Just realized my dew heater battery died halfway through a 4-hour Orion shot last night

I was in my backyard in Boise and had to run an extension cord from my garage, ruining the framing but saving the data, so has anyone found a good portable power bank that lasts a full imaging session?

4 comments

4 Comments

wendy1312mo agoMost Upvoted

Classic astro fail, at least you saved the data. My power bank game is weak too, always ends up being a race against the clock.

wyatt_mitchell261mo ago

My last session ended with me trying to use my car's cigarette lighter and blowing the fuse. The mount was tracking fine but the camera was just pointed at my dashboard. I'm basically an expert at finding new, creative ways to ruin a night of imaging. At this point, my best piece of gear is the backup hard drive for all my one-star photos.

hall.joel2mo ago

Yeah I got one of those big lithium jump starter packs for my car, and it's been a total game changer for my rig. Lasts all night no problem.

jennifer8332mo agoMost Upvoted

Running an extension cord seems like a minor hassle compared to losing hours of data. A dead battery is just part of the hobby. Most decent power banks from a hardware store should handle a dew heater for a few hours.