Help! Can't see anything

[bcfc151]

Hi all,

I was on here a while back asking for advise on which scope to buy, in the end I decided that I would be much better off waiting and saving up for the scope I really wanted. After saving up I finally made the plunge and bought a Skywatcher 200p Dob from FLO (great service, rubbish delivery) a week ago.

To cut a long story short the scope was dropped badly by the guy delivering it, although nothing was dented or broke (at least I think it wasn't as I am not an expert on telescopes). Using AstroBaby's guide to collimation I felt I had fixed all that was put out of place by the unfortunate delivery, except when I tried to use the scope for the first time last night (it was clear for two hours last night before the enemy Cloud appeared) all I was seeing was a hazy image of orange, yet when I looked through the finder scope it was perfectly clear and I could see plenty of stars.

Is something wrong with the scope? or is it just LP at my location (Birmingham)?.

I can't figure it out so any help would be appreciated.

Here are some photo's I took while collimating the scope. Does anything look out of place?

Hopefully you can see the image's.

Again any help would be appreciated, as at this time I have an 8" Dob as an ornament .

[John]

Are you using both the 2" and 1.25" eyepiece adapters in the scope at the same time ?

If you are then you won't be able to focus on anything. You need to use them separately, ie: either the 1.25" adapter or the 2" one depending on the size of eyepiece you are using.

[Rihard]

Hi there,

really bad story !

The best thing is that you try the scope during the day, to see if you can achieve focus on a roof or other distant objects.

Did you move the focusser completely both inwards and outwards? Did the scope cool down enough and was it pointed away

from sources of light ?

I'm not an expert at all, but if it works in daylight, then you might just need to perfection the collimation, otherwise you might have to check other parts,

like the secondary mirror. Something might have moved (??) too close or too far, preventing a good focus. But if it was just a collimation issue, I doubt

you would only see a orange.

Clear Skies

[Ant]

I guess the first thing is to make sure that the finder is aligned to the scope. Unless you do this then the stuff in the finder won't be in the main scope.

Second, make sure that you have your lowest power eyepiece in (going to the one with the highest number - maybe 25mm), and then make sure that you run through the full focus range till you get what you want in focus.

Start with the moon, having said that it's been so long since I saw the sky at night, that I have no idea what phase the moon is at the moment... one sec I'll go check... Oooo it's thin crescent (4 days old) you'll need a decent West horizon to see that, but the moon is the best bet for sorting out the finder and getting to grips with focusing etc.

Newts are fairly strong, I doubt that dropping in the box will do much apart from muck up the collimation a little.

Cheers

Ant

[MarkSix]

Hi there.

as TziuRiky said the best thing you can do is test the scope in daylight, I had the same problem with my scope the first time..

And and at the same time you can align the finderscope with the scope roughly so you wont totally lost i the sky the first nights.

[Tinker1947]

I would think its just a focus issue, as said the Moon would be ideal for testing, but a bright star and your need some luck finding it without the finder scope being aligned, but here's what i would do, put in your least powerful EP, thats the high MM type, set the focusor around half way and scan in the general area of a bright star, once you see a large white blob rack the focusor in and out very slowly, the white blob with become a nice bright star, its not very easy to find even bright stars with out a accurate finder scope so take your time and once found set the finder scope or if there's any pennies in the bank get a Telrad....

[bcfc151]

Thanks for the reply's guys.

I did have the 2" and 1.25" EP adapters in (I feel so stupid ) hopefully that is all it was. I will test the finder-scope, How do you align the finder-scope?

I will try to focus on a star tonight like Tinker1947 suggests, if that does not work I will try it out in daylight and try to focus on a roof or something.

I would have tried to focus on the Moon but with it being low in the west it's a no go for me as my house blocks it.

I will post back with an update hopefully it will be good news.

Thanks again guys

Clear Skies

[knobby]

Mate ... we've all done that one!

[brantuk]

Leave out any barlow magnifiers in your first viewing sessions as well - they will just throw you off till you find out how they work. Try the moon first as suggested above - then get a particular feature well focussed centrally in the eyepiece - maybe a crater - then adjust the finder scope so the same feature is exactly in the center of it too. Then you will be roughly aligned and other stuff will be easier to find.

[astrofox]

sounds like your finder scope is pointing at clear sky and your scope at something reflecting a street light. Like the guys have said try it in daylight. Allign the finderscope and telescope on some distant object like an aerial or chimney. Dont make life difficult iron out the problems in the daytime. Dont worry we have all done that in the past.

[paul schofield]

Ha don't feel stupid, I did that about a month ago and I have had my scope for over a year. It happens to us all, especially when you are in a rush to change over eyepiece size. I feel your pain with the good service from FLO only to be followed by poor delivery service. That happened to me too, albeit only with a £140 eyepiece. The upside is these things rarely happen twice. Clear skies.

[stevetynant]

Yup guilty as charged.as knobby says we have all been there.hopefully you'll have better luck tonight.

[Spec-Chum]

Lol I feel proud that a guessed I only needed one adapter at once.

[bcfc151]

Thanks for all your help.

I have now sorted everything and had a great night's viewing last night with my new scope. I couldn't be happier with it.

By the looks of things we're in for a good week of clear skies, so I hope you all enjoy yourselves as much as I will.

Thanks again.

Clear Skies

Adam.