I recently found myself needing more power for my scope and all the accessories. I looked into using a portable jump-starter as a solution, but I would have needed to get multiple units to power everything. After a bunch of reading, I decided to build a portable solution that could handle anything I threw at it.

Rather than build a box that may add significant weight (always an issue for me), I purchased a Black and Decker portable tool chest, which has wheels and is lightweight. I had to modify the bottom compartments tray by basically removing all but the perimeter, since it would not fit with the battery installed. For a battery I selected a 75 amp-hour Everstart deep cycle marine battery from Wal-Mart. I added a 3 port power connection, complete with switch, and a multi-tester to monitor battery power. The top half of the unit is roomy enough to hold cold weather accessories, compass, headlamp, power cords, dew heater and more!

I've been concerned about using one power supply for the scope and dew heater, as I have read that noise from the dew heater controller can cause Autostar problems. However, I have yet to experience these problems, and I really don't want to deal with a second, heavy power supply. I know that Kendrick is supposedly making the controllers less noisy now, so perhaps the problem has been resolved.