ASTERON
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 11/24/07
Loc: ISRAEL
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The Sad story of my X2 Powermate
#5123414 - 03/15/12 09:31 AM Attachment (98 downloads)
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A few years ago I purchased the 2" X2 and X4 powermates from our friends at Astronomics. It was not a cheap purchase but I slapped myself on the shoulder and reassured myself that i am investing in quality for a lifetime.
The powermate optics were of course glorious and I was quite happy with their performance.
I have scantily used them and stored them in their boxes in an air conditioned office and everything was just roses.
About a year ago I used the 2X for some observing and when I tried to open the thumbscrew and release the eyepiece, the head of the thumbscrew screwed out and remained in my hands.
At first I thought that with my Popeye fingers I just broke the thing apart (I eat my spinach every morning), but on closer examination i saw the following
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D_talley
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/07/05
Loc: Richmond VA
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Re: The Sad story of my X2 Powermate
[Re: ASTERON]
#5123419 - 03/15/12 09:32 AM
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I had that happen to my 4x Powermate. Had to put a new thumbscrew in. Works fine now.
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ASTERON
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 11/24/07
Loc: ISRAEL
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Re: The Sad story of my X2 Powermate
[Re: ASTERON]
#5123425 - 03/15/12 09:36 AM Attachment (46 downloads)
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It turns out that the thumbscrew of the powermate was made from two separate parts screwed together !
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ASTERON
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 11/24/07
Loc: ISRAEL
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Re: The Sad story of my X2 Powermate
[Re: ASTERON]
#5123439 - 03/15/12 09:41 AM
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I tried to gently pry the renegade headless part of the screw out of the powermate to no avail - it was stuck and refused to butt.
I finally had to use a pair of plyers on the D*** thing and in the process I destroyed the screw.
Oh well I thought - Who would have thunk of making a simple thumbscrew out of two pieces screwed together ? Must be a mechanical genius ! 
Little had I expected the saga that was to follow !
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ASTERON
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 11/24/07
Loc: ISRAEL
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Re: The Sad story of my X2 Powermate
[Re: ASTERON]
#5123444 - 03/15/12 09:47 AM Attachment (42 downloads)
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I called Astronomics and they said that they carry no spares for the powermate and that I sjould call Televue.
I obidiently called Televue ( at TransAtlantic Telephone rates) and Told Uncle Al of my Problem. He said that he is unfamiliar with the problem but he will send me some replacement thumbscrews. After two weeks I indeed received an envelope in the mail - Uncle Al kept his word and he sent me not one but two such thumbscrews !
Edited by ASTERON (03/15/12 09:48 AM)
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ASTERON
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 11/24/07
Loc: ISRAEL
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Re: The Sad story of my X2 Powermate
[Re: ASTERON]
#5123447 - 03/15/12 09:49 AM
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Overwhwelmed by such generosity from TV I confidently approached the renegade Powermate and tried to screw in the thumbscrew - none of the two fitted !
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ASTERON
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 11/24/07
Loc: ISRAEL
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Re: The Sad story of my X2 Powermate
[Re: ASTERON]
#5123459 - 03/15/12 09:57 AM Attachment (56 downloads)
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Well, I scratched my head, looked right and left and started crying
As I had no time to waste on this thing I just put my powermate aside and waited till I have more time.
Yesterday I had to go downtown and took the powermate with all the screwes to our old trusty "Superscrew Store".
The screw surgeon anasthesized the sick powermate and after some checkups came out with the following interesting Finding :
The renegade two piece thumbscrew was a regular metric M4, while the thumbscrew that was used in the upper 1.25" adapter on top of the powermate was a good old 8-32 American
Thumbscrew.
Here's a Picky of the two different thumbscrews peacefully coexisting on the same powermate:
Edited by ASTERON (03/15/12 09:58 AM)
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ASTERON
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 11/24/07
Loc: ISRAEL
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Re: The Sad story of my X2 Powermate
[Re: ASTERON]
#5123470 - 03/15/12 10:02 AM Attachment (51 downloads)
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Luckily enough, the screw surgeon managed to find a M4 thumbscrew with a plastic head that was the right size to replace the defunct thumbscrew.
