12 volt output - cuts out

Ultimate Powerbox v1 and v2
Post Reply
rrricannn
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2022 4:28 pm

12 volt output - cuts out

Post by rrricannn »

Very Strange Situation. I use my Pegasus advance ultimate box to power my mini PC. My Mini PC randomly shuts off while i still have power to my pegasus box. although this may be a mini-pc issue, i am curious if there is a situation where the 12volt output to the mini pc would be compromised in certain situations? I don't see any logs on the pegasus side or pc side to help determine what is going on...This could be very difficult to figure out

Update:

I currently updated my power supply to a 10amps. I seemed to have everything working for a few sessions until last evening my mini PC went out while my Pegasus box still had power. I did keep notice of my volt/amp meter display in the unity platform was running around 4-5 amps of draw while my ZWO 2600mm was at 100% power consumption trying to reach -20c. It was at 100% consumption for a few minutes when I noticed I lost remote connection to my mini pc and went outside and noticed my mini pc randomly shut off again. Back to square one again. Only thing I can think of as a test is to independently power my mini pc with its own power supply vs using the 12v output on the Pegasus box. If this works then we have an issue with the 12v output of the Pegasus box correct? I have not had this situation happen when cooling the camera is off! (So far) something is happening when the camera is cooling and consuming more power as it tries to reach set point temperature. This could be a coincidence…anyone else have something similar?
johnschnupp
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Jul 24, 2022 8:26 pm

Re: 12 volt output - cuts out

Post by johnschnupp »

rrricannn,

This sounds like a power issue. I see that you mentioned you upgraded to a 10A power supply, This is good but it is only part of of the power equation.

I was experiencing similar issues with my ZWO ASI2600MC-pro dropping out. It was especially a problem in the warm summer nights when ambient temps are 20C or warmer. Just last week, I failed to notice that the cooler shut off and I ran a whole night of imaging with no cooler and temp of +20C (was trying for -10C). I have a voltage/current meter on my power supply and always indicated good voltage and current. But just because the power supply is capable of 12V 10A, does not necessarily mean that the full power is reaching the UPB.

I was using some multi-conductor 22AWG cable. It was an old power cable I made when I was using my DSLR and required multiple voltages (mount 12V, DSLR 8V, USB hub 5V, laser pointer/illuminated reticle 3V). 22 AWG can carry 8A for chassis wiring, which I thought would be sufficient. My cable length is about 15ft and is long enough to be consider as power transmission, which is only 0.9A for 22AWG. I ran a temporary power cable from my supply to the telescope using 16 AWG speaker wire which has a 13A chassis, 7.5A power transmission current rating. It worked beautifully, even this morning when the cooling power was +90%, the voltage was 12.2V while drawing almost 4A. The old cable was not a problem when using my DSLR gear as each different voltage was able to be maintained. It wasn't until I needed to run everything at 12V that I started having problems. On the colder nights it was not a problem as the ZWO cooler did not need to be at high power levels to maintain cooling.

My recommendation is that, if your power cable length (from power supply to UPB) is longer than 10ft/3m, the cable should be a minimum of 16AWG. Additionally, if the if the power cable length is greater than 20ft/6m use 14AWG. If your power cable is longer than 20ft/6m then you may want to work at finding solution to moving the power supply closer to the telescope equipment.

John Schnupp, N3CNL
2007 R1200RT +69,500
1995 XLH 1200 106,495 (retired)
Georgia, VT
44.7675°N, 73.1592°
rrricannn
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2022 4:28 pm

Re: 12 volt output - cuts out

Post by rrricannn »

John,

I appreciate the detailed response. Just for clarity, I only loose power to my mini pc, everything else maintains power that is connected to pegasus box. I am using the 12v output from the Pegasus to the mini pc which is the power cable supplied by Pegasus and the distance is less thanks 6”. I am using two separate pyramid dc power supply one is dedicated to my AP mount and the 10amp one is dedicated to everything else. I am using the supplied Pegasus power cable to go to the pyramid power supply which maybe 5feet. The pyramid power supply plugs into an extension cord that is approximately 50ft away from my plug in the garage. That extension cord is rated for 10amps.

- I find it strange that I am only loosing power to the mini pc
- the Pegasus box and everything else plugged into it still has power



Hope this makes sense.
thanks again for the suggestions
Attachments
IMG_6162.jpg
IMG_6162.jpg (764.28 KiB) Viewed 3938 times
IMG_6163.jpg
IMG_6163.jpg (922.26 KiB) Viewed 3938 times
IMG_6164.jpg
IMG_6164.jpg (1.05 MiB) Viewed 3938 times
swinotai
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue May 16, 2023 6:15 pm

Re: 12 volt output - cuts out

Post by swinotai »

Hi, did you find the root cause to this? I am actually experiencing the same issue. My temporary work around is to use an external power source for my mini PC in the meanwhile, but now I have o carry 2 power supplies :(
Post Reply