Cpc1100

[Harb]

Hi Guys, I have been out of astronomy for a couple of years.......to tied up with work, but I am getting the itch again lol

Anyway while I was out, I packed up my telescopes, one being a CPC1100 Celestron......
It was packed up with the eye piece end facing up.
When I pulled the cap of it the other day.....first time in a couple of years I notice that on the inside of the front glass there looks to be something like oil that has dripped down or come from somewhere in a spot that covers maybe 10% of the internal glass surface.....
the mirror is totally perfect with nothing at all on it, so I am completely lost to where the "liquid" has come from.
Anyway. it needs cleaning.........
Is there someone in Sydney that I can take it to be done, or do you recommend that I do it myself.......I am really fussy with pristine optics so it needs to be done properly.
Any help would be really appreciated

Harb

[Allan_L (Allan)]

Hello Harb,
Believe it or not, this is not uncommon.
I bought a CPC1100 that had been replaced by Celestron under warranty for this problem.
It seems a batch of CPC1100s were made with an inferior lubricant.
The lubricant is used where the primary mirror slides up and down the central column when you turn the focus knob.
Over time, it breaks down and drips onto the corrector plate.
It needs to be removed, replaced and the corrector plate cleaned.
If this is still under warranty, Celestron should replace it for free.
If it is out of warranty, I would still attempt to have it replaced by them (or repaired) as it is a known fault at manufacture.
Where did you buy it from?

Outside of sending it back to America, the only place I would consider asking to repair it would be Bintel.
However, I believe they may not be too keen because of the difficulty in the process. Neverthe less, I would use them as my first port of call if the original supplier cannot help.

Sorry, but I hope this helps a little.
At least you know you are not alone.

[Harb]

Originally Posted by Allan_L

Hello Harb,
Believe it or not, this is not uncommon.
I bought a CPC1100 that had been replaced by Celestron under warranty for this problem.
It seems a batch of CPC1100s were made with an inferior lubricant.
The lubricant is used where the primary mirror slides up and down the central column when you turn the focus knob.
Over time, it breaks down and drips onto the corrector plate.
It needs to be removed, replaced and the corrector plate cleaned.
If this is still under warranty, Celestron should replace it for free.
If it is out of warranty, I would still attempt to have it replaced by them (or repaired) as it is a known fault at manufacture.
Where did you buy it from?

Outside of sending it back to America, the only place I would consider asking to repair it would be Bintel.
However, I believe they may not be too keen because of the difficulty in the process. Neverthe less, I would use them as my first port of call if the original supplier cannot help.

Sorry, but I hope this helps a little.
At least you know you are not alone.

Hi Allan,

The scope would be well out of warranty now.......I brought it privately in near new condition about 5 years ago.

So its a job that cannot be undertaken at home then.......


Edit......... I just did a search on the web and it is very common......seems you can do a clean up yourself as long as you are very careful and mark everything to make sure everything going back in the same orientation........ might give it a go if I can't find anyone in Sydney to do it.

cheers

[casstony]

If you don't want to pull the corrector yourself, Bintel does do this type of work. They will also re-grease the baffle if needed. (probably cost around $200 for the lot, less to just clean the corrector).

[Harb]

I gave the importers an email, no answer yet, but if bintel do it, I am more than happy to pay for it......might give them a call tomorrow and see what they say....
I could do it myself, but I will be forever wondering if I have changed the performance slightly....even if I have no lol

Thanks again

[netwolf]

I would recommend Bintel for this, there techs are highly qualified. I would suggest getting them to look at the entire cpc mount and OTA.

[Harb]

Well I took all your advice and took the scope into Bintel.
They weren't to keen at first to do the job as they were worried it was a grey import, and to be totally honest I don't know where it came from as I brought it a long time ago off someone on here.....can't remember who it was, but I honestly believe it was brought from a local supplier......so for everyones info.....its best not to buy from other than a fair dincum supplier if you expect service, which is fair enough.
Anyway to their credit, they are cleaning it.....hopefully it comes up ok, but you can never tell until its done.
To their credit, Celestron Aust also Emailed me to say if I could get it there they would also look after me......which is awesome given it was so far out of warranty.
Anyway, looks like it will be ready to go monday, and home it comes.
As a result of this, I expect cloudy skies for at least 2 weeks.....sorry about that.

[Camelopardalis (Dunk)]

Not sure why Bintel would care about it being a grey import, they don't even sell Celestron

Besides, if you're paying them for a service, can't see why they should be so picky...you're asking them to clean the corrector, not replace a part under warranty

[casstony]

Originally Posted by Harb

They weren't to keen at first to do the job as they were worried it was a grey import, .

Shouldn't make any difference at all if you've purchased the scope second hand and you're paying for the work.