Dust cover necessary?

[northcanadian]

Hi folks:

I am wondering if the dust cover on the secondary mirror housing (where the collimation screws are) needs to be kept on....even if the main cover is on?

Thanks again

Roger

[Ganymede12]

If you mean the ones on the base of the OTA then I don't think so. My Skyliner 200P doesn't have a cover on the base and it isn't covering any optics so I think it's fine without a cover. 

[cutepetgroomer]

Where I live dust covers are a must have (city in a desert). Even with the dust covers and being stored properly I always check to see if cleaning is needed. Usually not if I'm using them frequently . I say it depends on where you live .