Celestron - PowerTank 17 12V Power Supply for Celestron Powered Telescopes - Black

Unit is solid, excellent construction. It's heavy (about 20 lbs), but it's a lead battery, so that's expected. Has two lights - a bright white spot light and a smaller, detachable, red light. The detachable light has a cord connected to the unit that winds up and stores conveniently. The storage for the red light is a bit fiddly - my only "complaint". Unit comes charged, but needs a full charge before use. First charge takes about 24 hours. Comes with two charging cables - an AC adapter (along with an assortment of international adapters), and a DC adapter. **CAUTION: The "cigarette lighter" (DC adapter) cord is NOT the correct cord for powering a NexStar SE!! Yes, it can be used, but it will not make a solid connection. There is a separate power cord to power the telescope that must be ordered from Celestron (or another retailer). Radio is a nice feature for home emergency, but not needed at all. The unit has the ability to attach jumper cables (sold separately), but the unit is NOT designed as a "jump-starter" for your vehicle. To use this feature, attach the jumper cables to the terminals on the back, and then "charge" the vehicle's battery, disconnecting the PowerTank before cranking the engine. Not ideal for this feature, but can be used in an emergency, if needed. Overall... very happy with the unit and expect a long life. Thank you, Celestron, for the 2-year warranty, in case anything goes wrong! Would have given 5 stars, except for the "fidly" detachable light storage, the fact it did not come with a manual (had to download from Celestron), and you still have to order a separate power cord for the telescope.

I have owned two of these and both have failed miserably. getting customer support for a replacement was very difficult. I had to wait more that a month for a replacement and it falied within 2 months. This was a total waste of my time and money. There are products available at half the price that are far more reliable.

I've been using this Celestron power tank 17 for over three months now and it's been working without issues. The charge lasts a long time. Charging can take up to 24h. I use it to power my telescope mount and the tablet and I connect to the mount.