A heart stopping moment.....

[Alan White]

Listening to various things said, including the comment by Skybadger, 
I have decided to give it a go at repair if I can.
The lenses are not cracked or broken by the way, so you never know.....

[Alan White]

And I can now report that the lens cell and lenses are all realigned and tested by a very special person in Cambridgeshire.
Pronounced as all excellent and a fine lens set.
Now to sort out the remainder of the telescope. 
 

[RobertI]

18 minutes ago, Alan White said:

And I can now report that the lens cell and lenses are all realigned and tested by a very special person in Cambridgeshire.
Pronounced as all excellent and a fine lens set.
Now to sort out the remainder of the telescope. 
 

Brilliant news Alan! I think you should call the scope “Lazarus”!

Edited December 2, 2022 by RobertI

[Alan White]

10 hours ago, RobertI said:

Brilliant news Alan! I think you should call the scope “Lazarus”!

The scope has always been with no name, but that is quite a suggestion.
The name may offend some, but……

[dweller25]

Or Phoenix ?

[Highburymark]

Great news Alan - it will become an even more prized scope once it’s all finished. 

[Alan White]

The cell has been returned after a very long journey, Royal Mail decided they wanted to test the packaging via its network for a few day.
Looks super and apart from a bit of missing paint, all looks as it was before the moment.

I have assembled it to the scope, but the focuser does need replacement and will be soon I hope.

But on WL it was very good, bur a star test will confirm our optical gurus analysis and repair.

I am beyond happy, truly amazed that things worked out this way for me.

I will report back after focuser replaced and star tested 😁

Edited December 6, 2022 by Alan White

[RobertI]

Superb Alan. You've both been through alot, hopefully it's brought you closer together.  

[Space Hopper]

I'm pleased to hear the scope has been repaired.

Perhaps it would be worth considering changing over to a  Losmandy type rail to prevent any chance of this happening again ?

 

[JeremyS]

Wonderful news Alan 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[AstroNash]

On 29/10/2022 at 22:47, JeremyS said:

Really sorry to hear this sickening news, Alan. Bad times! Good the insurance is paying up, though.

It was very hard to hear! I’m sorry to hear that’s happened. On this topic, what insurance recommendations are out there for premium scopes?

AstroNash

[powerlord]

On 02/12/2022 at 20:57, Alan White said:

And I can now report that the lens cell and lenses are all realigned and tested by a very special person in Cambridgeshire.
Pronounced as all excellent and a fine lens set.
Now to sort out the remainder of the telescope. 
 

Good to here. I noticed es making an appearance on astrobiscuits latest video. Nice to put a face to a name there.

Hey -  it's what we pay insurance for... Many years ago I came home to find the main stop cock had blown off the main water inlet under my kitchen sink. So the ground floor was flooded with water about a foot deep.

The insurance (aviva) were absolute stars.. They had industrial dehumidifiers in place next day.. No issues replacing solid oak flooring in living room which was warping, etc. The real test was, being a techy geek I had had 4.. Yes 4.. Laptops all sitting on the floor in my study as I'd been upgrading stuff.. Of course all 4 were under water. I expected some hassle claiming there, but no bother either. When something nasty happens, u feel a bit better when at least insurance wise you know its in hand.👍

[Alan White]

16 hours ago, Space Hopper said:

I'm pleased to hear the scope has been repaired.

Perhaps it would be worth considering changing over to a  Losmandy type rail to prevent any chance of this happening again ?

 

Thank you, I am amazed we have got this far, the scope truly does deserve the name Lazarus.

The rail was not the issue, it was lack of stop at the end, now cured with a small nut and bolt,
something that I should have done years ago, but thought inconvenient.....if only I had realised.

Edited December 7, 2022 by Alan White
typos of course

[Alan White]

The latest and probably last update on Lazarus.

The donor focuser arrived and I have now assembled a franken focuser, in fact it looks just like a perfect dual speed Vixen focuser,
because that is what it now is, thanks to the donor parts that allowed this.

In fact the focuser is now smoother than it ever was, the optics are now Es tested and
the whole scope is now improved from how it was before.

So the only mystrey that remains, is does anyone have a paint code for the 'White' that Vixen uses?

