ben290
member
Reged: 08/16/08
Posts: 56
Loc: St Louis metro
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What kind of aftermarket hard cases are available, that would fit smaller refractor tubes?
I have a 100mm 24" long scope and will likely get another 70mm 34" long OTA, and will need something to put that in as well. I have the padded Orion bag (for the 100mm tube/mount/weight); the mount and weight will do okay in it I think, but lately I've come to the conclusion that it's less than ideal for protecting the scope.
What are the choices at the lower end of the price spectrum? I don't need waterproof or airline-proof. I know Pelican probably makes something that would work well, but what that costs would probably approach what I paid for the scopes themselves.
I've seen golf cart cases but even cheap ones cost ~$100 and (I'd think) would only hold one tube at best.
All the hard rifle cases I've seen are too narrow inside.
The local Wal-Mart has a plastic truck tool box I'm going to go back and measure; it's rather big and it would still need foam, but that's doable.
Wal-Mart also has the big plastic storage bins which are not ideal but (with some proper foam and a way to keep them closed) would be cheap to do, and a lot better than the bag or nothing.
Is there anything else out there I've missed?
~
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First scope: Orion Astroview 100mm, $460
Vixen A70Lf achro OTA
Accessories so far: ~$1200 or so & climbing
consider yourself warned
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Rich N
Post Laureate
Reged: 09/22/04
Posts: 5303
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area, Calif...
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I know this is going to sound really cheap, but you can go to a shipping store and have them make a heavy duty card board box with foam padding, as if you were going to ship your OTA. They are relatively light weight, cheap, can protect your OTA from pretty good bumps. It also won't scratch the inside of your car.
Rich
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Rcade
professor emeritus
Reged: 09/04/04
Posts: 725
Loc: GA
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I have a military anti tank missle tube. Heavy but indestrutible. You can find them in Army Surplus stores for about $20.00. You will also have to cut some foam, etc.
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Clear Skies,
Rob Cade
Cave Astrola Deluxe 8" f8 (Achilles)
Stellarvue NH-II in Stardust Blue (Cleopatra)
Celestron C9.25 (Maltese Falcon)
Celestron C6R-GT (Criminal Intent)
Oberwerk 15x70
Vixen Polaris Mount
Clear Sky Chart == Macon, GA
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Jaxdialation
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/01/07
Posts: 1759
Loc: St. Augustine, FL
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You might try a double gun case. Some of these are made to stack two or more shotguns in and should be sufficiently deep to handle your scope. WalMart might have them as well.
Also do a search on "hard case" in this forum. There was a long thread with multiple alternatives about 6-8 months ago.
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John
Someone please make sure that when I die, my wife doesn't sell my astro gear for what I told her I paid for it. SST/Tak/RCOS/SBIG/CCDWare
New Zhumell Owner? Read this: New Zhumell Owner Upgrade Mega Thread
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Canadian
Vendor
Reged: 01/11/05
Posts: 623
Loc: Calgary, AB, Canada
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Your 24" would fit in a variety of toolboxes or tackle box, into which you would lay out some foam to conform to the scopes shape. You can use a little heavier density foam on the bottom, top and ends inside. Thin layers of foam can be cut and glued (spray foam adhesive) quite easily.
Staying low cost, the 70mm could be placed in some plastic drain pipe, again with foam inside, as long as you can find the pipe with a big enough ID.
If you have enough scrap lumber lying around (therefore already paid for), you could make a thin walled plywood case, to go aroung the original box. It's really just up to your imagination in this case, as you can build it many different ways, and some telescope companys sell their cases seperately, in which case you might find one ready to fit with little to no modifications. I do like the military option as well. My CR150HD resides in a TOW missle case, as if it was built for it.
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Just my thoughts, subject to change at any time.
Garry
C11
CR150HD
FLT110 TMB Triplet
ZS80FD Anniversary Edition
ZS66ED Petsval
ZS66SD Doublet
ZS66ED Triplet
GT-ONE HD
GT-ONE
CG5GT
EZ Touch
RASC Calgary
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Al Canarelli
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/06/07
Posts: 1539
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I hesitate to bring this up only because it may be very difficult to find one of these cases available today. Nevertheless, about 5 or 6 years ago, I bought a Army Tow Missile launcher case from an Army/Navy store for less than $50. This is a very heavy duty plastic case complete with cut out foam to fit the missile launcher, which just happens to fit a 6" Chinese refractor as though it was made for that purpose. As I said, I'm not certain that you can find one today, as the astronomy community has already bought all these cases up several years ago...but you could try.
