Props for Bintel!

[Waxing_Gibbous (Peter)]

I'm sure no one really needs telling how good they are, but a big thank you to Bintel Melbourne for resuscitating (sp?) my refractor.
I had taken it in to another "professional" in Melbourne to have it cleaned after it fell in a pond. No small amount of spare change later I had it back; however the images, though clearer were not as sharp as before with CA and SA all over the shop.
The reason: the objective had not been seated properly - in fact it was essentially cross-threaded in the cell, being out by 40-45" of arc!!
After some hand-ringing, some swearing and some skillfully applied pressure the Bintel chaps had it out and cleaned and properly collimated in no time!
Top stuff!

[DavidU (Dave)]

Pete, pray tell how did your scope end up in the drink???
This will be good !
What sort of refractor??

[renormalised (Carl)]

Peter was looking for Neptune

Where else would you look for the god of the seas (and ponds) if you hadn't access to the ocean

[Waxing_Gibbous (Peter)]

In fact it was Taurus that done for me.
I'd just set up next to one of our dams and was busy aligning the finderscope, when Spike, a giant of a Black Anguish bull snuck up (bulls can walk very softly) behind me and bellowed "HELLLOOOO!!!!
I thought I was being attacked by a B-Double filled with pigs and jumped about ten feet in the air, toppling the scope and mount into the primordial ooze that is our 'nature' dam.
Spike took off like a top-fuel dragster as usually we are on good terms and I don't scream like girl at him.
I had to go all Jaques Cousteau and dive in to save the scope. It took three or four goes and I'm sure I swallowed a frog along with a kilo of algae and some mud.

I might not have bothered but the scope is a rather fine example of the Meade 102 ED/APO from the mid/late '90s. Made in the US it has a Vixen objective and of all ten or so 4" scopes I've looked through, only a Televue NP 101 and a Tak 102 have bettered it for colour and resolution. It only paid about $500AU for it, but I reckon it would cost three times that or more to replace it, so I'm VERY happy to have it back to normal.

[DavidU (Dave)]

Very nice scope (periscope LOL)

[wasyoungonce (Brendan)]

Originally Posted by Waxing_Gibbous

I had taken it in to another "professional" in Melbourne to have it cleaned after it fell in a pond.

I just love it..what a story....the stuff nightmares are made of.

[Waxing_Gibbous (Peter)]

All-in-all I'm pretty cack-handed. Its wise not to let me near expensive glass stuff or jittery livestock.