Difficult evening.

[wheresthetorch?]

Lovely clear night so set up the scope early. By the time I got out, finder and EP dewed up. Changed EP and battled through alignment through cloudy finder. First alignment a bit poor, so did it again. Then lead came loose from powertank so had to align again. Then scope went mad and started pointing in odd directions. Then lead came loose again, and my wife pointed out that my hat had risen up on my head and said I looked like a conehead. Decided to pack up. Grumpy now.

[John]

Cheer up - it can only get better

Have you got a dew shield and / or heated dew band for the scope ?.

The mak-cassegrains (like yours) and SCT's are real dew magnets with that glass up the front end - dew prevention gear ought to be supplied with them as standard I reckon !

[wheresthetorch?]

Hi John. Yes, got a dew shield for the corrector plate, but it was the finder causing me most problems, and even the eyepiece. It just seemed a particularly 'wet' evening. Can you get small dew shields for finders?

Not sure about the hat problem either . . . !

[JamesM]

I think most people make their own out of a bit of thick foam, the sort of stuff you can buy at Hobbie Craft stores, it's cheap and comes in a variety of colours including black. I used some to cover over my Telrad finder and is great for those smaller projects. If it is any consolation it was very dewey for me too!

Clear skies

James

[wheresthetorch?]

Thanks - I'll give it a go. It did seem a particularly dewey night for some reason.

[Capricorn]

If the dew shield is for the finder then I suggest you get the thin A4 sheets of foam from hobby craft, the "normal" thickness ones are for dew shields for the main scope and will not fold/curve round something as small as a finder.

[dark knight]

I use empty coke bottles, the 550ml or 300ml plastic bottles, cut the ends off an they fit pretty well on the standard 9x50 finders, if using a battery powered type a slot in the side of the bottle so it goes over the finder may help. Thing is some solutions are in the rubbish we throw away, granted they may not be pretty, but they do often work.

[alan potts]

I think it is English weather that is the prime cause. I have two scopes with glass at the front and i can only remember dew stopping me twice. The air here is very dry, so dry infact that i don't have a problem outside at minus 10, however it goes down to minus 20 plus here. February 2nd my gear here was reading minus 27.8 C, that's cold!

Alan.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

On occasion I have borrowed my wife's hairdryer for the finder scope. Works a treat. When setting up the C8 I only attach the EP and big finder at the last moment. They do not need to be at ambient temperature to observe.

[wheresthetorch?]

Less dew tonight, clearer skies and better views - hooray! Jupiter, M31, Pleiades, Kemble's Cascade (a first), Double Cluster and now waiting for Orion to clear the treetops. Fantastic!

[wheresthetorch?]

Sorry if posting on own thread is poor etiquette?

But just wanted to say - great views of Orion, but best ever of Jupiter in 9 years of observing. Pushed 4" Mak to 165x, and got acceptable view of GRS. Really chuffed. Clouds rolling in now though, so to sleep, perchance to dream of starry skies. Night all.