Wanted in Auckland NZ: packing material to ship a 8" SCT for repair

[HenryNZ]

Hi there

If any one of you has packaging foam / material for 8" SCT I would like to buy from you. I need to send my EdgeHD 800 back to the States for repair :(

I guess I can always make up something but thought those manufacturer ones would be best. Any tips for DIY packaging?

Regards

Henry

[casstony]

You can buy very large rolls of bubble wrap on ebay for about $30. Wrap the scope in 4" thickness bubble wrap and fill the rest of the box with any other packaging. It'll be more impact resistant than the original.

What went wrong with the scope - more than just cleaning needed I guess?

[HenryNZ]

It won't hold collimation and collimation changes with just slewing.
I do have packaging for a 6"RC I was thinking cutting some foam off to make it fit the 8". But a bit nervous about that as breakage in transit is not covered by warranty.

[casstony]

A possible culprit is a problem with the main mirror mounting, either a loose locking nut or improperly applied mounting compound behind the mirror. You can check for any obvious movement by removing a vent and pressing on the back of the mirror with your finger. Celestron apparently went cheap in recent years and mixed soft foam balls with the mounting compound on at least some scopes - not usually an issue but the compound has been known to fall apart.