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It's all so HEAVY.


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Hi Guys,

So it was getting a bit misty at midnight last night so I came in at about 12:15.  The Celestron C8n with all it's weights and mounts and stuff was so HEAVY, I could hardly lift it.  I staggered around trying to lift it off the patio and over the window ledge of the French windows, trying not to trip over the children's toyboxes strewn everywhere.

Really, I would have rather thrown a tarpaulin over the whole things and left till morning. 

Would that have been OK?

In the absence of an observatory, what do you do?

Regards,

Steve

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12 minutes ago, cotterless45 said:

Get a scope cover and tie it up, leave it open to clear any humidity in the morning. Easier than tripping in the dark.

So I just Googled scope cover and many of them seem to have a foil part to them.  Can I get a groundsheet and just stitch it up to the right shape?

If it rains is that ok?

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Did you really carry the whole setup as one!? if so definately split the OTA, mount, and weights. 3 journeys I know (had the same last night) but you'll put your back out or have an accident carrying it all as one.

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I often just bring my stuff indoors and leave in the case with the lid open and caps off to dry overnight.

You can get reasonable scope covers fairly cheaply. If it's only for overnight use, something like a garden furniture or barbecue cover would do.

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Hello Steve. And welcome to SGL. If you need a temporary cover for your kit now and again to leave outside.What about getting one of those toilet type tents that are used for camping. The boys on here use these when they go to star events. And should be water proof . Obviously just make sure the security is fine. But could be an idea to stop you having to put your kit away at each and every session.

I hope the above helps☺

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1 minute ago, Timebandit said:

Hello Steve. And welcome to SGL. If you need a temporary cover for your kit now and again to leave outside.What about getting one of those toilet type tents that are used for camping. The boys on here use these when they go to star events. And should be water proof . Obviously just make sure the security is fine. But could be an idea to stop you having to put your kit away at each and every session.

I hope the above helps☺

Nice. I'll look it up.

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I always separate my OTA and mount, even though my OTA (Celestron C8) is far lighter. I never leave the scope out all night (apart from rain, I would worry about theft, even though my garden is not accessible or even visible from the road), but put everything in the kitchen and wait for the dew to evaporate (whilst I finalise my observing notes). Then I store everything in the appropriate boxes

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These scopes aren't made to be carried fully assembled - when transporting around they have to be broken down into manageable sections (tripod, mount head, weights, ota, etc). But if you want a throw over to protect it from the elements when you have to dash indoors - these are hard to beat:

http://www.green-witch.com/green-witch-scope-cover-1642-p.asp

I have three of them and they've never failed me in the back yard or at star parties. But they're not made for permanent use - the Telegizmo types have additional uv protection for the daytime and are tougher all round.

Hth :)

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My SW 300p GoTo Flextube is heavy! I built a platform on wheels for it so, if rain is forecast I wheel it under the porch (and chain it to the window bars) for the night. Otherwise I leave it out (with a proprietary scope cover over a flannel sheet to absorb any damp and chained to a metal railing) parked and ready for the following night. If not observing for a while I separate the OTA from the base and store it inside.

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1 hour ago, SteveBz said:

... with all it's weights and mounts and stuff was so HEAVY, I could hardly lift it.  I staggered around trying to lift it ...

That's what others will have to do to you if you slip and fall. ;-)

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I use a TELEGIZMOS Cover for 12" SCT Telescopes on my cpc 925 when it is stored in the conservatory. Keeps it cooler and dust free. Got the larger one to make it easy to slip over the setup. I also added ScopeRoller wheels and it makes it easier to move on a hard surface. But due to health and age  issues I am having to downsize.

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you mention falling over the kids toys, so I assume you have kids (?). Do you trust them not to play with it in the morning while you are having your well deserved lie in after a hard night's observing? I don't trust mine, so as much as it pains me to stay up even later (sometimes waiting for my kit to dry off) before putting it all away, I know that it is the best in the long run. And I agree with the above, remove the OTA and weights, I nearly came a cropper with mine - injury and damage narrowly avoided - so I never did it again.

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I have the equivalent EQ-5 mount which I mount my SCT to.  There's no way I would carry all in one go....  That's just a recipe for disaster.  Besides it doesn't take much time at all to dismantle. I just take off the OTA and then the weights but I keep the tripod and head setup connected and put in the shed as it is rather than collapsing it down/taking it apart so this saves a whole bunch of time.   Takes all of 5 minutes to do like this.

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21 minutes ago, SteveBz said:

Luckily my cg5 is still frozen.  I can hardly carry it anyway.  When it gets freed it'll make the kit even heavier!

What is wrong with your CG-5. I have just taken mine apart to

re grease it. It has got a bit of slack in the axis. U need a 1.5mm

Allen key, to get it apart. Any help I can give U.

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Way back I used to carry my HEQ5 with one weight on it from my back door to my observing position, a distance of about 45'. I got a basic Telegizmos cover when I started imaging and needed to leave it set up and aligned.

I agree about the slip / trip risk though. I had to leave the kit indoors one spectaculat Dec night in '13 after having to dry it out (Forgot to cover it D'oh!) as the ground was so slippery that I could easily have fallen with the thing on top of me, and no one around to help.

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31 minutes ago, Grotemobile said:

What is wrong with your CG-5. I have just taken mine apart to

re grease it. It has got a bit of slack in the axis. U need a 1.5mm

Allen key, to get it apart. Any help I can give U.

Hmm..  Thanks Steve.  I'll post another question later in the day.  The whole mount, RA and Dec, are frozen and won't disassemble.  I don't want to use force and damage it.

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I physically couldn't carry my AZ-EQ6, weights, scope and tripod assembled so I have to break it down. My solution is to have my warm room (the shed) right next to where I set up the scope. I can tear everything down including cameras, cables and various other accoutrements and get them in the shed under cover in 10-15 minutes.  

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