10055 replies to this topic

[deSitter]

Left it all behind. Hope something is left when i get back.

I have been following the storm very closely (not watching weather pr0n, instead using NOAA directly). It appears your area will be on the north side, which should dramatically lessen storm surge. Asking the grandfathers to send you luck.

 

-drl

[deSitter]

Left it all behind. Hope something is left when i get back.

Well Chas as I mentioned you were on the good side of the storm. There was an ANTI-surge in the bay - dropped 5 feet. That should have provided a good sink for the enormous quantity of rain - 18 inches.

 

-drl

[clamchip]

We had a dozen big leaf maples cut down and I've been cleaning up. They cut the trunks to rounds for

me to split into firewood which I've been doing. Knowing I won't be able to lift a pencil this evening I put

my Dynamax 8 on a dolly I can roll out, I've just got to star test it.

This afternoon I've been observing my daytime test targets and I must say not what I expected. 200X and

sharp as can be and I haven't touched collimation yet. I could see a slight contrast loss brought on by a

reflection from the baffle interior, I'll line the baffle with flock paper to fix that.

The DX8 is really a good looking scope, and I love the way it's built. 

Robert

 

Edited by clamchip, 12 October 2024 - 07:35 PM.

[deSitter]

We had a dozen big leaf maples cut down and I've been cleaning up. They cut the trunks to rounds for

me to split into firewood which I've been doing. Knowing I won't be able to lift a pencil this evening I put

my Dynamax 8 on a dolly I can roll out, I've just got to star test it.

This afternoon I've been observing my daytime test targets and I must say not what I expected. 200X and

sharp as can be and I haven't touched collimation yet. I could see a slight contrast loss brought on by a

reflection from the baffle interior, I'll line the baffle with flock paper to fix that.

The DX8 is really a good looking scope, and I love the way it's built. 

Robert

 

IMG_2741.JPG

IMG_2744.JPG

Surely one of the finest looking scopes ever! And the deSitter blue is perfect!

 

-drl

[Lentini]

What did I do? I took delivery of it…. This gorgeous TeleVue Oracle 3. Came with a 7mm Nagler Type 1 and TeleVue Wide Field 15mm. Probably will sell, but will play first. 

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[CHASLX200]

Well Chas as I mentioned you were on the good side of the storm. There was an ANTI-surge in the bay - dropped 5 feet. That should have provided a good sink for the enormous quantity of rain - 18 inches.

 

-drl

No clue what i got for rain. I would have gone down with the ship but the people that gave me a truck to use did not want it getting flooded so i had no choice but to stay with them in Dade city.

 

Talking about what to do with your scope i gotta give mine away at a rock bottom price if anyone wants to come get them.  Just in the way here.

Edited by CHASLX200, 13 October 2024 - 05:51 AM.

[clamchip]

Today I just couldn't do anymore tree work, I'm so crippled up from it I needed a break.

I just happened to have a prescription for pain, the B&L Criterion 4000 Alan gave me.

I find it difficult to think of two things at once. Given enough of a project, like the complete

disassembly and cleaning of an SCT, the pain is gone.

To remove the optical tube from the fork I decided to remove a fork tine rather than risk

scratching the vinyl skin on the tube. To remove a tine you must disassemble the drive

base. The base and forks should have fresh grease and I will do it next.

I temporarily put it on my Unistar for collimation tonight. 

Something very interesting is the corrector is AR coated.

Robert

 

Edited by clamchip, 13 October 2024 - 08:54 PM.

[cavedweller]

I degunked and relubed the clock drive on my Meade 8" RG. It tracked well but was very stiff to move by hand even with the clutch screws completely loose. The old grease was hardened and had to be scraped off with a razor blade. After reassembly it moved smoothly, but a substantial backlash remained which I need to troubleshoot:

 

[Bomber Bob]

What do y'all do to maintain steel counterweight shafts?  One of my StarFinder EQs tries to corrode, even with no weights on it.  I have been polishing it with steel wool, then rubbing clear machine oil into it with a soft rag.  My other SF doesn't have this problem...  Since the c/ws are cast iron, I'm diligent keeping those bores clean / rust free.

