Beaten by Dew for the first time

[kernowstargazer]

I was out tonight good clear night here in north cornwall there was a couple of william orbits floating round but nothing major. Had a good look at jupiter, then on to a couple of DSO's , swatted up on some more constellations and just waiting for saturn to come up to the ese. Then all went to the dogs finder scope dewed up and my EP's as well gutted had to come in in the end as i could not get the dew to go away .

My question is how do you stop dew on your finder scope and your ep's. My OTA was fine inside as i have a home made dew shield at the front and primary didnt have a drop.

[Double Kick Drum]

I have less issues using a refractor but try to put finderscope caps back on from time to time, when not in use to keep moisture away.

[kernowstargazer]

Ideal i'll bear that in mind as it was doing my head in as its a clear night out there

[mike.brightmore]

I carefully use a hairdryer on a low heat setting - always works for me. Obviously usual precauions needed if using mains electricity outside.

[David Smith]

Make yourself a dew shield for the finder and keep your eyepieces in a warm pocket when your not looking through them. Works for me. Used to have the same problem with my finder to the point where I barely used it!

[Mr Flibble]

I've been beaten by dew so many times which is so frustrating when the skies are clear so I made my own dew heaters:

Everybody's Do-It-Yourself Dew Heater - Do It Yourself - SkyandTelescope.com

I use 2 watts for my telrad and 2 watts for the eyepieces - used it tonight and it works a treat.

[kernowstargazer]

Cheers for the help guys. Im glad ive still got foam left over from the OTA so i can make dew shield and i need another coat with more pockets:D.

[Tinker1947]

I use a hairdryer, warm setting and when its not being used its back inside to keep the dew off it...

[Mark at Beaufort]

Yes there was a heavy dew last night.

To resolve this problem I have -

Made a shield for the finder (80mm Stellarvue) out of Neoprene/Velcro

Always replace the cap on the finder eyepiece

Return individual EPs back into their case when changing EPs

Bought a 12v hairdryer which is run off a normal car jump start battery. The heat is not too great but it will clear any dew in about 30 seconds and you have no worries of getting an electric shock.

Mark