What was your worst astronomy purchase?

[The60mmKid]

I once bought a pair of binocular glasses because a questionable seller on CloudyNights claimed they had "sharp optics." Har har. The despicable little thing was so flimsy and impossible to align that it would immediately cause a headache and nausea when you put it on. And to rub it in further, it would pinch your nose with its sharp edges... Proof that evil exists!

Edited October 29, 2023 by The60mmKid

[jjohnson3803]

On 18/09/2023 at 21:26, Mr Spock said:

A Vixen Porta II mount. Even with a small scope it was like jelly. After only a couple of uses one of the slow motion controls broke. It went in the skip.

May I ask what you put on it?  Virtually all the VP-II owners I know of love the thing.

[Louis D]

On 29/10/2023 at 17:40, The60mmKid said:

I once bought a pair of binocular glasses because a questionable seller on CloudyNights claimed they had "sharp optics." Har har. The despicable little thing was so flimsy and impossible to align that it would immediately cause a headache and nausea when you put it on. And to rub it in further, it would pinch your nose with its sharp edges... Proof that evil exists!

That reminds of the build it yourself equatorial platform kit I bought back in the late 90s.  The problem was that it used friction sliders at an angle on the tracking board, so it could never track smoothly.  I tried substituting various wheels, but could never make it work satisfactorily.  Over $250 in 1990s dollars down the drain.

[jjohnson3803]

Probably not the worst things I've ever purchased, but I tried two different alt-az mounts without slo-mo.  They were beautifully machined and worked very smoothly, but well, I like my slo-mo.  Sold them both quite easily though.