And here is the screw for your scrutiny:
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ASTERON
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 11/24/07
Loc: ISRAEL
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Re: The Sad story of my X2 Powermate
[Re: ASTERON]
#5123473 - 03/15/12 10:04 AM Attachment (55 downloads)
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So here is the happy end of the story with the new desecrated Powermate functional again but looking like a *BLEEP* mongrel 
Edited by ASTERON (03/15/12 10:05 AM)
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Cyclop_si
professor emeritus
Reged: 03/13/08
Loc: Slovenia
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Re: The Sad story of my X2 Powermate
[Re: ASTERON]
#5123501 - 03/15/12 10:15 AM
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Nice story... nevertheless, life would be easier if whole world would use metric things. 
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Jon Isaacs
Postmaster
Reged: 06/16/04
Loc: San Diego and Boulevard, CA
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Re: The Sad story of my X2 Powermate
[Re: ASTERON]
#5123536 - 03/15/12 10:37 AM
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Quote:
Luckily enough, the screw surgeon managed to find a M4 thumbscrew with a plastic head that was the right size to replace the defunct thumbscrew.
And here is the screw for your scrutiny:
One thing to be aware of is that the TeleVue screw was probably either brass or aluminum, they are soft and are much less likely to damage the barrel of an eyepiece. Your screw appears to be steel and that will likely cause some cosmetic damage. Nylon screws are available and work well.
The reason that the original screw was two piece may have been that the inside end of the screw was flat and larger than the thread diameter. The larger diameter prevents it from unscrewing but requires a head that screws on.
Jon
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NewAstronomer
Post Laureate
Reged: 09/03/04
Loc: Northeast, PA U.S.A
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Re: The Sad story of my X2 Powermate
[Re: Cyclop_si]
#5123537 - 03/15/12 10:38 AM
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"Screws just fall out all the time, the world is an imperfect place." - The Breakfast Club
Glad it worked out for you, I think it looks better now.
If this was me, and if this happened to a Baader product of mine, I wouldn't call Germany twice and wait for a transatlantic shipment of a...screw.... I'd just goto the hardware store and buy a imperial/metric screw that fit. But that's just me!
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tugrul
member
Reged: 12/05/11
Loc: Portsmouth, NH
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Re: The Sad story of my X2 Powermate
[Re: Jon Isaacs]
#5123559 - 03/15/12 10:48 AM
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Quote:
Your screw appears to be steel and that will likely cause some cosmetic damage.
Doesn't the screw make contact with the brass ring, not the barrel?
Edited by tugrul (03/15/12 10:49 AM)
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Jon Isaacs
Postmaster
Reged: 06/16/04
Loc: San Diego and Boulevard, CA
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Re: The Sad story of my X2 Powermate
[Re: tugrul]
#5123570 - 03/15/12 10:56 AM
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Quote:
Quote:
Your screw appears to be steel and that will likely cause some cosmetic damage.
Doesn't the screw make contact with the brass ring, not the barrel?
I was assuming that it was an older style without the compression ring but looking at the photos, I think you are right, it is a compression ring type.
Jon
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Gene7
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 06/10/10
Loc: Mid Ohio, USA
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Re: The Sad story of my X2 Powermate
[Re: NewAstronomer]
#5123573 - 03/15/12 10:57 AM
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Want the world to go to Metric??? Ha Ha Ha Anyone ever calculated the waste in U.S. from the attempt? The metric gas pumps that were installed, highway signs? Perhaps a cause of the recession?
I worked for a major hand power tool company at the time. My boss was a go go brown nose to management. He had us switch to metric design drawings. They were then sent to production who RE-DREW them all in English to send to the factory, yes conversion errors and all. The plant closed shortly there after because it could not compete with Asia. Wonder why? Gene
Edited by Gene7 (03/15/12 10:59 AM)
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ASTERON
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 11/24/07
Loc: ISRAEL
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Re: The Sad story of my X2 Powermate
[Re: tugrul]
#5123590 - 03/15/12 11:07 AM
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Jon
The Televue screw is indeed brass (Nickel plated for looks).