[clamchip]

I use Birchwood Casey Sheath works great.

Robert

 

[Bomber Bob]

Thanks Robert - hadn't heard of that before!

[deSitter]

Thanks Robert - hadn't heard of that before!

Well then I have a similar question.

 

My $10 Vixen is about 40 years old. The legs are in great shape structurally, but there are unsightly surface nicks here and there. I cleaned them and treated them with Johnson Wax, like I use for my chess boards. The good areas look gooder, but the flesh wounds are still obvious. What's the best way to deal with those?

 

-drl

[norvegicus]

Wood dents can sometimes be steamed out. Lay a wet wash cloth over the spot and slowly pour boiling hot water over it multiple times. The wax you applied may actually inhibit this, so maybe strip that gently first.

In general for sprucing up old tripod legs I like to gently “sand” with a red Scotch Brite pad (very fine) and then use something like Howard FeedNWax wood conditioner.

[CHASLX200]

Got all my OTA's cleaned up and wrapped like a pig in a blanky.  Whole house needs to be torn down.

[Exnihilo]

Got all my OTA's cleaned up and wrapped like a pig in a blanky.  Whole house needs to be torn down.

Sad to hear Chas.

[clamchip]

Last night I collimated my B&L Criterion after I cleaned and serviced it.

Collimation took me forever, I kept over correcting, over and over again. I'm still not completely satisfied although

I was pretty happy with the observing afterwards. This morning I noticed the secondary is not exactly centered in

it's cell and I'm sure this is contributing to my not being satisfied feeling. Wouldn't you know it, the only thing I didn't

do was remove the corrector from it's cell.

The optical tube is now back together with the mount and it sure is a pretty thing. I forgot to mention I could not

remove the tube from the rear cell. I tried strap wenches, hair dryer, leaving it out in the sun, I finally decided to remove

the primary out the front. I just happened to give it one last try with my hands and it came loose! the thread must

have been bound up tight and I must have applied just the right amount of pressure in just the right place and

it gave up it's grip without a fight.

Robert 

 

Edited by clamchip, 15 October 2024 - 12:04 AM.

[cavedweller]

I use Birchwood Casey Sheath works great.

Robert

 

post-50896-0-19074300-1591203530_thumb.jpg

Did they change the name to Barricade?

 

Also, "PLEASE NOTE: THIS ITEM CANNOT BE SHIPPED TO AN ADDRESS WITHIN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA."

[cavedweller]

I degunked and relubed the clock drive on my Meade 8" RG. It tracked well but was very stiff to move by hand even with the clutch screws completely loose. The old grease was hardened and had to be scraped off with a razor blade. After reassembly it moved smoothly, but a substantial backlash remained which I need to troubleshoot:

 

Clock Drive.jpg

The worm has too much end play even with the adjustment screw on the end of the worm firmly snug. It seems that the end bushing is seized and the screw will not close up the gap. Besides that, I recall with my Starfinder EQ that when the end play adjustment screw was tightened to eliminate the end play the worm would bind and not turn. There is something else wrong with this one. I will have to remove and teardown the worm block.

[deSitter]

Last night I collimated my B&L Criterion after I cleaned and serviced it.

Collimation took me forever, I kept over correcting, over and over again. I'm still not completely satisfied although

I was pretty happy with the observing afterwards. This morning I noticed the secondary is not exactly centered in

it's cell and I'm sure this is contributing to my not being satisfied feeling. Wouldn't you know it, the only thing I didn't

do was remove the corrector from it's cell.

The optical tube is now back together with the mount and it sure is a pretty thing. I forgot to mention I could not

remove the tube from the rear cell. I tried strap wenches, hair dryer, leaving it out in the sun, I finally decided to remove

the primary out the front. I just happened to give it one last try with my hands and it came loose! the thread must

have been bound up tight and I must have applied just the right amount of pressure in just the right place and

it gave up it's grip without a fight.

