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Drove 2 hours to a dark sky spot in Anza Borrego and my mount lost power mid stack
So I packed up my scope and drove out to Anza Borrego on a Saturday because the forecast said clear skies and no moon until 2am. Got set up around 9, polar aligned, started my run on the Rosette Nebula, things were looking good for about 45 minutes. Then my mount just froze mid exposure and the hand controller went blank. Turns out my power cable had wiggled loose from the battery and I lost 38 subs right there. I tried jiggling it back in and restarting but the alignment was toast and I had to redo the whole polar alignment in the dark with a red headlamp. By the time I got going again the nebula was behind a ridge and I got maybe 20 usable frames out of the entire trip. I ordered a locking power connector the next morning but I am still mad about the wasted drive. Do you guys tape your cables down or is there a better way to keep them from popping out?
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murphy.aaron11d ago
Swap the battery for a sealed lead acid inside a plastic ammo box with the cables zip tied so they can't pull. Sounds overkill but the weight alone keeps the cord from tugging loose when the mount slews.
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