My new star tracker gave up after 20 minutes in the cold last weekend

Was out at Cherry Springs last Saturday, real clear night, perfect for stacking some shots of the Orion Nebula. I had this tracker set up all nice, polar aligned and everything. Around 20 minutes in the mount just started making this grinding noise and then the motor completely quit. The battery said full but I guess the cold killed the contacts inside, classic cheap design. I had to pack up and just do single 30 second shots with my DSLR on a tripod instead, which turned out okay for the core but the outer dust was a total loss. Now I'm looking at maybe upgrading to a used unit with a proper power port instead of those AA holders. Has anyone else had a tracker die on them mid session and what did you use as a backup plan?

2 comments

2 Comments

terryf6212d ago

Throw a hand warmer pack next to the battery holder next time, that usually keeps the contacts alive longer.

the_max12d ago

Wait, hand warmers get hot enough to melt the plastic casing on cheap batteries. That can't be safe.