Dew control

[Nick R]

Could some one tell me what is the minimum i need to prevent this as funds are low at the moment ,

or if some one has some to sell ,

regards

Nick

[astromerlin]

Cheapest form of dew control is a hairdryer fanned over the optics now and then to warm them up a bit and keep dew off. The only problem will be noise at that time of night.

[Space Cowboy]

Rolled up camping mat. Cost me £2.50 and keeps the dew off your scope for a couple of hrs .

[Nick R]

Cheapest form of dew control is a hairdryer fanned over the optics now and then to warm them up a bit and keep dew off. The only problem will be noise at that time of night.

did think of that , but you aint seen the size of my mrs,s hair dryer , it could propel a jet

[resonator77]

did think of that , but you aint seen the size of my mrs,s hair dryer , it could propel a jet

You need 12 v hairdryer not the one you plug into mains supply:D

[Nick R]

With you :rolleyes: have not got one of those , I could see it now her standing in the bed room with wet hair and myself out side with the dryer , gonna have a look for a 12v one

[Helen]

I'd recommend the dew shield first though - stopping it getting dewed up is the key. You could even try making one out of a cardboard box as a stop gap - someone did that at the recent Salisbury star party

Helen

[Nick R]

Thanks helen , will give that a go for now

[albedo0.39]

Even cheaper... [and perhaps more long term] a correctly sized resistor. some wires, and a 12va battery. Attached resistor to secondary, run wires along secondary spider supports, add switch... connect up. Voila

[Merlin66]

Albedo0.39,

I think according to his sig panel its an etx scope...

The resisters etc would still work wrapped around the end of the tube, but the cardboard tube wrapped around the front of the scope about x1.5 the diameter of the objective long ie about 150mm plus fixing, will work very well....

[Nick R]

Cheers for the great advice as usual on this site

regards

Nick

[acey]

I agree with the dewshield option - cardboard or camping mat.

Some kind of insulation over the bottom of the scope (to stop the primary chilling too much) can also help.

The thing to remember with hairdryers, dew controllers etc is that you also need a 12V power supply, and that will set you back about £25.

[Guest AstroNerd]

I saw an article on how to make a dew heater:

Heaters

and

SkyandTelescope.com - Do It Yourself - Everybody's Do-It-Yourself Dew Heater

Which just leaves the control box.

Not tried them myself but have the father in-law on the case as he was sparky.

[steve_bham]

Ive got an astrozap dew shield (but you could make one out of a camping mat etc) and a 12v hairdrier which cost £10.

Keeps dew at bay and can also be use don EP's if they get dewed up as well.

[adamsp123]

Cheap camping mat dewshield, if you have mains supply near the scope (extension cable plus RCD) a cheap 240V hairdryer, and later if the funds are available Blinkys dew straps which are relatively cheap, dead simple to use and are excellent.

Pete

[albedo0.39]

ETX scope - whoops... my (*bad) advice was written without looking at the sign off. Apologies Nick