Portable Solar Power

My newest solar filter requires a power supply.  It came with a cable and an AC adapter but, until I have built my observatory (hopefully this spring/summer), it is far easier to use a portable power supply.  Besides, the sun is behind trees all winter from where the observatory will be located so, depending on the time of day, I need to set up the telescope in a different location and I sometimes need to move the telescope as the sun moves behind more trees.  Portable power is an easier solution for this.

The manufacturer offers a solar powered battery to use for this but the price seemed a bit high.  This filter is a bit of a power hog so it does need to be a relatively powerful battery.  That solar powered battery idea seemed like a great idea for powering a solar filter though.  This prompted me to look around online to see if I can find a more reasonably priced solar battery with the same specifications or better.  

In the meantime, we have a portable charger that we use for charging our phones and tablets whenever we travel so I've been using that.  Although that battery works fine to power this solar filter, I wanted a dedicated battery just for this filter and if it was solar powered that would be even better.

I quickly found one online that has the same specs and was only one third the price of the manufacturer's dedicated power supply for this filter.  That was a winner.  I ordered it immediately. 

It arrived quickly and I was able to use it the last time I used this solar filter.  I laid it down on the accessory tray of my telescope mount with the solar panel facing upward.  So, while I was using it, it was charging as well.  Self-sustaining power is always a good thing.  Between uses, I simply place it in the sun to charge it up.