DaveL59

I can't help with the details you are asking about, but well done for taking the punt on it. I recently obtained a vintage 3-inch scope locally, probably 50's and it performs very well even after the mishap with the objective. Mine has black leather covering the OTA with brass draw tube that takes 0.965 inch eyepieces so a lot more recent than your one. Not sure what the lens cell is like but on mine it was a simple tube inside tube and glued which led to an unfortunate moment on dismantling. Hopefully the above thread may have some info that is helpful should you need to dismantle etc. Best of luck with the restoration, some pics would be good to see too 🙂

Hi Cammy and welcome to the forum. First up what are you hoping to see and your situation in terms of location and sky you can see? It's a bit of a catch-22 re your dad's scope. Upside it is free, downside you already seem put off by the size - what is it by the way?

would you not also have the cover potentially scraping up one side of the dome you're trying to protect? Unless you over-size it enough to allow clearance. How about on the right hand lever making that L shaped and pivoted around the end of the L:

To check if the 2 sides are well aligned, you'll need to be able to view a target a reasonable distance away, something that has a well defined line like a roof edge or aerial. Get the bino focused and then remove from your eyes, cover one objective and look at the target then uncover the objective and see if you discern a difference/offset in the view. Your eyes will quickly adapt and merge the images so you may need to repeat a few times and worth doing the same with the other objective. At night its much easier as viewing the stars it is much harder to merge the images with so little background data for your brain to assess. Covering the objective is more reliable than trying to close and open one eye which can add it's own effects to the image you see. Depending on which bino, you can sometimes adjust the alignment, but doing so would likely void any warranty and you won't have collimation in the true sense, but will at least have the 2 sides aligned for your specific needs. That said, it's quite easy to put the sides well out of alignment so needs to be done with care and some understanding of what it is you are adjusting. In terms of ease of use, once you get above x7 or x8 it is harder to attain a stable image without the use of some form of support. The further up you push the magnification the harder it gets but I can't quantify the step change from x10 to x15. For sure in winter the low temps make it harder still with the shivers. For my 10x50 they are more often used on a monopod with a trigger/ball grip and that helps too with the lower mag 8.5x44 etc. A good stable mount will always improve the clarity of the image, same with a telescope.

ah ok, yeah seen pics of those. Replacement sounds the best way but as I recall you may need to drill the OTA or use double-sided tape

that's great news and will make life easier for sure 🙂 For the RDF, is it just not able to adjust far enough in a particular direction? You may be able to tweak that by shimming the underside of the foot with a bit of tape at the front/back if its a vertical adjust you need, or loosen the fixing screws in the finder base and giving the base a tweak in the required direction and then tighten the screws. Do this with the tube horizontal or aimed slightly downward tho in case anything drops free so as not not to damage the mirror.

a small neoprene washer under the screw may help with sealing, but isn't a good design to have not thought of where the seal went. Seems a lottery these days sourcing a good IP56/66 case 😞

careful how much you load the tray, the spreader under it is plastic so I'm not sure of the load it can carry 😉 I do have an EQ5 goto in the collection of gear I have and I find it works quite well, tho I often just use it for the RA tracking than bother to go through the alignment etc. Depends what I want to do that evening and available time etc. For me using the finder is more of the problem hence thinking a RA (RACI) finder may help. edit - thinking about more recent tech - the Celestron Starsense kit looks interesting, there's been a couple recent threads on it. That uses a smartphone on a holder to guide you to where to point the scope. So far they seem to be on Alt-AZ mounts and not available as a separate accessory but perhaps worth thinking about. Avoid the LT models tho as the tripod/mount is very wobbly according to reviews.

Are you finding that the change in looking into the eyepiece then cranking your head to sue the RDF and looking down again for the axle locks and SloMo controls is the issue that triggers it? I sometimes get a little dizzy with the RDF when having to angle my head to use it, especially toward azimuth, similar issue with inner ear, well sinus in my case when they play up which affects it. I find being able to sit while observing helps, a right-angle finder probably would too but I've not got one as yet, been meaning to modify a finder for that at some stage. Agreed the EQ2 can be a bit wobbly when you touch anything. You might be able to improve the stability a little by hanging a weight under the tripod tho it'd get in the way of the accessory tray. Possibly too, keep the tripod legs not extended which helps, or perhaps fill the legs with sand tho I've not tried that.

Enjoy the new scope Neil, does look very nice on your HEQ5 🙂 Re claiming on home insurance, worth considering carefully if the need ever arises. The hit to future premiums can offset the cost of just buying a replacement.

ok so it's one code. I guess with your email and the phone ID they can track how many you activate.

Looks good John, looking forward to the reports. Be handy to know how the OEM scope performs too out of curiosity. I know the LT mount isn't great but as a starter for my daughter or even a lightweight grab n go for myself it might be useful. On the unlock code/registration, can you confirm if its one code that you can register against 5 emails or 5 codes etc?

