tortfeasor
journeyman
Reged: 09/07/07
Posts: 8
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Here is the deal. I was collimating the secondary filter on this scope using a laser collimator. I inserted the screwdriver into the center screw of the spider that holds the secondary. I didn't even have to put any effort into turning the driver because upon touching the screw, it immediately moved because it wasn't screwed down. At this point the collimation became seriously misaligned, so I turned the screw to try and bring it back to its original position, and at this point, it just fell onto the primary mirror. The secondary broke, and it left some large scratches on the primary.  This happened on the 2nd day of owning the scope. 
I am not sure how common this is because I am somewhat new to astronomy and telescopes. If I was reading this, it would sound to me like someone was trying to pull my leg but I can assure you that this really happened. For what it's worth, I also have an 8-inch dob and had owned it for over one year. I bought the 4.5 for better portability. Also, I was following the instructions that Orion provided in instruction manual on how to collimate the secondary.
I'm wondering what I should do next? Both of these mirrors will have to be replaced, and to be honest I really don't want to mess with this. I was honestly going to say goodbye to $230 and pitch this thing as fast as possible because I want to forget that this ever happened. Also, I have not contacted Orion or the store that sold it to me. If you have any advice, a sad amateur astronomer has big ears. Thank you in advance.
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JayinUT
member
Reged: 09/19/08
Posts: 44
Loc: Salt Lake City Area, UT
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Be honest and go to the store you bought it from (in person is better than a call, more chance to get things done) and put on some charm and ask them to exchange it since it had a defect (the screw was not set). That is what I would do.
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Lucky13
sage
Reged: 10/21/07
Posts: 277
Loc: Ashtabula, Ohio
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This is surprisingly easier to do than one would think.. It is always a good practice to keep the tube tilted when collimating so if the secondary does decide to go for a ride it will not hit the primary too hard.
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Sean
A Z10 and some other stuff 
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tortfeasor
journeyman
Reged: 09/07/07
Posts: 8
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JayinUT,
Thank you for your advice. I would love to walk into a store and just honestly explain what happened. However, I live in Asia and had this shipped from the USA.
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Rich N
Post Laureate
Reged: 09/22/04
Posts: 5303
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area, Calif...
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The three small alan screws in the holes around the center screw are the ones used to adjust the secondary mirror in that telescope.
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tortfeasor
journeyman
Reged: 09/07/07
Posts: 8
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Lucky13,
Thank you for your advice. Now I know. It's too bad you weren't here the other day to give me some guidance.
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tortfeasor
journeyman
Reged: 09/07/07
Posts: 8
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Rich N,
The Orion manual states that you must loosen those three screws first, and I had done that. The second part of the adjustment is to loosen the center screw. It states that turning clockwise moves the mirror to the front opening of the optical tube, but if you move it counter clockwise it in the mirror toward the primary mirror. I guess I should have held onto the sides of the secondary mirror when I was attempting to adjust the center screw. Thank you for your input
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tortfeasor
journeyman
Reged: 09/07/07
Posts: 8
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Does anyone have a rough idea how much each of these mirrors cost? Also, how difficult will it be to replace them? I figured that the cost of replacing the mirrors probably exceeds the total cost of the telescope, but I could be wrong. Thank you for your help.
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Jim Haley
sage
Reged: 07/04/07
Posts: 252
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If anything, I imagine they would just replace the entire optical tube.
If you can't replace the optical tube than I would try to just sell the base. I am not sure about Asia, but in the US or England, there would be a lot of people like me who purchased a 114 on the EQ mount that would love to get their hands on that starblast base.
Big Bummer!!!!
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Jim Haley
12.5" f6 Starsplitter Dob
Orion 8" XTi (with computerized object locator)
Orion 114EQ reflector
80mm f6 refractor
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sixela
Postmaster
Reged: 12/23/04
Posts: 9488
Loc: Boechout, Belgium
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Quote:
Does anyone have a rough idea how much each of these mirrors cost? Also, how difficult will it be to replace them?
Live with the scratches on the primary (they'll hurt your pride much more than the images). And the secondary isn't that expensive (especially in Asia, where you can probably either get Suzhou Synta (Skywatcher) -- the source of the Orion secondary -- or Guan Sheng Optical secondaries for very little.
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400mm f/4.46 David Lukehurst truss Dobsonian on Tom Osypowski equatorial platform
Orion Starblast (114mm f/4 reflector, Alt/Az)
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Midnight Dan
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/23/08
Posts: 558
Loc: Brockport, NY
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Orion is a VERY good company with customer service. If anyone would replace it, they would.
