Hi Andy: I too have cursed the cigarette lighter connector. It seems that they are designed with a spring loaded plunger who's job is to push the connection apart. I have discovered the solution and it's called the "Power Pole Connector". They are very easy to mate in the dark by feel and will not short out in the process. They are very reasonably priced. It's a patented connector (Anderson Power Products) that's both a male and female, this has all kinds of advantages, like both ends of an extension cable are made identically, i.e. there are no "Plugs" and no "Sockets". The Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) - has standardized one of the many possible ways you can use two of the PP15 Power Pole connectors for connecting radios and "12 Volt" power supplies. This way everyone is using a standardized connection system and I would recommend this scheme for astronomy applications. Do NOT use the spiral pin to connect the two connectors, instead use a drop of Acrylic cement. The spiral and roll pins will fall out and may get into something and cause damage. I recently added a Power Pole option to a battery adapter I make that holds 10 each "D" cells. Note that a "12 Volt" power supply usually refers to an automotive cigarette lighter socket. When a car is running the actual voltage is just below 15 Volts (battery charging) and when the battery is about dead the voltage is about 10 Volts, so a "12 Volt" supply turns out to be anywhere between 10 and 15 Volts. 10 Alkaline cells provide 15 Volts when they are fresh and so work well to provide "12 Volts". Note that many scope power supply options only use 8 cells for a starting voltage of 12 V, but since the equipment is designed for "12 Volts" you are not getting the Watt Hours that you could have if you started with 15 Volts. 10 Rechargable cells (either Ni-Cad or Ni-MH) are about 13.6 Volts when fully charged and so can also be used for a "12 Volt" supply. For a lot more on Power Poles see my web page: http://www.pacificsites.com/~brooke/PowerPole.shtml For the 10 "D" cell battery adapter see my web page: http://www.pacificsites.com/~brooke/257477BA.shtml or my eBay (brookebattery) auctions <http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&include=0&userid=brookebattery&sort=3&rows=25&since=-1&rd=1> Have Fun, Brooke Clarke, N6GCE all my products at: http://www.PRC68.com >Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 16:15:40 -0000 > From: "Andy Schlei" <andy_schlei@yahoo.com> >Subject: Re: AC Power > >Jeff, > >I went to Radio Shack and bought a 10amp regulated power supply for >about $75. That gives me power for the scope, dew heaters, camera, >etc. I also got a three plug adapter so I have three outlets. > >My only complaint is that all the connectors are those damn >cigarette lighter types that tend to lose connections on the >slightest bump. I would be interested if anyone has a solution to >that problem (other than duct tape). > >--Andy > > > > > > > > ----------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from SeeSat-L, send a message with 'unsubscribe' in the SUBJECT to SeeSat-L-request@satobs.org List archived at http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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