Transporting a 'scope.

[russ.will]

I've finally been allowed to have my 200p/HEQ5 Pro out of the boxes (they were a self selected 40th birthday present) and I'm lucky enough to have a pretty dark and wind sheltered back garden. Given the time of year and the limitations that places on available viewing hours, that's all well and good.

However, according to the dark skies map, the road opposite my house leads into the fen which ends at one of the darkest points in Cambridgeshire. It ain't far, but the road is bumpy and therefore I'm wondering how do people transport their 'scopes any real distance?

My, thus far, limited experience suggests I need to collimate the scope and given that it's a reflector, I'm going to buy a Cheshire Collimator anyway; Whist the 25mm eyepiece seems sharp, the 10mm job seems to render stars in a shape I can only describe as looking like a crossbow? I don't yet know if this is a collimation issue, or a result of the cheap eyepiece (I'm eyeballing better ones as they don't seem to cost much), but given that regular car transport seems likely, how do people transport their scopes without buggering up collimation on a regular basis?

Is it a case of just seat belting it in, or is there a better way for those prepared to expend a few quid?

Russell

[david o]

Happy 40th Russell, nice pressie

I think the general consensus for a big Newt is to wrap it in (a) blanket(s), place it across the back seat and belt it into place.

If money's no object and the road is really rough, then how about a nice, softly sprung off-roader? Justifying it to the missus, now that's a whole other can of worms

[NGC 1502]

Hi Russell. My Dob gets transported quite a lot in my car. The tube fits across

the back seat, but I made a simple hardboard box, with about 4" of foam in the

bottom. The smooth hardboard base slides easily on the seat, and the collimation

stays put.

The hardboard box has 1" x 1" timber in the corners and along the top edges to

make it rigid enough to do the job. The thick foam was a freebie from the offcuts

bin outside my local upholstery shop. No need for the foam to be the whole length

of the box, and is 2" thick at the sides.

HTH, Ed.

[brantuk]

Happy birthday Russ and glad you've finally opened your pressie

Our dark site at EMS is down quite a pitted and bumpy lane and ends in a field. My 300P is quite happy belted into the back seat on top of a folded blanket. Sometimes it doesn't even need re-collimating after the ride. Collimation is only a couple of mins in any event so not a problem

[Carbon Brush]

I used to frequently carry my 8" F4 newt (fast scope being more critical on collimation). It was laid on the back seat of a low cost car. Didn't notice any issues. I was more bothered about the risk of slipping and dropping while getting it in/out of a 2 door car.

[swamp thing]

Hi Russ

Great present.

I always transport my Dobs as observing from home is a non-starter for me.

I always check and adjust if needed the collimation of my scopes every time I observe it only takes a couple of ticks and is part of my observing routine.

I would advise anyone with a Newt to always check collimation after a car journey.

Cannot advise on how to transport in a car though as I have a van which makes transport very easy.

Regards Steve

[Moonshane]

some good suggestions and my answer is with the back seat folded down and surrounded by old pillows and deflated airbeds.

checking collimation of a fast newt is always advisable in my opinion before every session. the more you do it, the better you get and the less it needs tweaking.

often it's just the primary which is simples.

[EdF_uk]

Hi Russell,

I have the same combination of scope and mount and living in a 1st floor apartment need to transport the kit too. I wrap the scope in a blanket, put it on the back seat and hook the belt straps around it. To date I haven't had any issues transporting it but I have'nt got my collimator yet so can't comment on how it affects the alignment side of things. I'm in the process of buying a bag for the scope, which is going to be custom made from bags4everything.com. It's going to have 3/4" thick foam padding in and i should be able to just put it straight onto the back seat of the car. The price was reasonable too. I'll let you know what it's like when it's made.

For the mount i was lucky enough to get hold of a Peli 1600 case which was going spare and this is a perfect size to house the mount. I also bought a half price tool box from B&Q which holds all my other bits and pieces.

Hope you enjoy your new scope. I'm only just getting to grips with mine. It's really good fun though.

Cheers

Ed

[russ.will]

Hello Chaps,

An interesting set of answers. I must say, I'm slightly surprised at the number of people willing to entrust their 'scopes to a seat belt and blankets. Given the apparent lack of commercially available solutions, I'm not sure what other answer I was expecting to see!

NGC 1502 suggested a softly sprung 4WD. As I live in Cambridgeshire and commute 55 motorway miles to work in Essex, I already have one of those, albeit a Ford Kuga. Range Rover it ain't, but it's definitely not as hard as what passes for family saloon suspension these days, so I'm alright on that score.

I can also foresee the whole shebang being packed into the back of the car to take the wife and mini-me to Norfolk when they go 'vanning with her parents. I hate the blumming thing and normally pitch a tent, but given the sheer quantity of creature comforts the wife packs, I can see some mileage in the hard case option.

I shall have a look in the timber store as I'm sure there's some 6mm plywood in there and a few metres of 1" square timber would be pence. I also bought some 25mm thick foam today (for a loudspeaker project) and that is less than a £1 per square foot, so I can see the box weighing in at less than £20, although I tend to over engineer things, so that may be a somewhat hopeful forecast. Still, with the light evenings here, it's not like time is an issue...

In the mean time, any other pertinent suggestions are welcome.

Russell

[twotter]

Did you keep the box the OTA came in? If you have then I would use that

[Moonshane]

you could certainly use the foam or what have you that it came with?

[russ.will]

I always keep my boxes, but the Skywatcher foam seems to be of a density to protect against impact damage, rather than give the scope a nice, collimation friendly ride. That and the fact I'd rather keep the original packaging in decent nick, should I sell the scope in the future.

Anyway, I like DIY.

Russell