 

[Guest]

This mishap has got me wondering if something happened to one of my scopes if my homeowners insurance would cover it . I am going to touch base with then next week

 

[dannybgoode]

On 24/12/2022 at 20:46, Mike Q said:

This mishap has got me wondering if something happened to one of my scopes if my homeowners insurance would cover it . I am going to touch base with then next week

 

Depends on the value and whether you have personal possessions and accidental damage cover. 

I have my scope specifically noted and valued on my policy. Adds a few quid to the premium but then I could never afford to replace it outright if anything happened to it

[Guest]

5 hours ago, dannybgoode said:

Depends on the value and whether you have personal possessions and accidental damage cover. 

I have my scope specifically noted and valued on my policy. Adds a few quid to the premium but then I could never afford to replace it outright if anything happened to it

I did actually check into this a bit the other day.  I need to make a list and come up with a dollar value.  A rough estimate would be 15k USD worth of stuff would be insured for damage for about 200 dollars a year.  I would probably have to go higher as my XX16G can't be replaced right now and i would have to go a different route 

[Alan White]

OK, Final post.
The scope was out in use tonight, super Star Test and then an hour of pleasure cruising the highlights and
a short Lunar session.
All is well after much heart ache and effort by more thanjust myself.

This has only been possible with help and the generosity of others, so thanks folks.

The best thing is the scope with no name now has name firmly given, Lazarus.

Very happy tonight and what a way to start the new year as well.

 

[RobertI]

11 hours ago, Alan White said:

OK, Final post.
The scope was out in use tonight, super Star Test and then an hour of pleasure cruising the highlights and
a short Lunar session.
All is well after much heart ache and effort by more thanjust myself.

This has only been possible with help and the generosity of others, so thanks folks.

The best thing is the scope with no name now has name firmly given, Lazarus.

Very happy tonight and what a way to start the new year as well.

 

Great news Alan. 👍

[Guest]

Glad everything got squared away.  I will be working up a list and getting a dollar value, then off to the insurance company i go. 

[dweller25]

On 07/12/2022 at 08:10, Alan White said:

Thank you, I am amazed we have got this far, the scope truly does deserve the name Lazarus.

The rail was not the issue, it was lack of stop at the end, now cured with a small nut and bolt,
something that I should have done years ago, but thought inconvenient.....if only I had realised.

Perhaps a small nut and bolt on both ends of the dovetail ?

[F15Rules]

That's fabulous news Alan..I'd been wondering how things were progressing after our pm exchange, then came across this threads' updates.

I think the name Lazarus is spot on, and I'm so chuffed for you that everything has worked out on the end👍.

All you have to do now is enjoy what is, and always was, a wonderful refractor.

Dave

[Alan White]

8 hours ago, dweller25 said:

Perhaps a small nut and bolt on both ends of the dovetail ?

Fitted straight away to all Vixen rails.

 

[Stu1smartcookie]

Hi Alan , I have had a terrible moment with my scope , too .... Thought I had secured my 8" SCT on my AZ-EQ6 , turned away and then heard the sound of doom as it fell out of the ADM clamp .. thought I had got away with it but there is a sizeable dent  the tube ... Luckily the optics are not affected and collimation is spot on but for me , seeing that cosmetic damage is heart wrenching . I suppose it's one of the hazards we have to bear In  The hobby but I NEVER want to have that feeling again ! 

When I commented on your sad post a while ago I wrote that unfortunately you would t be the last to suffer the fate ... How right I was . 

Stu  

Edit ... The above was even worse as I had it up for sale at that point ... Guess it's destined to be a permanent reminder for me . 

Edited January 5, 2023 by Stu1smartcookie

[Alan White]

9 hours ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

Hi Alan , I have had a terrible moment with my scope , too .... Thought I had secured my 8" SCT on my AZ-EQ6 , turned away and then heard the sound of doom as it fell out of the ADM clamp .. thought I had got away with it but there is a sizeable dent  the tube ... Luckily the optics are not affected and collimation is spot on but for me , seeing that cosmetic damage is heart wrenching . I suppose it's one of the hazards we have to bear In  The hobby but I NEVER want to have that feeling again ! 

When I commented on your sad post a while ago I wrote that unfortunately you would t be the last to suffer the fate ... How right I was . 

Stu  

Edit ... The above was even worse as I had it up for sale at that point ... Guess it's destined to be a permanent reminder for me . 

So sorry that you have had a similar fate.
I truly feel your pain Stu, it really makes you feel sick.