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Help with Kn@@@@@@d old telescope.


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Hi.

New here and have no idea about....well anything really.

However.

Recently bought, for practically nothing, a "sold as seen" telescope.

We only want it for , "WOW look at that moooooon" type stuff.

I'll link to  acouple of pics of it.

However, it's filthy, and you literally can't see anything beyond a white blur through it.

 I'm guessing it's a combination of muck on the lenses and not set up right, or, at all.

So, any suggestions on cleaning filthy lenses, (I use a mixture of alcohol and distilled water for spectacles etc and that works,) and general set-up advice?

Can't find a manual anywhere online.  :sad: 

Any advice gratefully received.

Andypost-40240-0-77238500-1417180434.jpgpost-40240-0-99734300-1417180436.jpgpost-40240-0-80661500-1417180439.jpg

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A standard 70/700 refractor, several around and should do the moon fine.

For now and possibly ever ignore the barlow. Say this as one scope I had to help on the people had added all the bits and it couldn't take them all and work, keep it simple.

If the lens needs cleaning then just the front face of the one at the front. Not sure what to suggest as no idea what is avbailable to you and what the cost is. I have IPA that I use with cotten wool buds. Moisten well clean carefully.

You will need something that you cannot miss to check it out, believe me the moon is small, distant building is better.

Take the longest eyepiece and put that in the diagonal and aime the scope at distant object. Slowly adjust the focuser until it comes into view and focus, I do mean slow.

That position will be about right for the moon, not exactly but close.

After that if the view was reasonable, aim it at the moon.

If the whole lens assembly is dirty then it will mean removing the lens cell - if it is removable - then carefully cleaning both front and rear faces. It is a doublet and the interior faces should not really have managed to get bad. If all 4 faces are bad then it will mean dismantling the lens cell to seperate the lens and this mean recording which lens face was where - they have a front and rear. Get that wrong on assembly then you have a different lens at the front of the scope and things can bet really bad.

Check the state of the eyepieces they may need a clean, again I use IPA and cotten wool buds.

I suspect there is little wrong, usually it is a case of getting it to focus and actually getting something in the field of view. Oddly those 2 are not exactly simple.

The eyepieces are basic, perhaps look at a couple of inexpensive plossls if you get it working do not get anything lower then say 7mm or 8mm. I would go for a 8mm, 12mm and 25mm or 30mm.

Scope should do well in actual use, Moon, Jupiter will be OK. Orion nebula, Pleiades, Hyades, M13 and several clusters will be OK. Forget M31 (Andromeda) it is just too big. Lots of double stars - Albireo, Mizer, Almaak.

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Hi again.

Thanks for the answers so far.

Update.

I have had a bit of a play, and I think I'm screwed.

Gently cleaned the front lens, and found that someone has been there before me.

It's slightly loose in its housing and it has smear marks on the inside.

I also tried every eyepiece, including one that looks like it has never been out of its case before, but however I focus it, all I can see looks like someone is holding a piece of white paper in front of the lens.

Finally, looks like it has been knocked over at some point, because a bit has been knocked out of the mount.

The good thing is that I paid practically nothing for it, and that was into a charity bucket, so I don't feel too bad if it is unfixable.

Any ideas please?

Cheers.

Andy.

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Well for what you have said and from the photo everything looks like it is there and sounds like it is working so it should not be a problem get an operational scope out of it.

Is the diagonal OK, as in is it still a mirror, wondering where the "white" comes from.

Ultimately all there is is a lens and an eyepiece stick the eyepiece at the right position and you have a scope.

A loose front lens is likely just the securing ring needs screwing in a bit more.

The lens cell will be simple with the negative lens at the rear with a seperating ring or spacers between the lens, then the securing ring. Would expect the securing ring at the front but it may not be.

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However, it's filthy, and you literally can't see anything beyond a white blur through it.

Sounds like a focusing issue to me. Its a rack and pinion focuser. I'd say it just needs stripping down,cleaned and re-greased. The loose objective lens (the front lens) either has a missing retaining screw (IIRC this happened to me when i was a child and took apart a refrac scope to clean the inside of lens), OR there is a retaining ring that just needs a bit of a twist to secure it. Either way.........easy fix.

Realistically, the whole scope could do with stripping down and cleaning,new screws etc. I cant see it being a difficult job even for someone like yourself who claims to know nothing.

What do i know though. Its not something i'd do myself. But i am not technically minded.

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The video link in a post I gave above, even though a different telescope, hopefully will help with this and I did it to two of my refractos (not stripped the rack and pinion focuser yet though as not needed it), take your time and take photos to help puting it back together.

Nothing to loose in trying.

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find your local astronomy group, take along your scope and you will either come away with a usable scope or be told to bin it.

I think finding one shouldnt be difficult, there are links here to costa del sol and costa blance here. https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=astronomy+groups+in+spain&oq=astronomy+groups+in+spain&gs_l=serp.3...9024.71201.0.72339.16.14.0.2.2.0.112.857.13j1.14.0.msedrc...0...1c.1.58.serp..2.14.753.XOiBLftPH9I So if you aren't in these areas I would think they will be find-able using google.

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