Oops... Anyone done this before?

[Manok101]

I live in the southeastern US, and occasionally we have flash rains, that come and go very quickly, don't know if you have those in the UK or not, but I took my scope out last night because I thought the sky was clearing off (it was mostly clear when I set it up) then apparently it rained sometime while I was inside waiting for the clouds to go away... would I possibly have ruined the base for my goto scope if it was rain and not just dew?

[Doug]

Hi

IMHO you should put in a warm room and let it dry out just like clothing for a week or so

For us here in the UK we do get a lot of rain but most of us would use a water proof cover, sounds like you need one I hope it's ok when it drys out

good luck

Doug

Essex UK

[Sam]

I see in your signature that your scope is an XT10G - I presume it's tthe same base construction as my XT8 which is made from particle board that's got some sort of water proof laminate over the top. As long as you didn't get too much rain in the wood it sould be ok - just would need a good dry out. As for the electronics, if it was only a brief amount of rain (rather than a significant storm) then there's probably not much to worry about, though as suggested you should dry it out in a warm room before attempting to turn it on.

[Manok101]

Thank you for the advice.

[Backscatter]

I would think about getting a hand held hair dryer on the lowest temp. setting (cool) with little or no heat on the highest fan speed and try drying out that way, moving the dryer around periodically. I don't think this can hurt anything and should speed up the drying process. Maybe a little WD-40 (via extension tube) for the ball bearings (if any) for the base swivel.

[lw24]

I've nearly done this before. The sky was perfectly clear, apart from one small cloud, which turned out to be a rain cloud. Scope almost got wet

Clear Skies

[Manok101]

Lol, I had that happen to a cd player on a walk once, One cloud that was it. Guess where the rain went?

[Dave]

My LX200 electronics got wrecked from the dew at our Kelling Skycamp in September a few years ago. Boy, it was moist!

[chemtom24]

whole setup got absolutely soaked last week. lazily left it out and throughout the night it hammered it down. Had the foresight to leave the scope pointing down mind Still, I dragged it in in the morning, handset full of water. Just let it dry out and its ok now. Oh and had to unscrew the polar scope ep which was liek turning on a tap

but all seems well so dont worry, just let all the electronics dry out before powering up again

[Manok101]

Luckily I did not leave out any of my electronics... The only thing I have to worry about the base. What I do if I am unsure about taking it out for the night, is nose down facing north (no idea why, just the direction I like facing it), I never leave the electronics outside unless I am tracking something and just taking a break.

[Steve Wright]

You might like to consider a scope cover from Green Witch

Cases, Bags and Covers for Telescopes and Other Optics