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worst mistake in stargazing ??!!!!!!

hemihaggis

By hemihaggis
in The Astro Lounge

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KatieM

KatieM

Posted
Posted

Hi everyone!

My worst mistake was buying a Goto 'scope 2 years ago without getting advice first (I didn't know about this site then!). I got extremely frustrated 'cos first of all i couldn't align the Finderscope with the 'scope and then i couldn't align the 'scope with the stars so the GoTo worked!! I very nearly gave up stargazing. I wasn't actually doing any as I was fighting with the 'scope every time and it was winning! However, i struggled on and with a lot of patience and practise was able to get the hang of it. Then i upgraded to a better 'scope and now I'm so glad I carried on! Hodor!

:):D:D

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Earl

Earl

Posted
Posted

I have wasted a lot of money to get where I am now, however if I had not wasted that cash along the way I probably would not be where I am now.

When I say wasted I refer to the scopes I have got through, 4SE, 6ich SCT, 4 inch Mak, 8 inch SCT, 5 Inch SCT, 90mm Acro, 80mm Semi, st80, sT102.... and probably more..... 10" dob, 8 inch newt, 115mm newt..wow 300p i never got on to a mount.... the list goes on.

Eyepeices Galore, Ironically I dont even use them anymore and still have some nice TV plossls gathering dust, Barlows for web cam imaging I never really did, Multiple Canon Cameras.....im getting depressed now ill stop LOL :)

However mounts I have been lucky with to a degree, I got an EQ6 early ish on, That was a good call.

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Andrew*

Andrew*

Posted
Posted

Oh, many!! I try to forget them....

Two that spring to mind involve those beautiful surfaces of apo refractors..... When I had a Celestron 100ED, I made the grave mistake of standing it on its dew shield after freshly re-lubing the focuser. Big blob of lithium grease on the inside of the lens!!

Then with my ED120 I put the lens cap back on after a session without checking inside. Turns out a snail had crawled onto it, and overnight it had a nice explore of the lens surface...

Thankfully both lenses came out unscathed!

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Krys

Krys

Posted
Posted

I'd go with allowing myself to be put off by a bad Tasco mount and not really knowing what I was doing when I was about 12. Should have stuck with it and learned to use a star map and enjoyed myself while we had a big garden out in the sticks!

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jamespels

jamespels

Posted
Posted

Deciding back in Arpil that I was going to strip-down and rebuild my mount, then putting it off and off until three days before the nicest patch of weather we've had all summer!

It is sitting in bits at the moment awaiting new bearings :). Still, hopefully they will turn up in today's post so I can rebuild tomorrow and get some time in tomorrow night. Then all I'll need to do is work out how to re-collimate the mirrors I have also taken out to clean!

Mauybe deciding to set up a star party three weeks after buying my first scope wasn't such a hot move, either...

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sbooder

sbooder

Posted
Posted

Including my EP collection ever time I sell my scope in the misguided belief that that is it, I am fed up with it...I never get to use it and when I do set up I get about half an hour...blah, blah, blah.

And of course as soon as I have sold it, I go and buy another one. Of course I am older and wiser now.

But I always have to start my EP collection again, and it is more expensive now because of all the lovely EPs to be had.

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Vega

Vega

Posted
Posted

Naa... its character building, makes those clear nights all the more special... and stops us all from being nocternal EVERY day of the week... relationships last longer this way.. its all good

tip.... ONLY EVER do long term scope maintenance in June ;-) :)

Matt

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michael.h.f.wilkinson

michael.h.f.wilkinson

Posted
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Recently I had a simple error: when trying to find Caldwell 44 (NGC 7479), fairly easy at mag 11, I accidentally, and very carefully plotted a star hopping course to (nearby) NGC 7497which is at magnitude 13.9. That was a fruitless chase with an 8" SCT. Only found out the problem last night :)

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Alkaid

Alkaid

Posted
Posted

Oh yeah, i just thought of something else I did. When I was twelve, one of my parent's friends lent us their scope when they went on holiday. It was a 6" achro refractor, I think it was a Meade but can't remember. Really nice big scope, and one that I would love to use today.

Being twelve, I regret to say I was more interested in footie and video games. I didn't go near that scope at all. When I think back, my total lack of interest in such a fine instrument is absolutely bewildering to me now.

Why can't my mates lend me a 6" frac when they go on holiday now? Anyone? I promise I won't break it, I'm 33 now :)

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steelfixer

steelfixer

Posted
Posted

My biggest mistake was forgetting about the balance weights on my pier mounted scope.

The scope did not move much at all but I still have the groove in my head to remind me not to do it again.

Still the upshot was I got to see a lot more stars that night. lol

Graham

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JimStan

JimStan

Posted
Posted

Forgetting that there are TWO sets of clutches on a Skyview Pro mount ! The set that engages the little wheels that allow you to finely control RA and Dec. AND the second set that allows the motors to drive the slow motion controls. They are the ones that tighten down the little gears just inside the knobs on the control shafts !

I spent a whole night thinking that there was something wrong with the clock drive, because the stars kept trailing off the edge of the FOV ! It wasn't til I broke everything down, and was driving home in disgust, that I tested out those gear clutches! BOOOOO !

Jim S.

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