The eagle has landed

[rumples riot]

Hi all,

well I finally picked up my new Celestron 9.25 and EQ6 Mount today. I arrive at the suppliers shop only to find that he has cleaned the front corrector and it has smears all over it and lint dust on the primary, it was his first time cleaning an SCT which he admitted. He had been cleaning it radially from the secondary. :scared: I suggested to him that he ought to give it another clean and this time go around in a circle. It came up much cleaner.

Then he tells me there is no power cable and that I can use one he has spare. It does not work, power is not being transferred. Luckily I had the presence of mind to purchase an ac cable and transformer. That works.

So I trundle home and ring EXFSO to come and have a look with me while I setup. By the time he arrives I have discovered yet another problem. The RA cap that covers the Polar scope is cross threaded. However, the mount looks very solid but makes a couple of noises when slewing on maximum. Still I am happy enough. Peter arrives here and we go over the mount, the sky scan, everything seems fine. I then think to show Peter the dust which is on the Primary (I was told by the supplier that I would get a free clean; meaning it had to go to Brisbane for a full clean). I shone the torch down the tube and immediately noticed scratches on the corrector plate eminating from the secondary to the outside of the tube. :mad2: We both looked at it and said the supplier had fluffed it. I rang him soon after and he said he would replace the OTA free of charge and that it would arrive in three weeks. In the meantime I am free to use the orginal OTA free of charge.

The upshot, check everything the first day on delivery. If you have a good supplier like I have they will replace anything free of charge. Frustrating but reassuring. :)

Anyway here is a shot of the beast (eagle).

[Robert_T]

Hi Rumples, pity about the corrector plate, but that's great that you can get it replaced no fuss. Did he explain how it came to need cleaning in the first place?

Anyway, best of luck and good imaging with the new setup. We'll be expecting Damian Peach to be looking over his shoulder from now on ;)

cheers mate,

[TidaLpHasE]

:)You gotta be happy with that Paul, well not the cleaning side of things:P

Looks real nice, can't wait for some of your pics to be posted;)

[matt]

Yo Rumples

Now that is what you call a cautionary tale!!!!!!

At least you've got yours. Mine is still in transit "somewhere":lol:

What's got be jiggered is why he was even cleaning it at all?

Does it get dirty in shipping??? I thought it was packed and sealed?

And what's someone that inexperienced doing having a clean of such precision optics???:scared:

Good luck mate. Glad you're being looked after.

[davidpretorius]

well done on the new delivery, well handled on the problems that presented themselves.

I would have thought that for the $1000's you spent, it would be right first time!!!

[gbeal]

Nice to see Paul, be good to see what you can pull from it, especially Mars etc.
No doubt the pros and cons will be discussed in a future thread?

[33South]

Congratulations, shame about waiting a few more weeks for the real baby to arrive (hatch?).

Mine makes different noises,
normal tracking and slow slew - noise hardly noticable
general slewing - nice quiet telescope drive kind of noise
fast slew in RA, starting and stopping only - sort of louder whirring for 1-2 secs.

Was told that all 'sounds' normal.


Chris

[Striker]

congrats Paul,

Glad to hear it will be sorted eventualy for you.

I think you will find that original orange dovetail wont give you the support needed...I know mine with the C11 was useless....maybe something to consider down the track...maybe speak to Mick Pinner.

[rumples riot]

Hey thanks guys with the really quick responses. Wow.

Robert, dont't know about Damien Peach but that is the inspiration. I think seeing conditions and the camera he uses will influence my results. The owner said that he saw some dust on the corrector and thought it could be cleaned. He assumed that it would be like many other scopes he has cleaned. I think a natural enough mistake, one that I don't have to pay for.

Tidal I am stoked that the guy is going to do the right thing.

Matt, it should not get dirty in transit and I suspect it had been out of the box before. This guy is the local supplier of Celestrons and he has plenty of experience but not with SCT's. Guess he won't be doing that again.

Davo I am of the same opinion. However, I knew that it was all running too smoothly. Hehehe.

Gary, definitely be doing a review of both mount and scope once I get the replacement. Stay tuned!!

Chris, Mine sounds the same as you describe it, so I guess nothing to worry about.

Tony, thanks for the heads up. Although the OTA is pretty light. Thanks all the same.

[RAJAH235]

:2thumbs: Paul. Now we expect to see 'some really nice pics' when you get it set up properly. :P :poke: :D L.

[rumples riot]

Well, I have packed up the Meade and placed the tripod on the deck pending the top plate adjustments I need to make for the EQ6. Looks like the old top plate will be fine for the job. However now need my new Moonlite electric focusor. Should be here by the end of the week. That way I can place the barlow in the scope without having to use the diag. The diag screws straight onto the scope. Really weird setup.

Tried getting first light through the Celestron last night, but a massive cloud bank changed all that. Might see how well collimated this scope is today.

Tony (Striker) just wondering how you designed your top plate to accept the lug and the azimuth pin? If you read this could you reply.

Paul

[Striker]

Jonathon made me the dovetail plate.....I dont think he can make them anymore due to a job change.

Next would be Mick Pinner.

And my piggy back guide rings and top plate I got from ADM in the states.

Here.
http://www.astro.premcom.com/ADM/ADM%20Products/MDS%20Description.htm

[rumples riot]

Tony, not that top plate. I am talking about the one that allows the EQ6 to bolt onto the Pier. There is a lug on the EQ6 on the underside that goes into the tripod with the azimuth lug on top of the tripod. I think I did not ask the question right in the first place.

