Sky Watcher 10" help needed

[wood88]

Hi Everyone,

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas.

My family bought my father an telescope for Christmas, as he has been fascinated about astronomy for a while.

We bought him a Sky Watcher 10 dobsonian, after some recomendation s towards the telescope.

We were able to help him to put it all together but we are struggling to focus on any stars/moon. We were able to align the finderscope, but when we point towards an object the focus is completely out even when we adjust the focusing knobs. I would assume that there wouldnt be any colimation to a brand telescope?

I have tried using a 10mm, 25mm and 32mm eye pieces all have the same problem.

Any help would be much appreciated, to explain this bluring and poor detail.

Thanks

[RAJAH235]

Hi,
A quick suggestion.

Do all the collimating & focussing out-doors in the daytime.
It makes it easier, as the object does not move.

The following is a "just in case...."
NOTE: Do not point it anywhere near the sun or leave it un-attended at any time.

For collimating, find a telegraph post/TV antenna/tree? at least a kilometer away.
Use the 32mm eyepiece.
Find the object in the telescope, centre it & adjust the finder to centre it.

For fine tuning, use the 10mm EP & repeat the process.

You should be able to check if the focuser functions normally in daylight.

Easy as...

Happy New Year.

[erick]

Some of these scopes come with an adapter that needs to be left out.

See this thread

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=82307

where this was written:-

"When I put the scope together, I attached all of the parts that came with the scope, following the manual. One of the parts was an adapter/extension between the scope and the eyepiece which looked like it had to be fitted (all the diagrams in the manual show it fitted). Using the 10mm and 25mm eyepiece I could never achieve focus.

Erick pointed it out and removed it and like magic, the problem was solved. After a slight collimation everything was perfect. I am kicking myself for never even trying this, but to be fair, I thought that it had to be fitted to the scope in order for it to work properly."

[wood88]

Thanks Erick that seemed to help a lot.
Do you know what the purpose of this extension is, just wondering when you are meant to use this extension.

Will let you know how we go tonight.

Cheers

[Blue Skies]

There is a small club in Bunbury, if you don't have any luck and you'd rather talk to someone face to face. PM me if you'd like some contact details (I'd rather not put their phone numbers on public display).