ORIGINAL: Matt Kirsch
ORIGINAL: Joje
I was going to order an Astroflight 109, but read that you cannot feed it from an automotive battery. A special wall power unit is supposed to be needed. Is that right?
If so, the Astro 109 appears pretty useless at the field if no AC main power is available.
Is the info about the necessity of a special power unit correct?
Joje
Where did you read that? It's BS.
An automotive battery is the CLEANEST, MOST STABLE source of 12VDC power available. There is absolutely positively no reason why the Astro 109 cannot be powered by an automotive battery.
There might be an issue in a RUNNING car, due to the extra-high, unstable voltage put out by the alternator, but again, a regular automotive battery is perfectly suitable!
1. I have yet to find any 12 volt hobby charger that has a problem while being run off the car battery when the car is running. These include: Triton, FMA SuperNova 250S, Dymond Super Turbo, AstroFlite 109, Kokam Lipo 401/402, Alpha 4, Hobbico Quick Field Charger Mk II, Victor Engineering Hi-Q, Orbit Microladen, Sommer Miniron.
2. Don't overlook the fact that the car system is connected directly to the car battery which will act pretty much as a filter. The only glitch I've seen is that sometimes if your charger is connected to the car battery when you start the car the voltage drops enough to dump your charger and it could default to a charge regiem you or your battery might not be happy with.