Bintel 8"

[tomtom]

Hi everyone.

Well, I'm kind of annoyed right now. I just went and bought the Bintel 8" for my birthday. From the Camberwell shop. They guy said some one else had bought it and returned it coz they couldn't afford it or something, and it was already assembled (the base) so I thought, "may as well, saves me from putting the base together".

I didn't really think about that it could be stuffed.

So I go to try out the focuser and it just doesn't work! It has knobs on the side to focus, but it doesn't move the focuser up or down, AT ALL!

Do you think it's broken, or am I doing something wrong?

Thanks in advance!

[Poita]

Take a picture of the focuser and maybe we can tell. Ring bintel too, they are extremely helpful and friendly. Is there a lock on the focuser, there is on my ed80.

[barx1963]

I am sure Bintel wouldn't lead you astray. There may a a couple of screws on the underside. If they are both done up the focused with not move. Undo the bottom one a bit and it should move. At least that is how mine works!

[erick]

Yep. it'll be the lock screw and/or the tension screw - both under the focusser. Play with those.

[tomtom]

Ah!
Thanks guys, yeah it was the bottom screw lol
Sorry, the instruction manual was really not very helpful and didn't mention anything about that.

I also have one other question at the moment....
The finder scope, the whole bit, seemed like it was on upside down?
I may have to take a picture tomorrow to show what I mean, but if anyone could help without it that would be good too.

The is a metal holder bit which goes on to the barrel of the scope, and then the finder slides in to that. It has a protruding piece of metal, which looked like it was supposed to stop it from falling down. But it seemed like it was upside down, so I just turned it around. And then took the actual scope part out and turned that around.

Would that be correct to do? Or was it the right way round already? Seems safer the way I have it.

EDIT: Just found a picture on Bintel which may help explain....
http://www.bintel.com.au/ImageResize.ashx?path=~/uploadimage/product/823201163450.jpg&height=170&width=170
I put that little crevice up the top, instead of the bottom.

[barx1963]

Yeah mine is set up the same way yours was. Never been a prob as I keep the screw done up the whole time, cannot remember the last time I removed the finder. If it makes you feel safer, then thats a good thing.

Glad the focuser is working now. I do remember being a tad confused the first time I encountered a Crawfor focuser as the other I had used were rack and pinion. The upper screw adjusts the tension required to move the focuser. I like mine as light as possible so at high powers I minimise movement of the scope while focusing.

Anyway, good luck with the 8". I loved the one I used for 6 months before getting the 12", saw absolutely heaps. In some ways I miss the convenience of a small dob.

Malcolm

[erick]

Yes, the finderscope dovetail foot seems back to front, but that is the way it is designed. You push it in from the bottom, until it stops against the dovetail holder, then tighten up the screw.

Be careful because you sometimes think the screw is tight, then the finderscope falls out! As temperature changes, it can loosen. A tip - put it in place, take out the screw and mark though the hole onto the dovetail foot of the bracket. Then take it out and just start a drill hole the right size - enough to put an indent in place. Then the screw sits in the hole and it won't move all night. It also means you are putting it back in the same place everytime which can assist a little to have the finder close to alignment each time you put it into place. :)

Glad the focusser is sorted. One screw is a "lock". It stops the draw tube moving and the focus knobs spin freely. The other is a tension knob. You may have to change this between a heavy eyepiece and a light one to stop the heavy eyepiece causing the drawtube to slip. But you only want it tight enough to stop slippage. Too tight all the time and you could do bearing damage. http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/../vbiis/images/smilies/sad_eyes.gif

[tomtom]

Thanks again!

Might try your fix erick. Sounds a bit less hacky than my solution lol
Might make it easier to align as well. Although I'm not sure how to do that yet.

Cheers guys! You've been extremely helpful!

[barx1963]

Now to align the finder, take your scope outside in daylight. DO NOT POINT IT ANYWHERE NEAR THE SUN! (sorry about the capitals but that is really important. I always sit mine on the verandah in the shade when i need to do an alignment or any other work in daylight hours to make sure I cannot get sun into it)

Pick a distant tree, chimney pot, TV aerial anything distinctive thats is as far away as possible. Use the finder to locate it then look in the main scope with the longest length EP you have. If it is centred then you are aligned. If not move scope until you see the target in the eyepiece, then move back to the finder and adjust it until the target is in the crosshairs. Voila! it is now aligned.