[xelasnave]

Wonderful news Paul that its now with you. I dont know if I would have let they guy have a second go at cleaning. Learn the sckill before you get the new one and tell them you will clean the new one personally. I saw a product on the web but it is lost to me presently, which one poured over the lens/mirror and when dry "peeled off" that appeals as one does not have to touch the surface with anything other than the product. I would love to know if the product is in Australia.
Anyways congratulations on your new scope and hope you get clear sky the night it is all ready to go.
alex

[Striker]

No your right Paul....I mis understood your question Paul...I thought it was the obvious question about the dovetail.

I got my Father in law to build the plate...we just measured it of the tripod plate....the guide lug unscrews so we just simply measured it.

He work with Stainless steel but even though I love it their is no need to go this expense....and and it is so heavy...I do feel a kind of love towards my pier....lol

[rumples riot]

Thanks guys,

Next scope is not getting touched at all until I have inspected it. Only I will be cleaning it if necessary. I have done this twice since owning my meade and know exactly what to do. First time I did it with Peter, who had done it previously with his schmidt newt. He taught me the correct procedure.

Thanks Tony, as it turns out Peter and I did some engineering today and fitting the mount to the existing top plate. We drilled and taps a hole for the azimuth lug and drilled the hole for the mount to rest in. Peter only had a 25mm drill so we had to file the other 5mm as the post it 30mm. Boy are my hands sore now. Thanks heaps Peter.

We also made a packer to act as a washer between the mount and the plate. Later I will take some pics to explain what we did. A couple of washers and a bolt for securing the mount to the plate.

Anyway the scope is now mounted to the Pier and it looks great and works very well. Here is a pic. Very happy now, all I need it the new OTA. MY moonlite electric focuser is on the way and I am almost ready to commence planetary imaging. Look out here I come.

Paul ;)

[Robert_T]

Hi Paul, that's an imposing setup - looks like it could attract the planets closer through it's own gravitational pull;). The C9.25 must be a bit bigger than I imagined as it certainly doesn't look out of place on the EQ6 (and I've seen those close up - their BIG!:P).

ENjoy!

[rumples riot]

Yeah Robert the 9.25 is a smaller diameter than the 10" Meade OTA, however it is longer than the Meade. This is due to the figure of the Primary. The whole setup is much smaller and less heavy than the Meade setup. The mount looks funny on the top plate of the pier now. The top plate has now become a shelf. Just another bonus.

Still the setup looks very cool.

[davidpretorius]

mate, that is one great setup.

I will follow you down this path in a few years time!!!

[Striker]

Nice Paul,

This type of setup is becoming more popular by the month...great value for money.

Paul if you didn't get the mount serviced and regreased I would take the OTA off and spend half an hour or even longer just turning both axixs with the clutch partialy on....you need to work it all in and get those gears working and fully greased....you may find your pec might be pretty ordinery until you do this.

It's worth doing either way.

[rumples riot]

Thanks Tony, will do. Good advice.

[rumples riot]

Well, prelimary tests done. Collimation is Ok, but not brilliant. I will need to adjust this OTA a little. Mind you seeing is not good tonight 2/10. Looked at Mars and Venus, Mars looked average however venus showed a crescent and looked pretty sharp; and very bright.

Preliminary polar alignment is quite good, must have jagged it. Will need to attend to this on a night of good seeing though. Pec training needs attending to.

Of note is that the image presented in the 9.25 of Mars and Venus does look a lot bigger than in the 10" Meade. This is very interesting given that the focal length is smaller. Don't know why this is. Maybe it is the figure of the primary?

The Mount seems to work well albeit that I had to tell it to track at sidereal rate. I would have thought that this was a forgone thing. Once this was set, it tracked quite well. It does make a low whinning noise when tracking, I suspect that this is normal though. Still it seems fine. Very solid. Vibrations die down very quickly. Just what I wanted.

Anyway, if you have some questions ask away.

[Exfso]

No probs Paul, only too glad to help mate. Looks the goods now on the pier. Pity about the ****** seeing tonight though. Yeah mate, I have found a couple of blisters as well. All things considered though, it fitted very well on the existting plate, gotta be lucky sometimes mate. As you said quite correctly, necessity is the mother of invention.

[davidpretorius]

well done team!!!

[h0ughy]

Just a question Paul, but is there any difference in your new scope to this one http://www.telescope.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=118987&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=4&iSubCat=10&iProductID=118987

[Dennis]

Hi Alex

The "pour and peel" product may be a collodion solution and it comes with a warning. I purchased a bottle from the UK and tried it on some plate glass and it worked. You pour the slightly viscous solution on and when it dries to a thin, crinkly film you pull it off and voila - a clean surface.

I then tried it on some old eyepieces and again, it worked fine. Next was my VC200L mirror and it worked fine. Then it was the turn of my Vixen 4" refractor and it stuck to the lens coatings. When I applied more to try to dissolve it, the excess seeped in between my elements, so I had to ship the lens in cell back to Vixen in Japan who were able to clean it but not repair the slightly damaged anti-reflection coatings. So, beware. It is also highly explosive by the way.

I was sure to get the collodion solution without any additives such as oils, etc. as it seems there are two types. Based on my experiences, I no longer use the stuff which is a shame as it appeared to be very effective early on.

Cheers

Dennis

[rumples riot]

H0ughy, that looks just mine except the one I have now has Celestron on the side and and bonus scratches on the corrector plate. Looks like Synta are now devaluing celestrons with scopes that are rebadged.

Interesting!!!

[h0ughy]

I wonder how much price difference there is?