The DO's & DON'Ts

[souls33k3r]

Hi All,

The beast (my first ever equipment which is a 8" EdgeHD on a NEQ6 Pro mount) has arrived. Just signed for it so super excited to get cracking.

The weather seems pretty poor for today and tomorrow so hopefully will get to do something with it on Sunday evening.

Any who, i guess there is no thread which has the do's and don'ts (from you fine experienced folks) for anyone who is getting or has their first setup. Let's start listing them

[Moonshane]

My two guides contain a few do's ad don'ts 

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/197640-collimation-and-star-hopping/

[Tinker1947]

Point the Leg with the peg above it North, put the weights on this before you mount the scope, save the whole lot toppling over......get a Telrad...

[souls33k3r]

One thread to make a repository of information for all us new peeps ... cheers for pitching in your ideas and experiences guys Looking good already

[hjw]

With new gear like this you are bound to get at least 2 weeks of clouds !

Therefore you will have plenty of time to set it up indoors, get it balanced, make sure you have all the bits and pieces in the right place...

Align the finder scope through a window on a far away point; see whether you get focus (not sure whether you intent to image or observe...)

Switch the GOTO controller on. Give it the right position - Google maps is helpful.

Play with the navigation of the menus.

Just play around and make sure you know what to do and how to do in the light so you don't have to figure it out in the dark.

If you set up in your back yard find your favorite spot and mark the north-south direction (true not magnetic).

As to the Don'ts: Don't drop anything - counterweights are heavy and can cause injury, scopes are fragile and expensive...

Don't point at the sun.

Enjoy your preparations and wait for clear skies!

Cheers

HJ

[mikeDnight]

Keep it as near to outside temperature as possible. It can take several hours to reach thermal equilibrium if its kept in a warm room and that will ruin its optical performance.

Mike

[laudropb]

The main do is to have fun. Enjoy your new experience and please let us know how you get on.

[RobertI]

Keep it as near to outside temperature as possible. It can take several hours to reach thermal equilibrium if its kept in a warm room and that will ruin its optical performance.

Mike

Second that, and also very important to ensure the scope is collimated. The collimation process is straightforward (there is plenty on the web on how to do this) but like everything will require practice. If your SCT is new it will probably have the Philips screws on the secondary mirror meaning a screwdriver is required to collimate - a set of Bob's knobs or similar will make the process a lot easier.

Rob 

[Razorg]

No kids around the scope unless they're properly educated on telescope etiquette.During a public astronomy event, a kid twisted my collimation scews because he thought it was a refractor.

Also, I have a couple of smudgy EPs with fingerprints on them because some kid wanted to 'touch' the moon. Lesson learnt

[carastro]

It's wise to get replacement bolts for the NEQ6 as the ones supplied can easily bend and will cause you no end of grief if they do.

Carole 

[Vox45]

Don’t sweat the petty things

Don’t pet the sweaty things

-George Carlin

Seriously, a "don't" I've learned is don't buy new if you have the chance to buy second hand. Do buy second hand from experienced users and if you want to buy new, buy from trusted vendors like FLO.

Do a lot of research by asking questions and reading before any purchase. Don't become paralysed, you have to take the plunge at some point.

[Uranium235]

Do: Get a dewshield, especially for an SCT

Dont: Try licking your telescope in sub-zero temperatures

Do: Ensure any electricity supply to your mount is resistant to a shower (just in case)

Dont: Bang your head off the counterweight when working around the mount.... it hurts.

[Floater]

The main do is to have fun. Enjoy your new experience and please let us know how you get on.

All the above advice is good (naturally, on SGL) ... but laudropb has nailed the main 'do'.

[John]

I think dew prevention gear, adequate cooldown and collimation are about the highest priorities with SCT's.

Having fun is vital too, but dew can cut that short rather abruptly and a scope full of warm air currents and not in collimation can lead to lots of frustrations

[Matt Scunthorpe]

Dont: Try licking your telescope in sub-zero temperatures

Not managed to do this yet.

Dont: Bang your head off the counterweight when working around the mount.... it hurts.

This I most definitely have done!

Matt.

[Scott]

The main do is to have fun. Enjoy your new experience and please let us know how you get on.

Ina nut shell, this is it. Easier said than done some nights when the world of astronomy seems bent on destroying you

[ronl]

I know it's hard for us men, but read the instructions at least a couple of times,

it's better than tearing your hair out, as you can see from my picture, so even I

read them now.

Hope you have fun with your new set up, and Clear Sky's.

[souls33k3r]

I normally give it a man look (what my missus says)

[YKSE]

I know it's hard for us men, but read the instructions at least a couple of times,

it's better than tearing your hair out, as you can see from my picture, so even I

read them now.

Hope you have fun with your new set up, and Clear Sky's.

+1, always read the instructions a couple of times to ensure you have a comprehensive understanding, it'll be much easier to deal with the unexpected.

[Stub Mandrel]

Don't rush.

Especially, don't rush and try and see everything in one night or one season if learning to image things. I've tried to pace myself and when I keep going back to the same targets trying to get better results, I do get better results. When I have swung the scope around taking random potshots I get pictures of recognisable objects (usually globulars or open clusters) but most of them are of very poor quality.

Always take lots more pictures of the same thing than you think you need. Otherwise once the shaky ones and the ones with trails or blobs of cloud in are got rid of, you won't have many left...

Have a decent finder and make sure it is aligned properly (and that the star centred in the finder is the same star as the one centred in the scope...)