Heritage 130p dob cleaning, light shroud and a bit of everything.NEED HELP

[Kronos831]

Hey guys, last night I went out to a sub urb location with my scope. It was way better than my back yard.I could see more of the Orion nebula in my 5" dob than I could in my backyard with my 8" dob(focus was kind of weird with the manual focuser) but after a little bit things started to get weird, I noticed that the views started to get way worse, after I checked on the scope I saw this little ring of (dirt??? I don't how I live in an island close to the sea so it might be dew causing this?)only visible when using a flashlight In the center of the secondary mirror. Not only that but the secondary also somehow moved a lot and the scope had become uncollimated. I suppose I accidentally nudged it over , for some reason the secondary Is really loose. Another thing I noticed is that there was a lot of excess light in my view. I realised then that I am in need of a light shroud.

 

Questions: Should I clean the secondary mirror? What is this ring !

How can I make the secondary mirror more still? Like can I tighten some screws or something? I want it to move only when im using a screwdriver.

How could I make a light shroud? I have seen multiple threads but none really helped me. Is there any tutorial available?

Thanks Kronos.

[joe aguiar]

I would say don't clean the 2nd mirror just align it it if it got loose.

they sell light shrouds but you can just get one or make one from a  fabric store buy felt wrap it wround and use Velcro etc

joejaguar

Edited January 15, 2020 by joe aguiar

[joe aguiar]

hey kronus I am getting home late today so I don't think I can look at my scope tonight but ill try tomorrow and see how my 2nd mirror is and y your is maybe loose.

its to bad noone else has replied yet

btw any chance u could be a 30 sec video showing how its loose?

joejaguar

Edited January 16, 2020 by joe aguiar

[joe aguiar]

As per your first part of the 5 inch dob being better than the 8 scope cause u had darker skies. Well that's normal 

That's the most important thing when talking about deep sky objects.

My 80mm f/5 refractor was 1000x better in a green zone compared to my 16 inch dob in a white zone 

Joejaguar 

[happy-kat]

The quickest light shroud is put a tea towel over your head or a summer hat, I found stray light was more of a problem from bouncing off my eye onto/from the eyepiece then what hit the tube.

Secondary mirror should not be loose, place tube on it's side before you fiddle so you do not risk it falling on the primary mirror.

Sounds like you had a spot of dew form on your secondary mirror. There is no need to clean the mirror.

 

Edited January 16, 2020 by happy-kat

[Stu]

I made a shroud for my H130P from thin hobby foam, it works really well. It cuts stray light and also stops your breath from inducing air currents in the view.

I would not clean the secondary, and am sure there will be a screw that you can tighten to stop the secondary stalk moving. I would have to have a look at mine to check though.

[joe aguiar]

kronus did u still need with scope?

since iam ready to sell my place as soon as I find a place I have already packed everything that I don't really need including 9 of the 10 scopes I have, that includes the 130 sw heritage scope.

so its already boxed up reday to go

joejaguar 

[Kronos831]

upThank you joe aguiar! but i found the source of the problem, the secondary mirror seems to be moving side to side too easily,like the mirror moves so easily yesterday, the wind moved my mirror out of place and it needed collimation again.so i believe the problem is its hanging too loose? I am talking about this thing right here(Telescope in pic is the Celestron Firstscope 76), i tried losening the screw that holds it in place and it behaves exactly as my heritage scope. However , the heritage doesnt have a screw i can screw so i can tighten it, any other ways i can do so? 

P.S i am showing you the image of my Celestron Firstscope because i left my heritage at my friends house as today we will be going on a trip to the mountains close to his place so it will be easier for me to carry the scope.

Edited January 18, 2020 by Kronos831
Pic added

[joe aguiar]

If it's that that u circled in red then yes just tighten it and it should be ok

Joejaguar 

[Kronos831]

i suppose i could, but how? there is no screw to do so.

[joe aguiar]

Ok I'm gonna check it out asap get u an answer in next hr or so I found the box even tho I already packed it  I'll open it up and tell u

Joejaguar 

Edited January 21, 2020 by joe aguiar

[Louis D]

This image I found online of a Heritage 130 secondary holder seems to show the same nut on bolt assembly to tighten it to the upper tube assembly.  Perhaps yours is missing and you just need to pick one up from the local hardware store?  Perhaps your secondary holder shaft is screwed all the way in and needs backed out a bit to better center it above the primary and to allow the tightening nut to be added?

[joe aguiar]

weird i did reply hrs ago from my phone but now i can see it didnt save

ok so my sw heratage mirror is held in place to the rim of the scope and it being held by 1 nut so make sure this nut is tight.

other than that is just 1 screw that holds the mirror and 3 collimation screws

if u dont see a nut tight against the rim holding the rod then maybe the nut went missing.

was this new or used scope?

joe

[Kronos831]

Sorry louis , but I cant view the image you sent fore some reason. Are you talking about this nut right here?

 

also the scope is new , how do I tighten in , what screwdriver do I need?

[Louis D]

3 hours ago, Kronos831 said:

Sorry louis , but I cant view the image you sent fore some reason. Are you talking about this nut right here?

 

also the scope is new , how do I tighten in , what screwdriver do I need?

Yep, that's the one.  You'll need an open end wrench/spanner, either of a fixed size or adjustable (often called a Crescent® wrench in the US).  While holding the secondary holder in the proper position to have it aimed directly at the primary, tighten that nut down against the upper tube ring.  The binding action should keep the secondary from twisting.  If it keeps working loose, try fitting a lock washer between it and the upper tube ring (after completely unscrewing the holder bolt) to prevent it from loosening.  Just note the number of exposed threads before removing it so you can reinsert it to the same centered position.

[LukeSkywatcher]

On 20/01/2020 at 22:08, joe aguiar said:

If it's that that u circled in red then yes just tighten it and it should be ok

Joejaguar 

Yep, thats how to do it. Just tighten the threaded shaft holding the secondary mirror in place. My Heritage had the same problem when it arrived from UK. 

You may need to colimate afterwards, but I didnt.

[LukeSkywatcher]

On 21/01/2020 at 18:30, Kronos831 said:

i suppose i could, but how? there is no screw to do so.

The stick holding the secondary mirror just tightens/loosens when you turn it.

[Louis D]

1 hour ago, LukeSkywatcher said:

The stick holding the secondary mirror just tightens/loosens when you turn it.

Are you saying the nut in the photo is solidly affixed to the upper tube assembly?  If so, what keeps the bolt/shaft from rotating freely once adjusted to the proper distance to center it above the primary?  For that matter, how do you rotate the secondary holder to square it back toward the primary once the the bolt is screwed in the proper distance?