Your worst experience

[meltaxa]

In my attempts to progress as a beginner, I've had a few stumbles. I try to note these down to ensure it doesn't happen again. Here are a few examples, which all seem obvious but the mistake was still made:


Drive to a star party and forgot my mount! I now have a checklist before leaving home.
The cam drops to the ground as the telescope skews. I have to double check all screws are tighten.
Blame the equipment when it was all user errors. During first light, I could not obtain focus as the scope was very jumpy upon the slightest touch. I've since bought an electronic focuser to reduce touching the scope.
Take over 30mins to PA. I still struggle with this, but am improving.
Dew. I had to use an iron to combat it ever so delicately. I now have a dew heater band and a shield on it's way.


I could think of worst things to happen, like knocking over the scope. *touchwood*.

What are your horror stories? Hopefully I can learn from them.

[Crater101]

Polar alignment is still something that, every now and then, I can't quite get right, despite having been a visual observer for many years. I get it right first go 98% of the time. The other 2% is a fiddly mess.



On one occasion I forgot to ensure the clutches on the mount were tightened when I put the scope on prior to balancing. The mount rotated sharply and I was able to grab the scope just before it rotated around and crashed into the mount.:scared2:


I don't have a list, but I have a set procedure I follow in setting up and in breaking down the scope and mount. I do things in the same order every time, and I don't move on to the next step until I"m sure the current one is finished and done with (and everything where it should be).

[m11]

I didn't realise my eyepiece case was unlocked and went to move it with the handles causing them all to roll everywhere on concrete.
The worst thing is I have done this not once but twice. You would think I would learn the first time. :sadeyes:

[croweater]

G,day. I had my 10mm Parks Gold series eyepiece in my shirt top pocket at a school outreach. I bent over to pick something up and it fell out and bounced on the cricket pitch concrete. Put a large chip in the top of the eyepiece. :( My favorite.
Cheers Richard

[Todo43]

This is only a couple of weeks ago and I'm now 2.5 years in. I have had the Skywatcher AZEQ5 for nearly 1.5 years now and have hated the pier extension part that raises it (bought the mount second hand). So about a month ago, I decided I was going to remove it. So it all went successful and my scope isn't long enough that it hits the tripod.

Apparently because of this removal, the scope is long enough. So when I was imaging in B1 skies about a month ago, I left the scope alone and went inside for about an hour. Go back outside to check on the scope and there is the scope, stuck, sitting on the leg with the gears probably grinding inside it. Dunno what the effect of the mount being belt driven has to do with the performance.

Anyway, I have since worked out that there is a certain declination that the scope will hit the legs in im not careful. So theres my great stuff up of the year.

[LonelySpoon]

My worst experience?

Managing to wind the main mirror of my C9.25 off the rod, dropping it onto the corrector plate, smashing that completely.

This was an older USA made Celestron Ultima, with the optics paired through figuring. A lovely OTA.

$4k down the drain.

Makes moving house and having to slice up my 3m dome and take it to the dump almost painless by comparison.

Neville
LSO

[Derek Klepp]

Remember this Dennis all are replaceable.Over the years telescopes slipping cameras falling.Lenses breaking in half.20+years later I have learned to slow down enjoy and recheck.With all this wet weather new old problem mould.
Take care and enjoy the hobby most of us here have had some kind of bungle.
Derek

[ausastronomer]

A 2 piece 30"/F4.6 OMI mirror. The mirror split into 2 equal pieces after the trailer it was being transported in hit a pothole on a dirt road. There was a very minor chip on the back of the mirror, which was never going to be a problem but the mirror split right where the chip was.

That was a $30,000 plus mirror, in a $60,000 plus SDM Telescope.

[croweater]

I think you win John :(

[LonelySpoon]

Ouch!

[RB]

Look on the bright side John, it's handy for splitting doubles.

:D

Sorry mate, couldn't resist...
RB

:hi:

[AG Hybrid]

:lol:



For me. I had my Mak on a HEQ5 w/ a pier extension. I hadn't tightened all one of my tripod legs all the way - apparently. It was a windy night which I'm sure didn't help. I was sitting below it, looking at something - probably trying to fathom the synscan controller which was new to me at the time and I noticed my scope starting leaning.