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stars_in_my_eyes
sage
Reged: 03/24/08
Posts: 437
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This is what you want...
Cheap and good.
http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-Consumer-Storage-028001L-Structural/dp/B000KN470Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1222135127&sr=1-1
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stars_in_my_eyes
sage
Reged: 03/24/08
Posts: 437
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Oops...just noticed that you have a longer scope coming.
For the longer OTA try these...
http://www.shopatron.com/product/product_id=SKB2SKB-4812WS/328.0
Your local golf shop will likely have them for $20-50 used.
I use for a Celestron CR6...works great.
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ben290
member
Reged: 08/16/08
Posts: 56
Loc: St Louis metro
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The stanley toolbox is 28" long overall, but it has handles recessed into the ends--so it's likely only a tad more than 24" inside. Not enough room for end padding, I fear--even for just the shorter scope.
The golf club cases are good but still a bit expensive, and I think I'd need two...
The missile case is a great solution. If I had a 6" I'd probably look for one, but I dunno how I'd get a 4" and a 3" in there as nicely.
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Here is a person who used a cheap housewares storage box:
http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/astro/sctcase/sctcase.html
I decided against these because there's nothing holding the lid on well.
I don't expect the case to protect my scopes from a ten-foot drop, but (in the linked example) if the case ever rolls over, the lid will probably pop off and the scope will roll out.
I got a couple of $20 utility storage boxes from Wal-Mart I'm gonna try to join end-to-end somehow. These have buckles on the lid, so they won't come open just from rolling over. This should have plenty of room for what I need and not cost much, though it's still going to be near $100 or so. Cases were $20 each, some wood and bolts to join them, and I'll probably have to order a $45 sheet of eggcrate foam to line it with.
~
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First scope: Orion Astroview 100mm, $460
Vixen A70Lf achro OTA
Accessories so far: ~$1200 or so & climbing
consider yourself warned
Edited by ben290 (09/23/08 05:13 PM)
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6642
journeyman
Reged: 07/25/06
Posts: 8
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Hi,
For my megrez 72 FD I use a Pecican case.
It's perfect for this small refractor and some accessories.
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6642
journeyman
Reged: 07/25/06
Posts: 8
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Hi,
For my megrez 72 FD I use a Pecican case.
It's perfect for this small refractor and some accessories.
Pascal
[image]Image removed due to size limit. Please post images no larger then 800x600[/image]
Edited by LLEEGE (09/24/08 04:00 PM)
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ben290
member
Reged: 08/16/08
Posts: 56
Loc: St Louis metro
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I did run across one possible candidate, if you are looking for something for a smaller refractor:
At Cheaper Than Dirt, item # ZAA-063
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/ItemDetail.aspx?sku=ZAA-063
dimensions are 44" x 8" x 8". The end cap eats up a couple of inches internally, but if lined with some foam, a lot of smaller OTA's will still fit in there with room for some generous end-padding. The 100mm F/6 I have is only 24" long, the 70mm F/13 I ordered is 34" long.
The website price says $80, but the print catalog I just got says $60, so you would want to go hunting online for C-t-D discount codes before placing your order.
~
--------------------
First scope: Orion Astroview 100mm, $460
Vixen A70Lf achro OTA
Accessories so far: ~$1200 or so & climbing
consider yourself warned
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6642
journeyman
Reged: 07/25/06
Posts: 8
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Hi,
After re-sizing of the pic
"For my megrez 72 FD I use a Pelican case.
It's perfect for this small refractor and some accessories.
Pascal"
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Starlighter
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/03/07
Posts: 2525
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That is a sweet setup. What size is the case?
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Celestron C4-R 102mm achromat
Celestron Nexstar 6SE
Meade 80mm APO ED Triplet
Stellarvue SV102ED
Vixen A80Mf
Vixen A70Lf
CG4 mount
Vixen Porta Mount
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SMcD
journeyman
Reged: 09/21/08
Posts: 5
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Hey Ben,
No Question - contact Don Holcombe of ScopeGuard in Texas.
I have one for a D&G 5 in f12 and it is beautiful, strong and of the highest quality.
best regards,
Steve
Edited by SMcD (10/16/08 08:27 PM)
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