List of common mistakes???

[Tim]

Please tell me I'm not the only one...............

Are there any you would add to the list?

http://new-telescope.tumblr.com/

Cheers

TJ

[SteveL]

8) Spent 30 mins getting your eyes used to the dark, and then half-blinded yourself looking at the moon.

- Spent 30 mins getting your eyes used to the dark, and then half-blinded yourself with the fridge light when looking for something to eat

[Beyond_Vision]

Waited 20 minutes for a remote controlled exposure to complete on my Canon 400D only to find that I hadnt switched it to bulb mode.

DOH

[Vega]

Spent over an hour puzzling, re-aligning and balancing a GOTO scope as it continuously slews completely in the wrong direction of any desired objects. After stressing for a while over a suspected screwed up Synscan controller, I remember the darn date should be entered in stoopid American format!

Matt

[radioactive]

getting a woman before becoming an astronomer

big mistake!

[George]

Wondering why images are so bad then finding the Hartmann mask still in place

[beamer3.6m]

Not taking the 'lens' cap off the scope.

[Helen]

Spend an hour trying to get a focus on the DSLR only to find you've got in RAW mode!

[beamer3.6m]

Iassume you mean not in RAW mode.

I always thought RAW was the way to go and why would this affect focus?

Sorry

[daz]

I think Helen is probably using software for the focus and they don't tend to like the RAW format - something like DSLRFocus Helen?

[Greg]

Spending half an hour looking for the counterweight bar on an HEQ5/EQ6.....Just about to phone OVL and then.....

[Macavity]

Before even getting outside, spending far too much (ill affordable) dosh on equipment. The CONSENSUS of astronomy forums [esp.SGL] (with a little "reading between lines) is a good guide to what's worth having (and what's not!)

[Sam]

Tried to polar align with the counter balance bar retracted - didn't realise for quite sometime, moved the mount around a few times in case there was something in the way. 20 mins later, gave up, went inside, realised the counter balance bar was retracted - said many many bad words, kids say "mummy! daddy is swearing again"

[geoff_k]

Polar aligning on the light from the power supply which was shining into the polar scope.

It was certainly easier to see than Polaris.

Not screwing filters on properly so that they fall into the telescope!

Not a mistake, but taking what looks like a really good AVI under excellent sky conditions only to find that the file is corrupted for some reason and your good work was for naught.

[Tim]

Spent over an hour puzzling, re-aligning and balancing a GOTO scope as it continuously slews completely in the wrong direction of any desired objects. After stressing for a while over a suspected screwed up Synscan controller, I remember the darn date should be entered in stoopid American format!

Matt

Excellent Excellent Excellent! I'm glad I'm not the only doofus.

This one in particular explains a whole lot to me. It wasn't until I read this post that I realised why my alignments had always been off!!

TJ

[Greg]

Spending hours polar aligning, setting up the lappy and toucam.

You've told the wife ..And of course she understands the importance of working in a controlled dark environment..

Your half way through your AVI's or DSLR focus is clicking the camera away quite nicely.....Then CLICK..

20,000 Mega watt bathroom light goes on...

"Sorry love...I need a pee........" :D

However...I normally get my own back by putting cold feet on a warm back.....

[Beyond_Vision]

Tried to polar align with the counter balance bar retracted - didn't realise for quite sometime, moved the mount around a few times in case there was something in the way. 20 mins later, gave up, went inside, realised the counter balance bar was retracted - said many many bad words, kids say "mummy! daddy is swearing again"

I have done this too and couldnt understand why I couldnt see polaris in the polar scope for ages until the penny dropped. You can also get the same problem if you have the scope in the park position with the dovetail slot on the mount turned to face east west (as you would if you have a side by side plate fitted).

Regards

Kevin

[Macavity]

Accidently dabbed some machine grease onto the field lens of an eyepiece. Careful attempts to clean it off failed. So, I decided to take the lens out. Unscrewed retaining ring and inverted the eyepiece. The lens in question fell out neatly onto the awaiting kleenex... as did the other FIVE, plus sundry spacing-rings! All was not quite lost - I could work out the order in which to put them back. indeed, all went relatively well, until one element got firmly (and permanently) WEDGED at an angle!

I couldn't even bear to keep it as a paperweight...

[radioactive]

Accidently dabbed some machine grease onto the field lens of an eyepiece. Careful attempts to clean it off failed. So, I decided to take the lens out. Unscrewed retaining ring and inverted the eyepiece. The lense in question fell out neatly onto the awaiting kleenex... as did the other FIVE, plus sundry spacing-rings! All was not quite lost - I could work out the order in which to put them back. indeed, all went relatively well, until one of element got firmly (and permanently) WEDGED at an angle!

I couldn't even bear to keep it as a paperweight...

oooooouccch that must of hurt I feel for you I hate things like that as describe to happen made me shiver when I read it its part of what I term the domino effect and the problems that causes

[Talitha]

I forgot to activate the 'Cord Wrap' on my old CU2K one time, but was able to shut down before anything bad happened.

And now a few coments on the article, if I may..

"If any proper female astronomers should ever in the course of time read this, then please make yourself known to me)"

Is this proper enough for you?

"(Ask a male friend to show you how to send an e-mail)"

:laughing3: With a compliment like that, you're bound to get a TON of email!

[Macavity]

With a compliment like that, you're bound to get a TON of email!

STILL a universal observation on human nature: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=aIlJ8ZCs4jY

Tho', as with MANY of my own hobbies (sometimes even gender-wise) I can feel a bit like the "Lone Groover". A 70's archetype, in rock music magazines, who's interests were a little "singular" ... And who's personal hygiene eventually became a little suspect. [mostly joking]

I hasten to add that, in the above, the eyepiece was (emphatically) not a Nagler.

[Helen]

Iassume you mean not in RAW mode.

I always thought RAW was the way to go and why would this affect focus?

Sorry

As Daz said, I was using software to focus, but it can't read RAW so you just get a blank screen! I just assumed I was WAY out of focus :roll:

Helen

[James]

Carefully putting a 10" OTA on a mount on the spots I'd marked to have it well balanced, swivelled scope round so that I could see through the polar finder hole, reached up to tighed the clutch knob again and twisted the wrong one. The OTA crashed onto my head bashing my glasses into the polar finder borehole - I'd forgotten to put the three weights on the shaft.

Aligning on Pollux thinking it was Castor for a couple of months and never understanding why my normally spot on goto's wewre rubbish.

Hey, we've all done some silly things

James

[thing]

Putting the Dec motor cable in the wrong way on a CG5 and wondering why the thing kept pointing at the grass instead of Vega. That one took a looooong time to figure......

I've also done the American date thing, why do they do their dates so weird? I mean, day, month, year has a certain logic to it doesn't it................

[Vega]

The OTA crashed onto my head bashing my glasses into the polar finder borehole - I'd forgotten to put the three weights on the shaft.

James

..... :shock: Ouch... now THAT must of hurt. Take a mounted scope minus 15kg of counterweights, add Earth's gravity...and you get plenty of force! I remember once taking the finderscope off my evostar 120 while locked. Later unlocked the dec and the now totally unbalanced refractor tube swung down like a sling shot on steroids narrowly missing my chin. I did however manage to catch the thing before it crashed in to the tripod leg.

Matt