Shouldn't matter as it's an air-surface interface on all edges so reflection isn't affected. Not sure this prism is coated either but I did notice that angling the prism slightly can reduce/eliminate that banding effect so could be if not quite at 90 degrees to the edge then CA/fringing is induced in the camera/eye. It was a pretty crude attempt with some blacked card after all 😉 edit - looking at the bino it claims fully coated which may mean the prisms are also but I think that banding was down to angle or camera positioning. It was pretty bright out and the flat edge of the prism was pretty exposed so all kinds of internal reflection could be affecting things too. I think if I were to go this route I'd have to make up a better holder with a flared lens shroud type arrangement as well as a means to secure it to a spare case to make it easy to swap over. (not to mention buying a spare case lol)

I was tempted to order the lt70 at the £135 price, but then the job ended so I figured I best conserve funds for a while. John may be able to confirm but it may just be a single unlock code you get that you can register 5 times, in which case you risk someone going off and registering several and the others would then lose out. It is tied to an email address but not sure if the 5 registrations can be to different emails or have to be to the same one.

playing a bit with prisms, one from an old tasco 7-15x35mm bino which I removed earlier from the objective side of the bino. Blacked the edges and made a folded card shield to improve reflection and reduce stray light. hand held against the centre camera on the note-10 set to 1x, some vignetting and an odd effect in the top 1/3. Tho I've seen that in an older Prinz prism diagonal also when viewed without an eyepiece. Camera set to x1.2 to x1.5 gave a better result in terms of the corners In this test the phone is still fitted to its case which means a 1-1.5mm gap between camera flat glass cover and the prism surface. So far it looks like a mirror may be a better option but will try a bigger prism from a 10x50 at some stage. Pity I can't test against the night sky with no unlock code but a prism may be a workable solution, after all they are used in some diagonals, albeit with a narrower light path going through it 🙂

Could be useful if they did. Thinking for my daughter it might be handy when I pass a scope on to her for the little ones, tho SE London I'm not so sure it'll be able to platesolve much with all the light pollution.

I wonder how these folks are managing to do this... https://www.all-startelescope.com/sales/product_info.php?cPath=21&currency=USD&products_id=2076 Perhaps they've bulk purchased the LT70 and stripped off the bracket and resell it with code and adaptors. edit - yep seems that's exactly what they are offering, a removed bracket and codes. No adaptors.

kinda why I went with a non-working metal cased PTZ dome camera and mod'd it to be used inverted. Mind it's bolted to the side of the shed rather than on a pole so also easier but then I'm not trying to add cooling blocks and other electronics but it is fairly spacious inside once the PTZ bits are removed.

similar but not quite. Shame they don't give the leg diameter for those clamps. The tripod I have is the thinner 1.5 inch version and I've not found replacements that fit so far. The metal ones look good but again not the same fit tho might work. For now the cable ties are working fine tho, the single ties are to hopefully prevent the 2 failing like the one with 3 ties on it.

Been thinking about doing similar as I'm getting short of room with them laid on their side 😉

perhaps this seller can make one to your spec? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BRASS-WORM-AND-ALUMINIUM-WORMWHEEL-50-TO-1-RATIO-1-PAIR-PER-PACK/162175321334?hash=item25c26704f6:g:qikAAOSwU-pXuH7j

have been looking for the same solution, Pixies as I've acquired a couple and run short on bolt cases. I've also a 0.965 inch one that could do with a case/cover and that's harder still as bolt cases tend to be on the big side for that. For the 1.25 ones I've cut a bit of foam to pack the length of the case too so the EP isn't rattling about as I didn't have any narrow short bolt cases.

could work. I was thinking along the lines of... but I've not done the math but in theory with the right length levers the rotation may be good to push the dome beyond the vertical and continuing rotation would then being it back down to the parked open. Would need to also be able to work in reverse of course. The geared wheel arrangement you've drawn would work too of course and with a worm gear it'd stay locked in position well so may be simpler to build.

all I was more referring to the 2-lever arrangement to move it but it would need an attachment point somewhere on the dome or the extended bracket to act against. I was thinking along the lines of a longer arm attaching to the side of the cover than at the hinge.

Hi Ajinkya and welcome 🙂 One of these would likely suffice for the scope you have and not be unduly expensive. You could retain it for use with another scope if you decide to upgrade later on. As already mentioned, upgrading the eyepieces later on would also be worthwhile and be a significant improvement to the supplied ones. Again these can be retained to use on another scope if you decide to upgrade later. When/if you decide to upgrade the eyepieces or scope please do come back and ask as you'll get good advice. Don't go buying the celestron eyepiece & filter kit for example as you'll be spending on some things that are included that you may never use with this scope.