ASIAIR guide: How to use mains power

If you use an ASIAIR PRO or Plus to control and remotely automate your imaging rig, you need a way of powering it. In this article I’ll talk through how I go about using mains power, including all the kit needed.

Why mains power?

Mains power isn’t the only option for powering your kit. Many people use batteries, and for a while that’s what I did too with a Tracer LiPo. Batteries have the significant advantage of being portable, so you can set your equipment up wherever you need, including a dark sky site. However, batteries can be big, or heavy, or expensive — perhaps all three. When using batteries, I also encountered odd glitches with my kit, such as my mount occasionally losing tracking. Still, I persevered with batteries because I wanted my rig to be portable.

This changed when I decided to ditch the idea of travelling to dark skies, and instead commit to being an urban astrophotographer imaging from my back garden. Not needing my kit to be portable was actually liberating, and meant I could focus on making set-up and pack-down as easy as possible. My integration times sky-rocketed as a result. See How to Get Long Integration Times and Controversial Opinion #5 for more info about this.

Having a static observing position also meant I could ditch batteries and use mains power instead. Immediately, all those odd and annoying glitches I was experiencing disappeared and have never returned. It’s true that more modern batteries have better reliability than the one I used, but if you can get away with using mains power then I recommend seriously considering it.

Example set-up

There are lots of ways you can go about using mains power, but I’ll explain the method that I use and find works well.

It’s best if you have an outdoor socket as this is better than trailing a cable from indoors through an open window. This is the socket I use; notice how it has a lid that folds down and clips into place, giving it protection against rain.

I plug in an extension cable and snake it across the garden to my telescope. When not in use, I wrap this cable up and store it indoors.

Look below for the orange cable on the grass — that’s coming from the mains socket. Notice the black box near the bottom left? That’s the important bit for us right now.

It’s a Heissner Z960-00 Garden Power Box. I had a tough time finding a waterproof box that would fit all my kit in. This one is pretty good, but the hinges are rather weak, and some have actually snapped off, so you need to be very gentle when opening or closing it.

This is the view inside. This equipment, with the exception of the extension cable already mentioned, lives permanently inside the box, 24/7, 365 days a year. It’s been out in torrential downpours and searing heat, but the contents have always been protected.

Inside, we have:

• Nevada PS-08 6-8A Regulated Linear Power Supply This plugs into the mains power extension cable. It distributes power to the ASIAIR and other kit. It’s very robust and reliable, but quite heavy. That doesn’t really matter though, because I never move it! A smaller version is available, but I can’t comment on the quality.
  
• OOWOLF cigarette lighter splitter. This plugs into the regulated power supply. I initially bought a cheaper splitter, but it broke after a few months. The OOWOLF is much better. The build quality is good, it has individual buttons to turn each socket on/off, and it has USB connections for any extra gadgets. Very importantly, it also has a high quality cable and plug. Anyway, this splitter allows you to use the next item…
  
• Lynx Astro Cables. These are ace. A “Lynx Astro Silicone Power Cable for Sky-Watcher Mounts with Cigarette Plug” is what you want to power your ASIAIR. I use a 2-metre one, but you may need longer depending on your set-up. Handily, the exact same cable type is needed to power my mount, and Flats Panel. So, I have three of the same cable.

Here’s a diagram showing how it all connects together:

When all set up, there’s just the mains extension power cable going from outdoor socket to waterproof box; and then a Lynx Astro cable going from waterproof box to ASIAIR Plus; and a matching Lynx Astro cable going from waterproof box to my mount.

There we go then

Taken altogether, it’s a neat solution to powering my ASIAIR Plus and other kit. When I’m setting up for a night’s imaging, I just need to run the extension cable from socket to waterproof box; plug the regulated power supply into the extension; and then plug in the Lynx Astro cables into the ASIAIR Plus and mount. Remember, all the electronics (except the power extension) live inside the waterproof box, so it’s really simple. My set-up routine is under five minutes, and that includes carrying the telescope out from my house and attaching it to the mount.

There are plenty of other methods to power your ASIAIR, and ultimately you need to find one that works best for you. I hope I’ve given you some ideas!

If you’d like more info about the equipment I use and how I store it when not in use, check out this article on My Astrophotography Kit.

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