DIY Dew Shield for less than a tenner.

[FrankRyanJr]

While I've purchased and use various commercially available dew shields I decided to try my hand at making one, mainly for saving on weight for air travel. Quite pleased with the result. Only jabbed myself with the needle a couple of times.  Hope.it helps if your thinking about making one. 

 

 

[Gfamily]

Without wishing to diss your approach; I used a sheet of Proplex (box-wall sheets used as temporary floor cover by builders), which can be bought for about £5 for a 1200x2400mm sheet from Wickes DIY shops over here. 

Cut a suitable length / width and used sticky Velcro pads to hold hold the bits around the OTA.  Folds flat, so even less volume than a foam mat, and the Velcro sticks pretty well to the plastic so less need for jabbiness.

You could probably do half your astro society members' scopes with one sheet. 

Edited February 18, 2022 by Gfamily

[Padraic M]

Nice video Frank! Good luck in Tenerife, probably the only way to get clear skies.

[FrankRyanJr]

1 hour ago, Gfamily said:

Without wishing to diss your approach; I used a sheet of Proplex (box-wall sheets used as temporary floor cover by builders), which can be bought for about £5 for a 1200x2400mm sheet from Wickes DIY shops over here. 

Cut a suitable length / width and used sticky Velcro pads to hold hold the bits around the OTA.  Folds flat, so even less volume than a foam mat, and the Velcro sticks pretty well to the plastic so less need for jabbiness.

You could probably do half your astro society members' scopes with one sheet. 

Gosh no! This is what it's all about. I've never heard of Proplex being used for dew management but I'm certainly going to pick up a sheet of it! Thanks for the info. 

[jjohnson3803]

I made one out of craft foam rubber sheet and duck tape for my 90mm.  Cost about $1 US.  Not very pretty, but seems to work.