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Found a good Power Bank for RPI4 / Stellarmate

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Wanted to post this in case others were looking for the same.

Been looking for something that can power the Pi4 all night but is portable/mobile. All the power banks I have are supposedly 2.4A @ 5V but the voltage dips a little when current is drawn, causing undervoltage errors on the Pi. I know the Pi 4 is rated at 3A but that's under full load. 

Took a gamble on this guy and have been very pleased with the results:
"Charmast Power Bank with Led Display 23800mAh Quick Charge 3.0 PD18W USB C Battery Pack"
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0892B32LB

It ran the Pi4 today for 2 hours and it dropped just 10% battery without a single undervoltage error :) :)

I did buy the 5 Amp USB C cable with it just to be sure:
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08P36JGZ9

I run the mount off a different power bank, but the Pi4 has USB ports in use for the camera, mount and a USB GPS. No powered hub.

If this post is in the wrong place please feel free to move it.
 
Last edit: 2 years 8 months ago by Damian.
2 years 8 months ago #73306

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Good to know. I'm using for months one of those

Baseus 65W 30000mAh USB C PD
es.aliexpress.com/item/4000957265153.html

I connect the RPi with a ASI120MM-S and an ASI533MC attached and a OnStep mount driver (consumes below 2A) and I've been able to run the setup for more that 6h

About the ASI533MC: the cooling is connected to a second battery. If I try to connect the cooler to a single battery, I overload it and it stops. So the easy solution was to use a second battery (of the same kind) to run the cooler.

Cheers
The following user(s) said Thank You: Sanjog
2 years 8 months ago #73319

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thanks for sharing. 

What cable do you use to connect the baseus battery to the asi533mc cooler?
2 years 3 months ago #78740

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I found a project on indiegogo (and backed it - but i'm still waiting for it) that should be capable of supply my whole "portable" setup: Az-GTi + ASI 183M for the whole night. 
At present time campaign is closed on indiegogo, but i think it will open again under a different site...
www.indiegogo.com/projects/storm-2-ultim...-nomads/x/10141776#/

I found a similar DIY project on youtube: 


 
2 years 2 months ago #79020

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I used to use a TalentCell 6000mAh/12V with ASI294 and RPI4 - that was OK for one night.
Upgraded to ASI2600 - that one is a power hog and lasted for just 4-5 hours or so.
Now I power my RPI and ASI2600 (when in the field) with a Baldr 330W power supply - it lasts for two nights easily.
I power dew heaters from a separate battery.

Anyway, my problem is not with RPI but with DSLR.
DSLR draws so little power that all modern chargers I tried go to sleep and DSLR switches off while in the middle of the action.

TalentCell batteries do not go to sleep but they don't work right with my Nikon D5500 (worked well with D5300).
I have a 5V-8.4V-Dummy_nikon_battery converter.
When it is put into the 5V USB port of the TalentCell - it doesn't work.
So I have to go TalentCell 12V --> 12V-5V converter --> 5V-8.4V-Dummy_nikon_battery converter.
Stupid arrangement but it works!

Looking for a modern power bank which would work with my D5500. So far all new ones were bad and would go to sleep while powering my D5500.
-- Max S
ZWO AM5. RST-135. AZ-GTI. HEQ5. iOptron SkyTracker.
TPO RC6. FRA400. Rokinon 135 and other lenses.
ZWO ASI2600MC. D5500 modified with UVIR clip-in filter.
ZWO ASI120MM Mini x 2. ZWO 30F4 guider. Orion 50mm guider.
ZWO EAF x 2.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Sanjog
Last edit: 2 years 2 months ago by maxthebuilder.
2 years 2 months ago #79022

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Hi,
I'm a little curious.
Why using a D550 full spectrum while having a flagship like the ASI2600 ?
(this is a real question, i'm a lot far to even be an amateur...)
Thanks
2 years 2 months ago #79023

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I use D5500 for wide-field astro on AZ-GTi mount (in EQ mode) with 50-180mm lenses. No guiding/computer just the SynScan app (hand control alternative). Occasionally I run this setup with Stellarmate.
I usually shoot with two rigs - one either FRA400 or RC6 with ASI2600 on a higher end mount (HEQ5 or RST-135) and another D5500 on AZ-GTi.
-- Max S
ZWO AM5. RST-135. AZ-GTI. HEQ5. iOptron SkyTracker.
TPO RC6. FRA400. Rokinon 135 and other lenses.
ZWO ASI2600MC. D5500 modified with UVIR clip-in filter.
ZWO ASI120MM Mini x 2. ZWO 30F4 guider. Orion 50mm guider.
ZWO EAF x 2.
2 years 2 months ago #79024

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Rafa,
Thank you for the battery suggestion. It has positive reviews.

Would you be able to answer a few questions?

1) Are you using RPI power adapter 15 W/3A to power RPI 4 via Baseus 65 W and you have ASI 533MC-P, ASI 120 MM-S, and ON Step Mount connected to various USB ports on RPI 4?
2) You said that you were using the second Baseus 65 W to cool the ASI 533 MC-P. My understanding was such cooling requires a DC 12 V/3-5A power through the DC 12 V port on the back of the camera? How are you using Baseus 65 W and what kind of cable to cool ASI 533 MC-P? Baseus's various USB ports supply 20 V1.5 A and 20 V/3A power. Wouldn't 20 V be above the recommended power supply of 12 V for ASI 533MC-P?

Thanks in advance!
1 year 10 months ago #82707

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Hi,
This is helpful. I am about to embark on an astrophotography journey and would appreciate if you could please answer some questions. My apologies in advance if they sound a bit naive.

1) Would I connect a ZWO Guide camera (via USB cable) to the USB hub on the back of ZWO Imaging camera (say ASI 533 MC-P) or directly to a USB hub on RPI 4?
2) Which USB port (between USB 2 and USB 3) on the back of ZWO ASI 533 would connect to which USB port (USB 2 or USB 3) on RPI 4?
3) Was your ASI 294 the cooled version?
4) What sort of cable were you using to power RI 4 and ASI 294 from TalentCell 6000mAh/12V? Would a larger TalentCell 12V/11000mAh be able to handle the power need of a cooled camera and simultaneously power RI 4, Guide Camera, and ZWO EAF?

Many thanks!
1 year 10 months ago #82708

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