Joe, If I were you I'd buy one of those Kendrick dual plug batteries. I have a single plug battery that I've used since 2001 and it has worked well for me. Here is the link. http://www.kendrickastro.com/astro/battery.html We are planning on going back to the Kolob site on November 14th. If you are interested, give me an email or phone call. I hope to do some winter observing and view some galaxies in the constellation Fornax. By the way, Jim's generator did not bother me. I was too busy looking at galaxies and star charts to notice the noise. I just hope the weather cooperates next month. Debbie On Wed Oct 21 20:57 , Joe Bauman <josephmbauman@yahoo.com> sent:

Thanks, Daniel, but I'm pretty much stuck with my ST402 for now. -- Joe

--- On Wed, 10/21/09, daniel turner outwest112@yahoo.com> wrote:

From: daniel turner outwest112@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Private Observing Calendar? To: "Utah Astronomy" utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2009, 3:11 PM

--- On Wed, 10/21/09, Joe Bauman josephmbauman@yahoo.com> wrote:

...

From: Joe Bauman josephmbauman@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Private Observing Calendar? To: "Utah Astronomy" utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2009, 10:43 AM Going out with others would be wonderful -- but unless the place has electricity, it won't work for me. I try to do astrophotography (I'm not that good but I know I can improve), and that requires my laptop. No laptop made has batteries that last very long, I'm convinced. If I could find a heavy-duty battery that I could plug into my laptop, that would allow me to image among others. But until I find that kind of battery or a place with power, I am forced to use my generator. That would be extremely annoying for others nearby. -- Joe

Joe:

You may want to consider the alternative form of astrophotography.  Using one of the new DSLR's.  I watched Rob Taylor capture an astounding picture of M33 from SPOC last Friday.  He did it with a Orion Atlas powered by a small 12 volt pack and his Canon camera using only internal battery and software.  No laptop, no generator, no guiding, no filer wheel, and his set up and take down were about 30 minutes each.  The monchrome CCD tied to a high speed external computer is getting to be the choice for those with an observatory that stays set up and ready to go.  DSLR's have made astounding progress in the last 2 years and they deserve good close look. 

DT

     

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