Random Question

[amateur stargazer]

hi all, this may seem a wierd question, but having taken my telescope out of storage, i tried to fit the tube back on the mount, but the mounting rings no longing close completely like they used to, it is possible for the tube to expand while in storage , if so/not how you would i go about fitting the rings back on, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Ametuer stargazer

[nicnac]

how did you store the scope?

hope its not distorted, for that very reason my telescope is stored on its end with nothing near it and in a place where the wife does not venture with the hoover

[amateur stargazer]

it was stored on end, in a wardrobe, i managed to get one of the mounts on, but a had to really force the 2 ends together, to get it tightened, but started to make unhealthy noises so took it off again.

[nicnac]

what type of telescope do you have ??

[amateur stargazer]

celestron firstscope 114EQ newtonian short

[nicnac]

the thing that comes to mind first is... has the tube distorted (disaster, listen to james blunt and cry in darkened room) or a problem with the tube rings which isnt that bad as they are cheap to replace.

have you had a good look at your OTA, a really good look

[amateur stargazer]

these were new tube rings dat i bought, which fitted fine before.

dnt no if this helps but the place it was stored was beside the hotpress cupboard, with a thin wall separating them, maybe the heat from dat affected it

OTA ??????????

[nicnac]

the 114s are made of thin aluminium arnt they?

your tube may have suffered convection due to the heat variable surroundings whilst in storage, it should be noticable though if its to such an extent that the tube rings wont close.

fingers crossed for you A.S

[amateur stargazer]

fingers crossed indeed ill leave her out in the garage for a bit, HOPEFULLY itll be arit.

Cheers for the help

[nicnac]

OTA = optical tube assembly or scope tube.

again, fingers crossed