I would definitely give them a call ad explain what happened. It sounds like you were following the instructions when this happened. This could fall into the category of operator error, or it could be poor instructions or a problem with the original factory assembly.
They may decide it's operator error and not be able to help you out, but at least give them the chance.
-Dan
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Scopes: Celestron NexStar 8, Orion EON 72mm ED/APO on Astroview mount (EQ3)
Eyepieces: Celestron 40mm, 25mm, Baader Hyperion 13mm, 8mm, 5mm
Other: Telrad, 2x Barlow, 0.63x Focal Reducer, Dew-not strips, DewBuster controller
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phanfave
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/21/06
Posts: 1262
Loc: Pioneer Valley
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PM Sent
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SV70ED, SV102ABV, C8
Vixen Sphinx & Super Polaris, SV M1
Denkmeier II
Meade DSI II Pro
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IDA Member
Astro League At-Large Member
Planetary Society Member
Amherst Area Amateur Astronomer Association
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GeneDiG
sage
Reged: 05/31/05
Posts: 264
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This might help,
http://www.meridiantelescopes.com/primary.htm
Looks like they have a 114mm f/8 primary for $33 USD and that includes a secondary! All you'll need to do is mount them up and go!
--------------------
Gene DiGennaro
Baltimore, Md.
Celestron C-130 5" Mak
Celestron Firstscope 80eq
Tasco/Vixen 999VR
Tasco 11t Vintage Newtonian
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Lucky13
sage
Reged: 10/21/07
Posts: 277
Loc: Ashtabula, Ohio
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I made a post on the Visual Astronomy blog that hopefully will inform people of this danger. I'd hate to see this happen! Not something I had thought of much in the past.
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Sean
A Z10 and some other stuff
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Joe Lalumia
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/24/07
Posts: 2544
Loc: Rockwall, Texas, USA
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You can buy a new tube 4.5 inch on sale right now at Orion!
http://www.telescope.com/control/product/~category_id=optical_tube/~pcategory=telescopes/~product_id=09974
$110 for the whole deal!
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LX90 8" LNT, SV Nighthawk & TelePOD, SV 80/9D & M4 mount, ETX 90, Orion XT10i, 20x80 binoculars, SV-BV3s.
"The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax." - Albert Einstein
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tortfeasor
journeyman
Reged: 09/07/07
Posts: 8
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Thanks for the research; however, this tube will not work because I have a dob, so there is no place for the tube to connect to the base. Quote:
You can buy a new tube 4.5 inch on sale right now at Orion!
http://www.telescope.com/control/product/~category_id=optical_tube/~pcategory=telescopes/~product_id=09974
$110 for the whole deal!
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tortfeasor
journeyman
Reged: 09/07/07
Posts: 8
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Thank you. This probably seems like the best option. I know that these mirrors are the same size. Besides size, are these mirrors exactly the same? Will the secondary mirror have a pre-drilled screw hole?
Quote:
This might help,
http://www.meridiantelescopes.com/primary.htm
Looks like they have a 114mm f/8 primary for $33 USD and that includes a secondary! All you'll need to do is mount them up and go!
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tortfeasor
journeyman
Reged: 09/07/07
Posts: 8
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Thank you for your advice. Just for clarification, my scope is the XT 4.5 SkyQuest, not the Starblast.
Quote:
If anything, I imagine they would just replace The entire optical tube.
If you can't replace the optical tube than I would try to just sell the base. I am not sure about Asia, but in the US or England, there would be a lot of people like me who purchased a 114 on the EQ mount that would love to get their hands on that starblast base.
Big Bummer!!!!
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proud uncle
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 01/22/07
Posts: 1332
Loc: Central Texas
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Quote:
This might help,
http://www.meridiantelescopes.com/primary.htm
Looks like they have a 114mm f/8 primary for $33 USD and that includes a secondary! All you'll need to do is mount them up and go!
What will it cost to ship to Asia? Will they ship to Asia?
--------------------
Kenneth
Zhumell 10" Dobsonian (f/4.9)
2" 32mm WA eyepiece
9mm, 12.5mm, and 20mm Plossls
6mm TMB/BO Planetary
2" 2x ED Barlow
Nikon 10x50 binocular (6.5 deg FOV)
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GeneDiG
sage
Reged: 05/31/05
Posts: 264
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Looks like they handle international orders.
--------------------
Gene DiGennaro
Baltimore, Md.
Celestron C-130 5" Mak
Celestron Firstscope 80eq
Tasco/Vixen 999VR
Tasco 11t Vintage Newtonian
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