Light at the end of the tunnel

[E_ri_k]

After nearly a 5 month wait I have had confirmation that my TOA150 should be back in the country by the end of next week or there abouts. I'm pretty excited to have it back, hopefully the repairs went well. Not too keen to hear what the $$$$ figure will be, but oh well......

Had nearly a 12 month break from imaging, and after a few upgrades in the meantime, it will be good to get back into it.

Erik

[RickS]

I'm sure you'll be glad to have her back, Erik! I got my Apogee camera back a few days ago after a few months away for repairs. Really looking forward to some dark sky therapy this weekend if the weather behaves.

Cheers,
Rick.

[E_ri_k]

Good to hear Rick. I need some therapy as well :P don't know what the weather will do, but I'm expecting monsoonal rains as soon as I mount the scope! Worst case we can take pictures of the clouds!

Erik

[RickS]

I already did that the other night to test the camera :lol:

[Somnium]

it has to be a good feeling when you get back into it.

[LewisM]

It's great to get things back. I remember that feeling all too well.

Good week for Tak it seems too - my NEW, OLD STOCK dewshield for the FSQ-106N just arrived from Texas. The N has been out of production for 9 years, but Art still had a spare, in the wrap dewshield :) sure, it wasn't cheap, BUT...

[Atmos]

As long as you take the rain down to SE Vic and leave Melbourne alone :P

[E_ri_k]

Hehe, stubborn, I'd do the same. The other day I went out and just slewed the mount around for fun....

It will be good, I'm eagerly awaiting some time under the stars again....It's been too long!


Wow, that's lucky! and still in the wrap, awesome:thumbsup: Nothing is ever cheap, hey? What was wrong with the old dew shield?



Haha, well it has to come through Melbourne to get to me, so you might cop a little haha!

[Exfso]

Good news hey. What was the issue with the 150 Erik? I must have missed this one. And yes, Takahashi charge an arm and a leg for repairs:eyepop:

[E_ri_k]

Out of collimation due to a silly mistake by myself.....I forgot to tighten the dew shield and it slid down the tube with a bit of a bang....enough to mess it up I guess. Wont be doing that again!!! In fact I'm going to extend, tighten it and never take it down:lol:

I'm expecting over 1K just for the repair.....

[gregbradley]

Good news Erik.

It'll be nice to be up and running again.

Greg.

[issdaol]

Never heard of that happening before !! Looks like something I will have to watch out for.

Must have been a very big bang???

[LewisM]

My new dewshield direct from Mr. Ciampi at Tak America :) In the overall image, you can see the chip (though to the metal) in the blue band. I am leaving the old one on there for now - rationale being if it gets a knock again, no real loss and I have a spare. Besides, the dewshield has proven recalcitrant to removal thuis far, despite me knowing most Tak Thread Tricks. One needs to almost be Harry Potter...

Also, I do have a Japanese TOA manual excerpt showing how to collimate the TOA's... oddly, the Japoanese must consider we westerner's too fumble thumbed to tackle it. If you would like the excerpt, I can email it or upload it here (if it doesn't contravene copyright)

[SpaceNoob]

We may be fumble thumbed, but at least we can count to potato. :rolleyes:

[E_ri_k]

It will be great Greg, I can't wait!



Actually it wasn't very hard at all! Thats why I was so surprised it affected the collimation. I would imagine there would be a bit of weight in the hood though? Maybe something was loose? Takahashi didn't specify exactly what the case was, only that it was out of collimation.



I'll P'm you about the manual Lewis.

[sharpiel]

PM sent :)

[LewisM]

http://www.takahashijapan.com/ct-products/prod-pdf/TOA-150B.pdf

Pgs 18, 19 and 20

[sharpiel]

Thank you so much Mr M. It is a little...how can I say...Japanese..?

I did try to copy and paste into Google Translator but without much success :

Any hints..?

[E_ri_k]

Try "World Lens App" Someone suggested I try it, it actually works! A bit hard to understand because of grammatical differences, but could be helpful. It uses Google translate. You take a picture of the text and it will translate it! Pretty cool.

Erik

[RobF]

http://www.takahashiamerica.com/manuals/TOA-150B.pdf

[LewisM]

Rob, notice though that Tak does NOT include collimation instructions in the English version (your link), and it is only shown in the Japanese manual (my link).

Why they did this is anyone's guess

[RobF]

Ok - should have read bit more closely. Would certainly be interesting to read a translation.

[issdaol]

I'm always very careful with handling any of my scopes and always make sure everything is tightened down prior to and after moving.

But something to watch out for anyway.

Did you send yours back to Tak through Claude or directly yourself ??

[E_ri_k]

I'll be SUPER careful from now on....I sent it to Claude, to forward to Takahashi, however I asked if Tak can send it back directly to me, which they agreed to do. cost me $250 to send it to Adelaide, so I'm trying to save everywhere I can!

Erik

[E_ri_k]

Guess whats missing :P

[issdaol]

Ummm...The Bourbon ! :lol:

[E_ri_k]

Hows this! Had a delivery driver show up today trying to collect a large package, suspiciously similar to the one I am expecting.....I called the freight company handling the TOA150 in Melbourne, and the pickup labels have been sent to ME by mistake, and the carriers involved are not sure what happened, or who has the box!

It has made a journey from Adelaide to Japan, and back to Melbourne seamlessly, yet so difficult to ship it 300Km by road!

I'm hoping it gets sorted out soon!

Erik

[RickS]

Unbelievable! Hope it is found quickly and delivered safely, Erik!

[Akwestland]

Erik,

Thats as frustrating as all hell. I worked in logistics for years and have seen this on several occasions.

I am in Melbourne at the end of next week if i can be of any assistance.

Andrew.

P.S. We should actually meet up one day.

[E_ri_k]

Found, thankfully! After phone calls between 5 people, it was found unlabelled in the back of one of the depots! Crazy, but I feel relieved. Shipping tonight, for delivery tomorrow hopefully.



Thanks for the offer Andrew, I think its all ok now. Yes we should catch up one day, I think I still have your number?


Erik