IMHO it is simply dumb making a thumbscrew from two parts. This is simply asking for trouble - and bad engineering !
I would expect Televue to check their products before they ship. (especially for $330, they could afford a turned one-piece screw). Furthermore, I would expect TV to know the type of screw they used on one of their products.
Chris,
Going to the screw shop screwed my day ( I spent unnecessary time in there. - I would have gladly bought a replacement from Televue but they seem to be clueless about spare parts as well as having no stock of available parts).
As far as I'm concerned, this shouldn't have happened at all in a $330.00 product had they used quality parts.
I am not trying to bash TV - I was honestly expecting a better product and better service for such a price.
Edited by ASTERON (03/15/12 12:19 PM)
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NewAstronomer
Post Laureate
Reged: 09/03/04
Loc: Northeast, PA U.S.A
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Re: The Sad story of my X2 Powermate
[Re: ASTERON]
#5123635 - 03/15/12 11:34 AM
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Chris,
Going to the screw shop screwed my day ( I spent unnecessary time in there. - I would have gladly bought a replacement from Televue but they seem to be clueless about spare parts as well as having no stock of available parts).
As far as I'm concerned, this shouldn't have happened at all in a $330.00 product had they used quality parts.
I am not trying to bash TV - I was honestly expecting a better product and better service for such a price.
I hear ya. I bought a $39,000 BMW 3 Series, the run flat tires went bald in 7,000 miles (first year), BMW and Bridgestone blamed every owner of 2006/2007 3 Series for the issue (it happened to all 3 series in 2006/7 with runflats)...class action lawsuit later I was partially refunded as was everyone else. But in the meantime (years) we had to replace $1200 tires ourselves... regularly..or switch to non run flats. I got rid of the car before I had to replace the tires again.
A $330 astronomy object , I'm surprised they mailed you 2 screws to try. Was nice of them, I couldn't get anyone to answer my questions or replace anything for me from BMW! But alas, I imagine keeping 40 years worth of rings, screws and parts would overwhelm a small shop such as Tele Vue. I don't believe Orion (much bigger) sells parts to second owners of their gear, just primary owners. Let alone ship them around the world at their own expense free of charge.
As far as the world switching to the metric system, I agree! The last time I was in the UK I ordered a liter of beer and they looked at me funny...they serve in pints!!!
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ThreeD
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 12/23/08
Loc: Sacramento suburbs
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Re: The Sad story of my X2 Powermate
[Re: NewAstronomer]
#5123648 - 03/15/12 11:41 AM
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Not saying it is -- just pointing out the possibility... perhaps your Powermate wasn't actually made by TV and is a knock off that just claims to be TV.
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ASTERON
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 11/24/07
Loc: ISRAEL
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Re: The Sad story of my X2 Powermate
[Re: ThreeD]
#5123691 - 03/15/12 12:15 PM
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Hi Scott,
This is highly unlikely - I bought both Powermates brand new from our respected host (astronomics) at full price - If it a fake, they should have known about it 
At least I can claim that i am the only person on earth in possession of the extremely rare half-breed mongrel powermate (half Taiwanese/half Israeli).
I believe what actually happened is the Taiwanese supplier of TV simply pulled a fast one on TV and sold them the fancy two-part thumbscrews to save money, somehow this went below the famous TV QC radar and was sent to the unsuspecting customers.
t reminds me of the plastic ring falling off the new delos.
Edited by ASTERON (03/15/12 12:16 PM)
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Gene7
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 06/10/10
Loc: Mid Ohio, USA
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Re: The Sad story of my X2 Powermate
[Re: ThreeD]
#5123707 - 03/15/12 12:22 PM
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We do not need to be helpless over a simple threaded hole. Keep several taps on hand with your numbered drill kit to drill and tap as many sized holes as you want where ever. As far a maring a surface with a hard screw, get real. Equipment should be used to its fullest, before your grand daughter sells that power mate in a box of clothes pins for a buck at a garge sale some day. Gene
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