Astro splurge

I haven't bought any astro gear for a few years now so I thought it was time to fill in a few gaps in my portfolio.
I have wanted a 220V supply for my CGE mount for some time now. I have been using Halford powerpacks (which have worked well) but as they are now 8 years old they are on their last legs (but still in service). I picked up a 5A 12V regulated power supply from Baader Planetarium (100-240V input). It was a little pricey at €55 but it looks like a well made unit. It is designed for outdoor use (moisture sealed) and is supposedly rated to maintain regulation down to minus 10C. A nice dim red indicator lets you know the power is on. I look forward to trying it out. Using the batteries on a cool night, one can sometimes hear the motors struggling-probably due to voltage drop.
I also picked up a little 90mm mak-cass form Skywatcher. Its a sweet little scope. I have only used it visually so far but it looks tack sharp. It should make a good eclipse scope. A bargain at €150. It comes with basic 90 diagonal and two eyepieces but a nice travel bag. This is my new grab and go scope for the moon and planets.

Quite happy with my little Skywatcher 90mm mak on an EQ1 mount. I picked up a motor drive for the EQ1 from TS yesterday and tried it out. They look a bit cheap but it does work quite well. It could easily hold Jupiter near the centre of the field of view for 5 minutes at 125X.
This scope has become my main grab and go unit that I use 80% of the time.

Thats good news about the skywatcher, the little makcas's usually have great views as their design means they is no need to collimate.

Also, you can get new batteries for your power tank, I got a little 220v inverter for my own power tank so I can charge the laptop battery when need be, mine wasnt moisture sealed so i had to make an enclosure fo it.

I picked up a new battery for the powerpack last week. Looks as good as new. Not cheap but still 50% of the cost of a new powerpack.