I looked up thinking what a majestic sight to see my new-to-me scope with the Milkyway in the background only to immediately start panicking when I saw what was happening. I immediately jumped up and put myself between it and the ground. I essentially tackled the pier like a rugby play might tackle a training dummy or another player.

In my right ear I heard a *snap* or a maybe closer to a *click*. It wasn't the telescope or the mount. I managed to save it without damage. It was a tendon in my right shoulder.

It took 2 years for that injury to heal completely.

[OzEclipse]

Hi Dennis,
Here are mine:
Driving 75km to a dark sky site and:-
1. telescope battery still on the charger at home
2. telescope battery flat
3. didn't forget the mount, but the lock on the roof boot where the tripod was stowed went dry and I couldn't get the key to turn.

I have done many trips overseas to observe solar eclipses. Rather than a packing list, I set aside an empty area of floor. I assemble my full rig in that area. every tool, nut bolt and screw needed to assemble and disassemble stays in the "quarantine zone." It goes straight from there into the luggage. Nothing gets forgotten. Equally, no tool not required for the assembly/disassembly gets packed keeping luggage weight to a minimum. I do bring a few, "emergency maintenance" items but these are usually light weight tools like mini allen keys or jewellers screw drivers, some tape and a few cable ties. I set aside rolls of tape that are running down so that I don't have to pack a big heavy roll of tape. This is an issue for international flights, not car travel.

[ChrisV]

Oh you people are really stupid!!!

I've never done anything like those disasters listed below
:ship1::question:

[Rod-AR127]

Bresser 127L slid out of it's rings and hit the ground star diagonal first.
Smashed SD, stuffed focuser and broke Barlow lens.
Thus happened three times, luckily it only reached terra firma once. I'm still super carefully.
This was at least five years ago, only just getting it working again.
Hopefully my new adaptor fits and my new focuser will give me many years of 10:1 heaven.

[Dennis]

Picking up my Tak Mewlon 180 a couple of weeks after I had forgotten that I had undone and removed the retaining/lock nut on the focuser.

The mirror and baffle assembly fell down the tube, hit the secondary and buckled the spider. Beyond repair, but like with all (minor) disasters, perspective returned with introspection and time.:)

Cheers

Dennis

[hamishbarker]

What an awful and expensive experience!



what happened to the two parts? Were they binned, or tested for residual deformation of the figure after the accident? It might have been possible to salvage two circa 15" f9 off-axis paraboloids cored from the two pieces. Such mirrors could make for two sizable, unobstructed scopes with no spider/secondary diffraction. A giant binoscope, or make one and sell one.

[AdamJL]

Dropped my 2600MC almost 1 week old when it slid out of the 80ED onto gravel.
Thankfully, zilch damage except for minor scratches and it's performed like a champ for 18 months

[AdamJL]

some more here:

https://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=190544

[LonelySpoon]

What didn't go wrong last night?

Happily watching from the warm room, as the scope did a meridian flip.

It was vertical when I heard a sudden crash-bang.

Had a camera fallen out? finder scope drop off?

Left my warm, cumfy room at the run....

Much looking, found the tray of de-humidifier I forgotten to take off the pier had fallen onto the slab.

Only thing damaged was my nerves!

Neville
LSO

[ausastronomer]

Hi Hamish,

It was one of our 3RF / Ozsky Scopes (https://ozsky.org/). We have quite a few other scopes still fully operational 2 x 25"/F5's, 2 x 20" / F5's, 5 x 18"/F4.5's, 14"/F4.5, 12"/F5 Binocular Telescope and a pair of 25 x 150 Fujinon Binoculars on a motorised Star Chair.

At the moment the scope, along, with it's 2 piece mirror is sitting in one of the volunteers garages. The scope was about 15 years old. The problem is it's now a bit of a dinosaur. Most scopes of this aperture are now much faster than F4.6, so it's not worth getting a new mirror for that scope, which essentially makes the scope structure obsolete as well. It then makes it a $60k exercise to get a new 30" scope in the F3 to F4 range. On top of that, we are all getting older and our scopes are getting heavier by the day. None of us are all that keen to take on the responsibility of storing and transporting a 30" scope. We are all pretty happy with the scopes we have custody and control of at the moment and the 25" scopes are really all that we want to deal with as we get older. The mirror was pretty decent but not exceptional. James Mulherin refigured the mirror to F4.6 from a 30"/f5 mirror that was originally made by Vaughan Parsons at Intermountain Optics. It was James Mulherin's 1st go at a mirror over 25". It's not even worth contemplating 2 sub aperture mirrors from it, as we would have no use for those scopes anyway, which would both require new scope structures.

