Importance Of Dew Heaters

[Keshdogga (Casey)]

Hey IIS,

I've been taking the time over this rainy period to get those few little accessories that will make life just that bit easier when imaging. So far I've gotten myself a Bahtinov mask which should arrive soon but now i'm also thinking of investing in some dew heaters. The two times i've been able to get my gear set up I've had a hair dryer handy that was more than useful but It's pretty inconvenient. So anyway, I was wondering if someone could send me to the right place for some decent dew heaters that'd suit my SW ED80. I'm taking the easy way out here and asking the forum first instead of doing more of my own research but I think peoples opinions are the best way to make these kind of decisions Thanks for the continuing help everyone

Cheers
Casey

[erick (Eric)]

A Thousand Oaks controller and DewNot heater straps. That's my recommendation, Casey.

[Keshdogga (Casey)]

Originally Posted by erick

A Thousand Oaks controller and DewNot heater straps. That's my recommendation, Casey.

Thanks for that Eric

What size straps would suit an ED80? I think the OTA has a exterior diameter of 110mm so would a single 5'' strap work or is it common to have several straps of different and identical lengths?

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

I have both Kendrick and Thousand Oaks (4 port both) and they work a treat. When you get a strap they are normally marked "for a 3" (75mm) scope" or for a 4" (100mm) scope". Easy way is when you order your controller just tell the store you want a dew strap for an ED80. They will know what size.

[Alchemy (Clive)]

Ive got a couple of the digifire Kendrick systems.... Probably overkill for a single scope, but they work a treat ( both have 4 ports each and have 10 settings each channel) , you can buy smaller units with the straps as previously recommended.

[Keshdogga (Casey)]

Originally Posted by [1ponders]

I have both Kendrick and Thousand Oaks (4 port both) and they work a treat. When you get a strap they are normally marked "for a 3" (75mm) scope" or for a 4" (100mm) scope". Easy way is when you order your controller just tell the store you want a dew strap for an ED80. They will know what size.

Thanks for clearing that up Paul, It's actually on your recomendation that I'm looking into dew straps

Checked out the thousand oaks page http://www.thousandoaksoptical.com/dew.html Is there any place in Aus that deals them? My Astro Shop has them for $189 but maybe ordering from the US could prove cheaper given the exchange rate . It's $109 from the US without postage. Postage would be the killer here I assume.

Also, same situation with the Dew-Not http://www.dew-not.com/Order_Form.htm Is there an Aussie dealer anyone knows of?

EDIT: Forgot to ask, would I need more than one strap per scope?

[erick (Eric)]

Even with the postage, you will currently do better buying from a US dealer. Just google the items and I'm sure a number of options will come up. Just work through the dealers to see who can supply all you want in one parcel with the best postage.

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

try www.optcorp.com . Be careful though it is a very very very dangerous site

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

astrozap, thousand oaks, kendrick

http://www.optcorp.com/productList.a...kw=heater&st=2

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

http://www.optcorp.com/ProductList.a...05-288-289-291
http://www.optcorp.com/ProductList.a...05-288-289-450
http://www.optcorp.com/ProductList.a...05-288-289-290

[Keshdogga (Casey)]

Wow thanks for the links Paul Says the Thousand Oak is on backorder haha, but no hurry. Would the Kendrik Firefly range be noticably different to the Astrozap range ( http://www.optcorp.com/product.aspx?...8-289-291-6331 verses http://www.optcorp.com/product.aspx?...-289-291-12513 )? Says they use a lower power. I'm going for cheap here as you may have guessed Looks like Optcorp is the way to go though =]

[Louwai (Bryan)]

I have all Kendrick heaters. I love them.

1 x Premier Ctrlr
1 x Digi-fire 10 ctrlr
2 x Digi-fire 7 ctrlrs
+ all up about 15 straps of varying sizes, + 2 x Telrad heaters & 3 x Laser pointer heaters.

All this is for 4 scopes.


If you decide to use Kendrick I'd suggest contacting Kendrick directly. They are a great help & will provide sound advise on what to use. http://www.kendrickastro.com/astro/index.html

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

@ Bryan

[acropolite (Phil)]

I bought the Thousand Oaks controller from Star Optics a couple of months ago for $149, they had a special price at the time, it may be worth checking to see if the offer is still running.

I had one dew strap already, I bought 2 more from Bintel as it was hardly worth the trouble ordering from the US.

[jamespierce (James)]

Dew Buster controllers for us, with some Kendrick and some Dew Not straps... it will be Dew Not from now on though.

[Liz]

Funny, none of us up here in Townsville have any dew control devices.
We have terrible problems with dew, part and parcel of living in the tropics. Our scopes and books etc. get quite saturated, but we take it in our stride as part of our observing routine. Its always like it.
We stop every hour or so, cover everything up and chat for awile, then back to the scopes later on.
I actually bought a little $10 hairdryer from Repco recently, so may help a bit this year.
Lots of $$$ for those controllers and strips, yikes!! Who knows, may go down that path at some stage.

[jamespierce (James)]

Cheap compared to driving to the middle of nowhere to observe and having your session ended after 45min with dew on everything !

[Liz]

Originally Posted by jamespierce

Cheap compared to driving to the middle of nowhere to observe and having your session ended after 45min with dew on everything !

Yeah, I know, but the glass does clear after some chat, so we can start agin, and sometimes itsa nice break.

will look into it though, and the dew Not Dew seem a bit cheaper, but its the controllers that bring the cost right up.

[erick (Eric)]

If you do electronics or has a mate that does, a controller can be built with a 12V speed controller circuit, a box to mount it in and some bits - for around $40-50 max.

This controller kit, at $18, is the cheapest I have found and drives a couple of heaters well:-

http://secure.oatleyelectronics.com/...045cf9826dfd13

[Liz]

Originally Posted by erick

A Thousand Oaks controller and DewNot heater straps. That's my recommendation, Casey.

that looks good Eric.

http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=23

http://www.thousandoaksoptical.com/dew.html

http://www.dew-not.com/Order_Form.htm

What path are you going down Casey?