Rodney, you plonker!

[Paul M]

The forecast is good.

I have a new reducer/flatner to first light on my recently firstlighted RC10.

My first chance to capture this here comet that's all the range right now.

Set up during dusk to have a bit of light to work with. Get powered up and set about focussing. I had no idea where focus would be with the reducer in the loop. Anyway my usual spot wasn't it. I tried driving the Sesto Senso focuser a bit either way but nothing. Then I realised the image produced looked more like a dark flat than out of focus sky. Oh, soft lad's left the end cap on. But no he hadn't. Ok, camera problem? Half an hour of playing with camera drivers and still no luck. Checked the cables. Restarted the PC. Messed some more. Shone a torch down the OTA and it didn't register. Oh, no the camera is broke?? Then family stuff got in my way. Was in a grumpy mood all through tea

Then I think, err, hold on, how many dust caps for the reducer are actually in the box? Only one?? So I dissasembled in the dark to find the inboard dust cap still on the flatner! By now I'd messed up the focusser calibration too...

The good news is, the camera is fine. I had to remove 2 x 25mm of focusser extension rings to get in range which compensated for some of the extra weight of the reducer. 

This little episode cost me about an hour!

What a plonker!!

[Ibbo!]

These things are designed to try us.

[ollypenrice]

Naturally I have never, ever, done anything like that...

Ahem.

lly