Model: pegasus_saddle_pbox
Part Number: PEG-SADDLEPBOX
Pegasus Saddle Powerbox for Pegasus NYX-101, ZWO AM5, Sky-Watcher NEQ6/EQ6-R or Rainbow Astro RST135/RST300 Mounts
The Saddle Powerbox has similar functionalities to the Pocket Powerbox Advance and can be directly mounted on the NYX-101 mount or other mounts on the market.
Features
4 x 12V DC Power outlets for your equipment.
(A single channel to switch all four outputs ON/OFF via software)10 Amps (120W) of total distributed current
Embedded Powered USB3 Hub (2 x USB3 Ports & 2 x USB3 Ports Available
(USB3 ports are backwards compatible with USB2 devices)
1 x Power USB Port (up to 3Amps) – Suitable for Raspberry PI 3/4 power.
Built-in ambient temperature and humidity sensor.
2 Channels PWM Dew Heaters – 2.1mm Outputs
(Adjust power levels via software).
Two cable adapters from DC 2.1 -> RCA are includedAuto-Tune of Dew Heater Channels
Power, current, and input voltage meter.
Reverse Polarity Protection
USB / PC Controlled or Standalone Operation out of the box
Losmandy and Vixen Clamp
4 x 12v DC Outputs
A powerful MOSFET transistor provides “electric juice” to your precious equipment via four 12V power outputs. The outputs can be switched on/off (all outputs, not individually).
This single channel can provide up to 10 Amps of current to all ports.Current is shared among the 4 x 12V ports.
Built In Sensors
A precise voltmeter measures and displays your input voltage in real-time. If the input is more than 14.5V, the power is instantly cut off to protect your equipment.
A temperature and relative humidity sensor measures and reports your current environment values.
2X Dew Heater Outputs
Two dew heater outputs allow you to control your heaters precisely. Auto-dew functionality can automatically control the intensity of the heaters by consulting the built-in temperature and humidity sensor. A Pair of cable adapters from DC 2.1 -> RCA is included in the package.
Built-in Voltage and Amp-Meter
An Amp-meter placed after the DC input reports the total electric current and voltage levels. This lets you easily monitor your equipment’s detailed and overall power consumption.
More than 10a of electric current
The powerbox has been designed to output up to 10 Amps of electric current. Please note that a typical backyard astrophotography setup requires 5-7 Amps.
Embedded USB3 Hub - 2x USB3 and 2x USB2 Ports
USB High Power Output
USB Port 1 provides up to 3 Amps of current. You can connect any device that requires 5V. For example, a Raspberry PI 3/4 or Intel Compute Stick M3/M5 can receive power from this port.
A powered USB3 Hub at the back of the device provides the following:
- 2 x USB3 SuperSpeed Ports.
- 2 x USB2 High-Speed Ports.
The new SuperSpeed hubs operate in parallel with the USB 2.0 controller, so 5 Gbps SuperSpeed data transfers are not affected by slower USB 2.0 traffic.
USB Port Configuration under PPBADV Gen2
- USB Port1 supports USB2 & USB3 devices
- USB Port2 supports USB2 & USB3 devices
- USB Port3 supports USB2 devices
- USB Port4 supports USB2 devices
Optional Pucks for other mounts
The Powerbox Saddle can be directly placed onto the NYX-101 mount. For another type of mount, an extra puck is required. Currently, the following mounts are supported:
Puck (PEG-PUCK-AM5) can attach the Powerbox Saddle onto the ZWO-AM5 mount.
Puck (PEG-PUCK-EQ6R) can attach the Powerbox Saddle onto Skywatcher NEQ6 and EQ6-R mounts.
Puck (PEG-PUCK-RST) can attach the Powerbox Saddle onto RST 135 and RST 300 mounts.
Other Key Features
Stand Alone Operation Out of the Box
Pocket Powerbox can work “out of the box” as a standalone device. Just plug in the cables and set up the “autodew” functionality, and every time you boot the device, it will retrieve your settings. So, if you don’t like to connect to a PC every time, you don’t have to. It's as simple as that!
Two-Channel Duty Cycle PWM Outputs
Two Pulse width modulation (PWM) outlets can power your “thirsty” Dew Heaters. No more moisture fuzzing your equipment and destroying your clear nights. These outlets can be remote-controlled from your laptop using the supplied software.
Auto Adjustment of PWM (Dew Outputs)
The controller can auto-adjust the heater power levels by consulting the environmental sensor Dew Point reading. Just click “Auto” and leave it to PocketPowerboxMicroto decide if it is time to turnon and precisely tune the level of your dew heaters.
More than 10a of Total Power
The controller has been designed to support up to 10 Amps of total current.
LED Indications for Power and Failure States
The LED can blink patterns to warn you about important power issues(e.g., over or under voltage). Moreover, the light can be turned off using the software. Our LED is very dim, but if you don’t like it, you can switchit off via the software.
Reverse Polarity Protection
Pocket Powerbox Micro has been designed with reverse voltage polarity protection. If you accidentally connect the main power supply in reverse polarity, it will save your night!
A HARDWARE WATCHDOG
A hardware watchdog resets the device if, for any reason, the controller doesis not respond for two seconds. This a neat feature in the unlikely event of a controller freeze in a remote observatory, where you must be confident that everything works as expected.
Upgradable Firmware
The device is firmware upgradeable to support future features and bug fixes.
Losmandy and Vixen style support
| Average Rating (1 Review): |
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Good for Smaller Rigs but ....
05 January 2024 | Mark
As a long time user and big fan of the Pegasus Powerbox Advance, I bought the Saddle Powerbox to remove the need to mount a Powerbox Advance onto the telescope itself. In that regard the Saddle Powerbox meets all my requirements, providing most of the functionality that I need in a convenient saddle format. It's probably the closest you can currently get to implementing a kind of aftermarket 'through the mount' cabling solution. The package itself came with a good complement of cables and the usual high-standard of supporting software I've come to expect from Pegasus. I bought an accompanying puck for attaching to the Avalon Linear mount in my observatory. All good! So why have I dropped a star from an otherwise 5 star rated product. Well after installing the Saddle Powerbox I went straight to mounting my large and quite heavy 140mm refractor and discovered that I couldn't offer up the scope's Losmandy plate into the saddle clamps, as they will not go wide enough to accept the Losmandy plate directly. Instead I had to slide the entire scope in from the top. The pier in my observatory is quite tall, so it became quite a struggle to hold 13kg of scope at shoulder height with one hand whilst guiding the Losmandy plate into the jaws of the saddle clamps with the other. In addition, as saddle clamps provide a very snug fit for a Losmandy plate, the friction and weight of my refractor sliding into position took off a significant amount of the surface finish off the Saddle Powerbox's top face, to reveal the bare metal underneath. Once mounted though the unit is great. My challenge is that I swap scopes quite regularly so I'm not sure how manageable this will be over the longer term. I also expect the finish on the top face to be quite badly degraded after a few changes of my larger scope. I did reach out to Pegasus support who were quick to respond and advise that this configuration is a deliberate safety feature, presumably to prevent an expensive telescope crashing to the floor in the event of the saddle failing to grip the scope properly. They also provided me with a step-by-step guide for dismantling and adjusting the width of the clamps myself if I would prefer to make them wider. However so far I have been unable to remove the set screws that fix the width of the clamps as they are screwed in so tight (I think they may be thread-locked in place). In all I'm happy with the functionality provided by the Saddle Powerbox, though I think it'll probably end up being used more on my travel mount to support smaller and more lightweight scopes that are easier to slide into position from the top.
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