New Telescope

[Alan64]

8 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Sounds like you like the new scope. 🙂

 

By leaps and by bounds, I do.  I just hope it doesn't disappoint in future.

[Alan64]

Second-light...

I observed Polaris straight-through, without the diagonal, and threw the star out of focus; no change, the patterns were identical to the image shown previously.  I now know that my roulette-wheel star-prism is indeed collimated, as I had renovated and tested it a while back.  I tried to take snaps of the pattern, and with seven shots this time round, but all seven were duds.  Of course, it was more difficult to attempt without the diagonal in place.  I brightened each one even, and nothing appeared.

In focus, at 190x with the 10mm, on both mornings, I could see the Airy disc of Polaris sharply, and at least two diffraction-rings encircling it, but the seeing, at Pickering 6, from fair to good, mucked the view up a bit, with annoying rays dancing within and about the rings.  On this second night there were a number of cloudlets rolling across the sky, but the haze was gone.

Jupiter was brighter this time round as a result, like a 40-watt bulb, at 190x.  There would be no seeing any spots this night however, I knew, but it was a good show nonetheless.

I didn't wait on the Moon, as it was due to appear even later than the morning before.

 

[Alan64]

The mount, an ES "Twilight Nano"...

...no slow-motion controls, nor clamps or locks for the axes.

The knob there, to clamp the head to the hub, was loose within the box; not a big deal.

Who paints bearing surfaces, I ask.  I know that Synta and Ningbo Sunny do; so why break up a set, as JOC is also complicit...

At first, I thought that this large washer might be of PTFE(Teflon), but no, it's of nylon, and adequate for this design I suppose...

Edited June 1, 2019 by Alan64

[Alan64]

The altitude axis...

Without and with flash...

[Alan64]

I soak the areas first with 100% acetone.  I then scrape as much of the now-softened paint off and out with a blade.  Next, sandpaper of varying grits, along with a little acetone, and to remove even more paint.  Lastly, varying steel-wools down to #0000, and lemon oil, to tidy up and polish.  The mating surface...

There, the paint has been removed, but what's that greyish coating; primer for the paint?  Did they actually go to that much trouble there at the factory?  I then sanded it some more with finer grits; this kind...

https://d2lnr5mha7bycj.cloudfront.net/product-image/file/large_424fc008-6b11-46c8-852c-9640b754f573.jpg

...and polished with the aforementioned...

No, I did not cause those scratches seen there.  That was the factory's doing, with an industrial wire-brush possibly, and to make the primer and paint stick better, perhaps.  The scratches are, at most, only cosmetic.

On the flip side...

Where washers for the bolt come in contact with that surface, and forward of the lock-nut, that was prepared as well.  Beforehand, all surfaces were gritty, rough, like sandpaper itself, and which had scratched and "boogered" up the surface of that large nylon washer.  I then smoothed and polished the washer out with the fine wool and oil, and in preparation...

Edited June 1, 2019 by Alan64

[Alan64]

But before I reveal the final result, the azimuth axis...

That was easy enough.  But this, not so much...

I cannot reach the lock-nut for the azimuth's bolt, due to that glued-in plastic disc with the two holes and the threaded brass insert, and without comprising it.  Thoughts...

Okay, I'm done thinking.  I will leave it alone for now, as it, unlike the alt had upon arrival, operates quite smoothly actually.  But it will be revisited in future, as I do have bronze, PTFE, and Formica #909-42 laminate perhaps, waiting in the wings.

Edited June 1, 2019 by Alan64

[Alan64]

Fair is fair, and for a saving grace, I reinstalled all of the original washers, but used Super Lube as the grease instead of the factory's...

Much better...

...the altitude motion much better indeed.  I would think so, and after all of that.

Glamour shot...

No, that's not the Maksutov, as I don't think that the mount can support it properly.  I got the Maksutov for itself, and the mount for my smaller telescopes, like that one, and both within a kit.  That's my Antares 805, an 80mm f/6 achromat.  Incidentally, this was the first time that refractor had been operated above 100x.  Jupiter, at 160x, presented to my eye only a vague incidence of false-colour; a subtle violet veil it was, and barely extending outward.  But so much for that, for it is an f/6 achromat, yet one that may be used to observe the larger planets after all, and the Moon in addition I already know, for myself in any event.

I then went inside and got the eyepiece-tray and extended the legs of the mount.  Picking the kit up at that point, I could then carry it with one hand with little effort, and over to the south...

The telescope is aimed at Jupiter still, there, and at 80x.  I rapped the tip of my middle finger forcefully onto the center of the telescope's tube: a 3- to 4-second damping-time.  When the legs were retracted earlier, I had done the same, and the damping-time was at about 3 seconds.

The verdict?  I like this wee mount, a lot, now, and with the alt righted...

But I still don't like that a metal head is joined to a metal hub via plastic.  There's got to be an alternative, somehow, somewhere.

Edited June 1, 2019 by Alan64

[Ags]

On 01/06/2019 at 01:51, Alan64 said:

I had thought about this at the time, although not pertaining to this exercise: "Can a mis-collimated diagonal cause a mis-collimated telescope to appear collimated?"  

Two wrongs never make a right...

[Maciek_Cz]

Hi,

I have a similar setup, AR90s on AZ Nano mount from Bresser.

Edited June 5, 2019 by Maciek_Cz