Care of Equipment

[ScubaMike]

I wondered what the groups thoughts were on keeping your OTA & mount outside? and more general care of equipment tips.

I cannot (yet) build a home observatory, so have to bring my mount & scope inside each night. In the shorter term, I am hoping to put a more permanent pier in place, but cannot build an enclosure round it.

Would it be safe/acceptable/wise to leave the mount attached to the pier, and only remount the OTA each time I wanted to use the telescope?

Would this negate the realignment currently required when I move my mount in/out?

If I do move the mount in/out, is there a way I can reliably get good alignment without going through realignment each time I reattach the mount?

Can the OTA be left outside, attached to a pier, if suitably covered? (I'm thinking of the Telescope cover from Green-Witch).

Which way up (mirror top or bottom) should the OTA be positioned on the mount when being stored(assuming left attached to the mount)?

How should the OTA be stored (assuming detached from the mount)?

Any other advice on equipment care?

[spaceboy]

I will be interested to see what peoples thoughts are on this matter. I have an observatory which after a the arctic weather earlier in the year saw my scope and mount with a dusting of frost despite being protected from the elements. I have recently also installed an outdoor pier which has the luxury of a quick release for my mount head so it is easy enough to set up but as you say I do experience drift due to a less than accurate PA and my set up are only slightly improved by not having to faff about with a tripod. I too would like the idea of having the mount more permanent and only requiring me to carry the scope and EP's out to get observing but the thought of the motors and PCB's experiencing the harsh out doors with nothing more than maybe a bucket and waterproof cover protecting it gives me some concerns. I have also read that manufactures advise against their mounts being exposed to the elements directly or indirectly for any considerable length of time as the life span of grease on the bearings etc is greatly reduced which could lead to a shortening of the mounts life if not service at a more frequent schedule.

[hemihaggis]

mmm thats tricky , you would think you would be able to construct a cover from a waterproof material and some kind of insulation (poletyrene ect ) or use a large bucket as suggested elsewhere but with a reptile heat mat inserted some where (they run at very low power 10-15 watt) but then you would have condensation to deal with ... and then would you like to leave your new meade lx 200 acf outside over night for some little thief to steal it and swap it for heroin ?

Also where i am (loudoun hill in ayrshire ) , the low temps last winter were outrageous !! one afternoon in the sunshine it was -14 at 3.30 pm ...had two spells of seriously cold temps one at the start of dec lasted for 12 days and was below frezzing every night then another fortnight of cold starting on the 17 th dec with night time temps of -5 dropping to -19 and - 20 for 5 nights on a row ...(my ebay weather station only goes down to -20 !!so it was off the scale !!!) . i dont think a comptuerised mount , goto , or the scope itself would hold up well in such extreme conditions lol the hand set on my 127 mak goto starts to suffer from the cold (back light flikers ,runs slow ect ) at 1 or 2 degrees never mind -20 lol .. i usually keep it in a big wooly hillwalking sock !..

i think i will be happy with a pier in garden and keeping scope in my gentlemans retreat (shed ) .

[ScubaMike]

HemiHaggis,

would that negate the polar alignment each time you remounted the EQ mount on the pier? Is there a way you can ensure that you retain the precise alignment when detaching & reattaching the mount to the pier?

Not having a pier or mounting plate, I was wondering if it was accurate enough.

[Adamski]

I can't see a problem leaving the mount attached to the pier and covered, unless of course you have motors and controls to think about. Once alligned the mount shouldn't need touching again. This is the option i'm considering to save time on setting up. Having a sw 150pl it's pretty easy to lift in and out of doors.

[ScubaMike]

Snap Adamski,

I just need to build a pier without my better half noticing

Maybe build one with a chromed tube and a birdtable or sundial fitting that I can replace the mount with during summer months.

[pete_l]

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong. If you have a decently ventilated observatory and it isn't heated (or cooled) then it's inside will be at the same level of humidity, more or less, as the outside is. The same applies to having a tarpaulin or other cover over the assembly.

Provided you keep water from getting in the works - either by running in or condensation, no other form of protection short of moving it into an inhabited location will be better or worse than any other.

The exception might be the ability to keep insects from crawling into the guts of a telescope, or (worse) the mount or rodent from chewing through wiring. I'd suggest that once you have a waterproof cover for the scope/mount, this would be your biggest threat, with theft coming somewhere behind that - depending where you leave it, of course.

[ScubaMike]

Thanks for the input Pete,

Looks like the cover from Green Witch has eyelets, so some shock cord strung through them should hold the cover tight against the pier.

May look at getting a small, low wattage heater pad to wrap below the mount to keep the gubbins from freezing in winter.

I'm sure I'll get quicker, but it seems to take an age for me to get correctly polar aligned (and I seem to be a little off so not so accurate yet).

My thinking was that if I could spend a longer time doing it right once, I could then enjoy the EQ mount tracking more.

[pete_l]

May look at getting a small, low wattage heater pad to wrap below the mount to keep the gubbins from freezing in winter.

Don't make it too warm and attractive to the local wildlife or you may find you've got squatters. Though it does sound sensible to make sure the equipment is kept above freezing. Accumulated frost can release a lot of water, right in the core of equipment, when it eventually thaws.

[hemihaggis]

i know i could not keep my mount outside in the depths of winter , when the motor is trying to turn it sounds like a car trying to start with a flat battery . im sure you are aware that the grease on the motors is not as viscous at low temps esp if it is out 24/7 well below zero . grease can become adhesive and elastic at sub zero temps .. probably a lithium grease would be good for low temps

[ScubaMike]

No thoughts on storage of OTA while attached to mount?

One side of me thinks Primary mirror at the top (prevents dust etc settling on the mirror), but on the other hand, would this be more likely to lead to condensation on the primary (warm air rising and all that)?

Maybe a solution to very low temps would be a sock (kind of) made from that aluminium foil backed polystyrene stuff, reptile pad to keep above freezing, and weatherproof cover over all that (Cases, Bags and Covers for Telescopes and Other Optics).