

@@ChrizzlyUniverse thanks a lot :)

[@mattw1829]

Incredibly helpful

[@ChrizzlyUniverse]

Thank you very much, glad I could help! CS!

[@HollomanUFOLanding]

Hi, thanks for a very helpful video. Your English is excellent! Question - the DC outlets on the LiFePo4 tank that you bought - what size / diameter are they? IE. will a 5.5mm x 2.1mm tip positive plug as used by Celestron mounts install in there? Thanks

[@ChrizzlyUniverse]

Hey, thanks for your comment! 😉 Yes, for the CTECHI LiFePo, the outlets are 5.5 x 2.1 mm female. I can use it with my Celestron AVX mount and ZWO ASI powersupply without a problem. For my iOptron CEM70 and Sesto Senso 2 I need an adapter to 5.5x2.5 mm (as those use a different diameter...🙄). But for Celestron you should be fine👍🏻 Hope I could help, clear skies!

[@LordVekten]

I was about to buy a Celestron powertank which, by the way, here in Chile is also quite expensive too. Thanx Chris for the advice!!

[@JB-iz8bi]

Thank you! I needed this!!

[@mr.f.9672]

great video - regarding CTECHi 1) Are all 3 DC 12V outputs equal in its electrically specs and can drain 10 A in sum? 2) Instead of using a cigarette lighter it should be possible to connect to mount, cooled astro cam and ASIAIR directly if the cables are thick enough for the drained current, right? 3) Is there a problem with stabe 12V at low power station capacity as the outputs are not regulated? 4) Perhaps this aluminium case is no good idea regarding any shunt. Does it lead to problems with ice/dew inside or outside the case surface?

[@ChrizzlyUniverse]

Hi there, thanks for the comment! 1) Yes, as far as I can tell, no difference, but total cap at 10 A collectively for all three. 2) Yes sure. I'm not using a cigarette lighter adapter either with the CTECHi, just directly with the DC 2.1 mm connection. The three items you mentioned should be perfectly suitable, I am using a similar setup here was well. (only possibility where you might take caution is when plugging multiple devices in the ASIair as a "power distributor", that your main supply cable handles the current) 3) Thats a good question. Did not notice any weird behavior so far and just checked, as it had a low SOC at this very moment anyway. With only 1 bar displayed (and I guess at < 10% SOC), the voltage was still at 12.7 V. I tried connecting the mount and it dropped to 12.5 V @ 2 A current draw which is still acceptable I'd say, especially for this low SOC. My guess is that theyre using a 4S LFP cell connection internally. 4) Interesting point as well, but maybe I'm not too sure what you mean by shunt? Do you plan on measuring the current (shunt resistor)? In terms of dew, had it outside at -17 °C and still worked well after that, did notice little dew on the display though. But there is a hole in the back of the casing (for cooling), so its not airtight anyway. Btw, got a new measurement tool, so I plan to do a power consumption comparison of a few astrophotography devices as well...could be interesting. (As a follow up to this video at some point) Clear skies! Chris

[@mr.f.9672]

HI Chris Many thanks for your detailed answers. 4) excuse my poor english - by shunt I meant electric shock possibility as of metal case. Perhaps BMS would take care. Regards and clear skies

[@ChrizzlyUniverse]

No worries about the english! No, it is actually quite the opposite for metal housings, because metal housings are generally grounded, so if the electrical circuitry has a common ground then you should not expect any form of shock. But you're right, even if there is a faul the BMS should save you from that. Best regards!

[@massimo541]

Great! Many thanks

[@AndrejDoms]

Hätte nicht auch die 240er Ctechi gereicht? Rein interessehalber, da wir ähnliche Setups haben.

[@ChrizzlyUniverse]

Hi! Ja, also für Betrieb von Montierung und Versorgung der Kamera sollte die 240er auch die Nacht anhalten. Ich hatte mir die 320 Wh Variante geholt, um auch noch meinen Laptop kontinuierlich laden zu können (Akku hält auch nicht mehr ewig) und auch für die Zukunft noch etwas Puffer zu haben :) Klare Nächte!

[@dallas69]

18V ONE+ 120-WATT POWER SOURCE WITH 12V OUTPUT (RYI12VBG)

[@weristdennda6451]

😊

[@ChrizzlyUniverse]

Could I help you out on your search for the perfect power supply for your Astro rig? Do you have a different approach or other suggestions? Let me know in the comments! 😁

[@nxu5107]

Hi Chris, thanks for all the technical information. Can you please please not put Amazon links? Not sure if you get some revenue out of the Amazon links but personally I think Amazon and other such big tech are not adding value to our lives and ruining the lives of many for one man and his dreams. Thanks. I’ll still be fan anyway of your channel .

[@ChrizzlyUniverse]

Hey again, sorry, got your other comment out of context and didnt read it in order. I dont get anything for the Amazon links, if so, I would put it somewhere to see and mention this as well in the video. And I share your concern, support the local vendors! The big problem/advantage is, you can almost find anything there... But you're right, I'll look into alternatives for future products. I did not want to go with the classical astronomy shops here, as they were comparitively expensive. Thank you for the thought-provoking impulse though! Clear skies and wishing you nice holidays from Germany!