Telescopes and rough roads

[Darren_S]

Hi all,

I have a Skywatcher ED80 and HEQ5 mount that I am considering taking with me to the Simpson Desert for viewing and imaging. This will be a very rough trip and I am concerned about damage to my gear. Has anyone taken their gear on very rough tracks and how did it go? I am leaning towards leaving it at home but I know I’ll regret it when under some of the darkest skies in the world! I also have a 10 inch Dob - would be awesome out there but I don’t think the mirror would last 2 seconds!

[Saturnine]

Just put them in sealed, well padded, lockable cases and they should be fine. Whether it's 10km or 1000km, if they are well protected then a bit of bouncing around shouldn't hurt them. Keeping the dust out would be the main priority.

[gary]

Hi Darren,

Below is a picture of a 30 inch mirror from an SDM Dob split in half which
occurred in October 2018 whilst transporting the scope in a small caravan-sized fully enclosed
trailer with good suspension along a public gravel road near Crookwell, NSW.

The mirror was within the mirror box at the time.

I've also seen a 25" that was being transported up to Ilford in a trailer
get a chip in a corner when unfortunately a stone managed to
get up inside the trailer.

Suggest you fabricate your own thin case for the 10" and carry it in that.

[Saturnine]

I should qualify , that I was posting about the ED80 and HEQ5, not mirrored scopes. They pose a lot more problems for transport as Gary' image shows
( Ouch )

[Darren_S]

Thanks for the input. I’ll look into preparing the ED80 as Saturnine suggested but the Dob will be staying safely in the garage at home!

[gaseous]

That's one of the most disturbing photos I've ever seen. I can't begin to imagine the language that it must have elicited when they opened the trailer.

[wayne anderson]

Hi Darren,

If you pack your Skywatcher ED80 and HEQ5 mount in a well padded box and keep it inside the car and NOT in a trailer they should survive the trip very well, if you intend taking the 10 inch Dob also you may need to be a lot more careful about how well you pad the scope and don't put it in a trailer where it will bounce around, with the dob you will need to check Collimation as vibrations can cause a small shift during transport.

I often travel with my 12inch Meade LX200 packed in a well padded JMI case with wheels and it always survives the rough roads very well but it does take up the entire back seat of a medium size car.

All the best, Wayne.

[gary]

Hi Patrick,

The same trailer also houses a couple of 25" Obsessions and an 18"
Obsession. All of them come with wheelbarrow handles.

So it was not until the SDM 30" was rolled down the trailer ramps and
out onto a tennis court where it was to be used and the mirror box
cover removed was the mirror then seen to be in two pieces.

It was disappointing to say the least.

Speaking of mirror incidents, I have visited the 2.7m (107") Harlan J. Smith
Telescope at the McDonald Observatory in south Texas.

In 1970, a new employee there was disgruntled and brought a 9mm
handgun with him to work. After firing one shot at his supervisor,
he unloaded 7 rounds into the primary mirror. It says a lot about the glass
it was made of and it only left small 3mm to 5mm 'craters' in it. Still not
happy with the result, he took a hammer to it and still it would not break.

He was arrested and committed to a mental health institution.

Fortunately it did not affect the mirror's performance in any significant way.

You can still see the bullet pit marks in it today.

Best Regards

Gary

[Capricorn1(Tom)]

Hi Darren
My wife and I have a 2.5T off road caravan...do a bit off road..completed a section of the Gibb river road..will be travelling the great central road and the plenty hwy later this year..carry a AZ mount and a William Optics 88 refractor all the time in either the car or caravan(have already travelled over 30 thousand km with the gear) .
Cheers
Tom

[glend]

Darren the ED80 and mount should be fine. The Simpson Desert itself it not too hard on gear, it's the corrugated tracks you have to take to get in and out of the desert which are the bad ones. Even the Birdsville Track can be corrugated most of the time. If the gear is inside a vehicle, say on a seat, in a case, it should be fine.
You Can't do much to hurt the mount anyway. Just don't put them on the roof, or stick them in a camper trailer, etc.

[h0ughy]

I concur, I unfortunately placed a scope in the trailer as the car didn't have room left. Even though it was extra padded a small screw came loose. That was my lunt. Thankfully I was able to fix it but it could have been worse.

[MLyons]

My 16" travels in a trailer while resting on a really thick slab of "memory foam" mattress which insulates it from any vibration.
It makes no physical contact with any other part of the casing or trailer thus preventing the transmission of any road, tyre or other vibration energy from getting transferred to the scope.
One mistake most people make is they somehow leave a path for the rough road vibrations to be transferred to the scope by tying it down or packing things around the scope that provides a mechanical linkage that then simply conducts vibration from the wheel through to the scope.

[Ukastronomer]

I don't wish to sound down on the 80ed scope but is is a small low priced scope which comes in a decent case I would't worry about it it is not a fragile £5000 scope with a 20" mirror

I transport my scopes in the back of the car on the back seats
the 120 triplet is in a padded bag NOT the massive case it came in and the 8" HD Celestron Edge is on a "PILLOW" in this....

https://www.diy.com/departments/stanley-24-pro-mobile-tool-chest/261674_BQ.prd?ds_rl=1272379&gclid=Cj0KCQiA4sjyBRC5ARIsAEHsELEnu G5wiu-jzvA-5_ixDk6Qy6lfnxVpAZAVt2SHndV5mSEtNAO RVtkaArKXEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Worry less about how you transport it and more about is it "insured" against accidental damage ???




.

[Rainmaker]

I think you need to experience the Australian desert tracks to understand the OP's concern. These are not like the Welsh back roads, and insurance means nought if you're trying to see the stars a 1000 klms from the nearest streetlight.

Padded bag or case inside the vehicle, dust is the enemy

[N1]

Slightly OT, but If such a spot really exists, it would be a nice challenge to locate it. A look at LP maps suggests that 1000km radius of no artificial light (other than from vehicles and the like) isn't actually possible in Mainland Australia anymore. Which is sad, really. OTOH 500km should be plenty far enough for pristine skies.

Macquarie Island, maybe...

[Shiraz]

Suggest that you maybe release the clutches on the mount so that major vibration does not damage the gears.

[John K]

My goodness - that is the most cringe worthy and heartbreaking telescope photo I have seen in a long time!!!

For my set up with a 10" solid tube CDK scope, I place this in my rear seat of my 4WD and sit the scope on a soft pillow. A seat belt further secures the scope in place. Very easy to take in and out of the car.

My AP900 mount rides in a black plastic container which doubles as my laptop dark box and is surrounded with a table cloth and the plastic cover for the scope to ensure there is some padding in the box for the mount - weight is 20+ KG which I can lift in an out of the rear cargo area.

Clear skies.

John K.

[Darren_S]

Thanks for everyone’s replies and interest in the topic. Dob was always staying at home but ED80 will probably make the trip. Unfortunately there will be a full moon on our travels so I won’t get to experience the truly dark skies of the Simpson.

Darren.