Cheers
John B

[TeamG]

Not using my star adventurer for two years because I didn't realise that for ultra wide going hard core on PA isn't really needed

[michael_qrt]

In the spirit of the OP, mine is heading out for a week camping trip under dark skies and forgetting my eyepieces... Not a specific astro trip and no equipment destruction but painful nonetheless. At least the naked eye views were incredible!

[aandk]

Unable to use my new gear because it's constantly cloudy

[LonelySpoon]

That's just everyday astronomy...

The more expensive / exotic, the more cloud and rain.

The disaster will come when you get the clear, moonless night, set everything up then find that you have overwhelming ASCOM conflicts that weren't there during daylight hours, software updates, wifi failure, etc.

Me 2 weeks ago.

Oh, and my back went so I couldn't climb up to open the dome shutters...
(the shutter motor had already failed)

Neville
LSO

[FrancoRodriguez]

Rewiring a 12V supply to a n Eq6r mount. They used the wrong colour cabling during production and I reversed polarity unknowingly. Skywatcher doesn't even install a $1 Schottky protective diode in their products. Cooked the mount and made it smell like popcorn. I'll never not use a voltmeter again

[LonelySpoon]

Ouch!
That lets out the magic blue smoke!

If this was recently Tasco can help.

I might have an old eq8 board somewhere too.

Neville
LSO

[TwistedRider]

Worst experience so far:Being led up the garden path repeatedly with offers of assistance. Resigned to now going trial and error to get anywhere with astrophotography.

Worst "learning" experience: travels 2 hours, setup and align for an evening of visual viewing only to find I left the eyepieces at home. They are now the 1st box to get packed.

[Finbar]

1st episode.So glad to have a promising evening ahead, set up the tripod for the CPC 1100, fetched the beastie (about 30kg) and misstepped on the lower of two shallow steps. On the way down, knowing nothing could stop us, steeled self to hear shattering. The beastie took out a planter box frame, then the bottom of the mount hit the concrete path, I hit it, and we landed in the garden, me on the cat. No sound of breaking, but a rib so sore I thought it was cracked, and took weeks to stop hurting. Cat had minor scratches and dinged vent cover; optics fine, collimation fine.

2nd episode. Having travelled the 7 hours to Richmond (Qld) for star gazing holiday, discovered late Friday morning on setting up the AZEQ6 in the backyard to do some field of view measurements that I had the power cable for the CPC! Minor meltdown followed. Search online, and Testar had what I needed but realised even express post would not help as the best new moon nights would pass. Made cut lunch, drove home, overnighted, left before dawn and returned to holiday home by lunchtime Saturday. Note to self: make check lists.

[besmirched]

Noob here. Not so long ago I forgot that PHD2 had to settle or train its tracking before working. As a result, I spent too much time trying to fix something that wasn't broken.

[LonelySpoon]

Yes, coming to grips with the needs of up to 8 programs at once can take some time.

Even when experienced:
I routinely mess up NINA trying to get it to slew the scope to a target AND rotate the dome at the same time. It slews the scope, starts a centering exposure- of the inside of the dome...
All my fault for getting settings wrong on startup.

Good luck with your nights!


Neville
LSO

[Stonius]

Owch, John, I felt that one! I can't even imagine...damn.

[besmirched]

True. I started with Astroberry and I didn't get anywhere until I dumped that for NINA.

Thanks for the encouragement. I ordered a few doodads this week to hopefully make AP a bit easier.

Clear skies.

[m11]

Hi Drew,

Its been awhile since we last touched base.

I hope things are progressing better now? Sounds like you have gone more to astrophotography these days?

Mel

[skldvenom]

Dropped a 5kg counterweight on my foot nice bruise no bones broken.

[gb44]

Being at a star party and ready to enjoy observing only to be overwhelmed by smoke from building nearby.

GlennB