Eyepiece changing - Barking Dog

[209herschel (Herschel)]

Hello everyone,

I'm sorry if this sounds comical but, along with the mosquitoes (that are far better now that I've removed the water plants - thanks for the advice!), my back neighbour's dog is driving me crazy. The issue is that when I find an object I'm searching for, I stay on it a while and look through a range of eps.

Each time I change the ep, the (soft) screech from the twisting sets the dog off. Seriously, every change. I put my earphones in and listen to music most nights I'm out but I don't always feel like it. Viewing in quiet would be great! I've even tried talking soothingly to him each time he erupts but I don't he's getting more comfortable with the sound.

Is there anything I can do to make the ep entry/exit more smooth and so more quiet. Is coating the focuser interior with the thinnest film of oil/grease each time I go out a very bad idea? If anyone has had similar issues and if you've come up with a solution, I'd be very grateful to hear of it.

Thanks,
Herschel.

[Monstar (Johnny)]

I could give advice about the dog but won't. But I'd be very wary of putting any lube anywhere near eyepieces as it would be too easy to transfer to the EP glass. If the lube itself doesn't damage the coatings and glass any type of repeated ceaning to remove it will.

[mental4astro (Alexander)]

Don't put oil or grease anywhere it shouldn't go!!!

It is a sure fire way of getting the stuff all over your gear and eventually your glass! I agree with monstar.

The tolerances that astro gear is made to is necessarily tight, and unfortunately it goes with the territory. But, some items are machined smoother than others, and that is the key to quiet eyepiece interchange. Want something cheap, well it comes at a cost. Better quality/more expensive gear does not have quite the same problem.

Doggie wise, doesn't sound like you get along too well with the mutt, so a big juicy bone is out of the question - will end up costing you more than the gear you are using. But the dog is probably reacting to noises it hears regularly, such as possums, rats and mice scurrying about the place. That might be a key to solving the doggie problem.

Mental.

[ZeroID (Brent)]

Screech comes from 2 shiny ultra-smooth metallic surfaces rubbing past each other. I know it sounds slightly blasphemic to do but unscrew the barrel from the body so you don't contaminate the lens and using very fine wet & dry ( 400-600 ) lighty dress the barrel outer surface so it gets a slightly satin finish. This will break the intimate contact on a micro scale. Alcohol clean it before re-assembly.

[209herschel (Herschel)]

Actually, I was thinking of getting him a bone and then the next time I'm out and he barks, I'll give him the bone that he associates my viewing sessions with something good. Of course, I'd probably have to give him a treat each time!

Originally Posted by mental4astro

Don't put oil or grease anywhere it shouldn't go!!!

It is a sure fire way of getting the stuff all over your gear and eventually your glass! I agree with monstar.

The tolerances that astro gear is made to is necessarily tight, and unfortunately it goes with the territory. But, some items are machined smoother than others, and that is the key to quiet eyepiece interchange. Want something cheap, well it comes at a cost. Better quality/more expensive gear does not have quite the same problem.

Doggie wise, doesn't sound like you get along too well with the mutt, so a big juicy bone is out of the question - will end up costing you more than the gear you are using. But the dog is probably reacting to noises it hears regularly, such as possums, rats and mice scurrying about the place. That might be a key to solving the doggie problem.

Mental.

[209herschel (Herschel)]

This sounds like an interesting idea. If it's something very fine, it'll hopefully do the trick. If I had TV eps, I'd never consider this but these are my starting GSO plossls that came with the scope. Thanks.

Originally Posted by ZeroID

Screech comes from 2 shiny ultra-smooth metallic surfaces rubbing past each other. I know it sounds slightly blasphemic to do but unscrew the barrel from the body so you don't contaminate the lens and using very fine wet & dry ( 400-600 ) lighty dress the barrel outer surface so it gets a slightly satin finish. This will break the intimate contact on a micro scale. Alcohol clean it before re-assembly.

[N1 (Mirko)]

I can relate very well to the barking dogs problem. There are a few around my backyard too. And they bark all the time, period. Whether I change eyepieces or not doesn't actually matter. I've learnt to ignore it as it would be too much hassle to try and reason with the owners - that's whose fault it is. You can't reason with somebody who is selfish, inconsiderate and ignorant in the first place. Also there is no way I would compromise my astro gear because of someone next door.

[casstony]

I'd explain the problem to the neighbours and ask if they mind you giving the dog a raw bone to see if it calms the dog; this would alert the neighbours to your problem in a non-confrontational manner and may facilitate some other solution should the bone fail to have the desired effect.

As a follow up to the expected failure of the 'give the dog a bone' plan you could offer to buy one of those anti-bark collars that squirts citronella.

[killswitch (Edison)]

My neighbor has three yappy chihuahua's next door and they go off so much as a fart. It was driving me nuts as it affected my sleep.

So i picked up a Dazer II Ultrasonic repellant, which i was skeptical about but surprisingly it was effective. Now when they see me, they automatically go to the other side of their fence or run back in the house.

Its a hit or miss though, it has little to no effect to some dogs (like my GSD)

[Stardrifter_WA]

Originally Posted by N1

I can relate very well to the barking dogs problem. There are a few around my backyard too. And they bark all the time, period. Whether I change eyepieces or not doesn't actually matter. I've learnt to ignore it as it would be too much hassle to try and reason with the owners - that's whose fault it is. You can't reason with somebody who is selfish, inconsiderate and ignorant in the first place. Also there is no way I would compromise my astro gear because of someone next door.

I had the same problem, with several neighbours.

With one neighbour, because he was not at all approachable, I reported their barking dog to the council. The council acted on it by issuing a notice for the owners to fit a bark collar. That dogs no longer barks incessantly and has become much less of a problem.

I also approached my next door neighbour directly and asked him if he would do something about his dog constantly barking. It turned out that it had also been reported by someone else and was in the process of obtaining a bark collar. The problem is now mostly solved, in that it still barks, but no where near as much.

So, that is two down, two to go. One I may not be able to do much about as it doesn't bark often enough for the council to act. With the final dogs, two chihuahua's (yappy little sh**s that they are), I have to keep a diary of the times they bark and duration, before the council can act.

If you have a council that acts on these matters, not all do, I would strongly suggest you make a complaint to your council. The complaint has to be in writing, however, the council does not disclose who made the complaint.

Hope this is of some help.

Cheers Peter

[ZeroID (Brent)]

I have some 'yappies' over the East fence. I just ignore them. They tend to go off when they hear me moving about at anytime, day or night. I figure they are his problem as they are much closer to him than me and if he cannot control them he has to put up with the noise.

Admittedly they are not normally out at night much and they are at the far end of our section away from our house and bedrooms.