star party dew control

[sam mayo]

i have my 1st star party soon ansd was wondering what people normally do with ther scope do they leave them set up all the way through and if so is dew a bigger probem because i was thinking if so i would get some dew heaters

#thanks sam

[robbieince]

Hi Sam

At this time of year you will definitely need active dew protection. most of us use dew heater strips (either commercial or home made with a string of resistors) powered through an adjuster from a battery.

Hiitec Astro do a good range of controllers and I use Dewnot as they seem to use less power. I use a leisure battery (85ah) but any 12v battery of 10ah or more will do you.

Regards

Rob

[JamesM]

Agree with Rob regarding using the 'Dew-Not' heating strips as they pull a lot less (50%) juice from the battery allowing you to save sufficient power to last long cold observing sessions. Modern Astronomy is only one UK distributor of this american made product and you can read more details here. Also comes with a nice long lead too that will help you site the dew heater (which is a separate item) in a more convenient position.

Wishing you clear skies for your star party and will certainly provide you with a great opportunity to learn the night sky and to learn from others.

James

[yeti monster]

I think there could be a run on dew protection over the next couple of weeks....

[sam mayo]

yea think ther might be sorry.ok will look them up i was after an all in one package thanks for the ifo

sam