*DISASTER* just dropped my ed80 on setup advice needed

[iwols]

hi guys sore subject at the minute but just dropped my ed80 on setup,thing it landed on the dew shield as this has a flat on it now,but the main damage seems to be the focus adjuster,it just slides in and out now,no friction or adjustment,and sounds like a small screw rattling inside the tube,looking down the diagonal it looks like no glass has cracked or anything,can the focus adjuster be bought seperate and is there anything else i should be looking for thanks

[saac]

That's real bad luck iwols, i feel for you.  You can easily separate the focuser tube from the optical tube, that will allow you to have a good inspection to see what damage if any there is.  It's also a fairly straightforward task to remove the focuser itself. I'd have a go at that first, it may well be you have just dislodged something that can be realigned/secured.  If worse come to worse and you do need to replace the focuser then yes they are available separately either as the complete assembly or just the spindle/friction drive.

Jim

Sky Watcher Dual Speed Focuser

 

Crayford Focuser Replacement Spindle

 

 

[iwols]

thanks for the reply jim,just removed the focuser as it happens its gone,just worried nothing else is gone inside but it does look solid inside,and i cant see anything that could be adjusted any way,the focuser was very poor any way ,but didnt warrant me dropping it,does any one know what these focusers are like?

[laudropb]

Ouch. That was bad luck, but don't worry if the worse comes to the worse the focuser is easily replaced, but as has been suggested take the damaged one out and see what can be done with it.

[brantuk]

Sounds to me like you've broken a bearing in the focuser tube - there's usually two of them and when you tighten the tube you push a roller up onto the flat plate underneath the tube but opposite the two roller bearings. The good news is the bearings are cheap and easy to replace. So I would take it to bits and find out where the broken bearing is.

[iwols]

36 minutes ago, brantuk said:

Sounds to me like you've broken a bearing in the focuser tube - there's usually two of them and when you tighten the tube you push a roller up onto the flat plate underneath the tube but opposite the two roller bearings. The good news is the bearings are cheap and easy to replace. So I would take it to bits and find out where the broken bearing is.

bang on ,theres a bearing there with the screw head still in it,theres 4 inside the focuser, looks like the screw might have snapped where can you buy the bearing/screw or is the upgrade to the above focuser worth it cheers all

[brantuk]

There's a technical term for the bearing - something like "roller bearing" or "needle bearing" - but the actual name eludes me right now. It'll be in a manual or I'll ask a club mate and get back to you later toniht or more likely in the morning.

Once I have what it's called - you can usually get them two a penny from most online bearing companies.

[iwols]

thanks it may just be the screw,but how you take the focuser to bits to get to the screw may be another thing

[iwols]

believe it or not all sorted now had a brass screw in my box the right thread cut it down and bingo unbelievable,wouldnt say it was 100 percent perfect but it never was,just needs testing now thanks guys

[Waldemar]

I am glad for you your misfortune was not too bad... man, that must have been a really bad couple of hours for you...
On the other hand you learned a bit about your equipment for little costs!

Believe it or not, Murphy is the astronomers patron!

Waldemar

[iwols]

9 minutes ago, Waldemar said:

I am glad for you your misfortune was not too bad... man, that must have been a really bad couple of hours for you...
On the other hand you learned a bit about your equipment for little costs!

Believe it or not, Murphy is the astronomers patron!

Waldemar

yes learned some things about my scope i didnt know before ,trouble is now im wondering about the focuser upgrade

[brantuk]

Whew - that's good news - it's always terrifying when we drop an astro item on the floor - especially expensive ones lol.

Glad it's sorted out with little or no harm done.

[YKSE]

The focuser is of simple build, may need some tweeking to get it work very smoothly. Have a look at this guide:

http://www.teleskop-austria.at/information/pdf/SWN1507eq3_Skywatcher_Crayfor-Auszug_justieren.pdf

Mine are tuned to hold 3kg weight with smooth focus move and no sliding, even pointing at zenith.

 

[Waldemar]

3 hours ago, iwols said:

yes learned some things about my scope i didnt know before ,trouble is now im wondering about the focuser upgrade

It all depends on how much you love your scope and if you want to hang on to it.
If that is the case and now you know what quality the standard focusser is, you will probably make a costly but wise decission ...

Waldemar