Robert 

 

IMG_2757.JPG

IMG_2760.JPG

Sure is handsome. Does it perform? Does it have a corrector or just an optical window?

 

-drl

[clamchip]

Did they change the name to Barricade?

 

Also, "PLEASE NOTE: THIS ITEM CANNOT BE SHIPPED TO AN ADDRESS WITHIN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA."

Yes it looks as though they changed the name to Barricade.

Hopefully you can buy it in person in California, good product. 

 

Robert

[clamchip]

Sure is handsome. Does it perform? Does it have a corrector or just an optical window?

 

-drl

It does have a Schmidt corrector.

A very interesting fact is the corrector has anti-reflection coatings, maybe a very late one

or is it possible B&L were getting the correctors from another source later on?

So far it performs acceptably. 

With it's1200mm focal length and a RKE 8mm 150X is the most power I have used

and I spent quite a bit of time on the moon and it is very nice.

 

Robert

[deSitter]

The worm has too much end play even with the adjustment screw on the end of the worm firmly snug. It seems that the end bushing is seized and the screw will not close up the gap. Besides that, I recall with my Starfinder EQ that when the end play adjustment screw was tightened to eliminate the end play the worm would bind and not turn. There is something else wrong with this one. I will have to remove and teardown the worm block.

This seems like a straightforward problem, if the worm has the usual setup, namely a threaded collar bearing that can be cinched up against the worm threads so there is no back and forth play. Or is it too much clearance from drive gear to worm threads?

 

-drl

[cavedweller]

This seems like a straightforward problem, if the worm has the usual setup, namely a threaded collar bearing that can be cinched up against the worm threads so there is no back and forth play. Or is it too much clearance from drive gear to worm threads?

 

-drl

Here is an annotated close up. The screw on the end is an interference fit and I believe should hold the bushing up against the worm limiting its end pay but not have much if any pressure on the bushing. But when the screw contacts the bushing, it snugs up and the gap is still there. Because of the interference fit of the screw, I was unsure of how much torque I could apply to move the bushing.

 

I applied a drop of WD40 on the outside of the bushing, backed the screw to removed the tension but still in contact with the bushing, and then hand rapped a screwdriver against the end of the bushing. The screw was then able to turn another almost full turn, and the end play appears to be mostly gone. I plugged it in, and the gears are still turning.

 

So, in short, I smacked it and its better now.

 

I will try it on Moon tonight.

 

 

.

[Bomber Bob]

Chris (Kasmos) inspired me to put a bit more effort into restoring that nice set of adjustable Vixen wood tripod legs -- I polished the bolts & wing nuts, and if the wind stays low tomorrow, I'm painting the steel tips & other hardware satin black.  But... I still haven't decided which mount they're going on!  I'm leaning towards the Kenko NES EQ, which is closest to a Vixen SP for build & capacity.  So... where to move its Mizar fixed-height wood legs?  I like having the dinky Tak SkyCancer EQ on a light Vixen metal tripod.  Ditto for the Meade 884, which is on its original tripod.  

 

Still holding out hope of nabbing a Vixen Saturn, ASTRO, or Mizar equivalent for my Dakin 4" F10.  So, I may just store them for a while.

 

On my Carton 101 F5, swapping that GSO 2" diagonal for a vintage Astronomics version let me remove one of the 2" Extenders -- the AT takes up more back-focus than the GSO.  That converted monocular looks better, and has 1 fewer points of slippage.  It's also lighter!  Long term, attaching a 2" Baader micro-focus ring to the AT diagonal would be the best solution -- may play around with parts later today...

[Kasmos]

Last night I collimated my B&L Criterion after I cleaned and serviced it.

 

 

IMG_2757.JPG

IMG_2760.JPG

Those little 4s are the best looking of the B&L/Criterion bunch. If it turns out to be good it would be a nice C90 Astro/C5 in betweener. 

 

Chris (Kasmos) inspired me to put a bit more effort into restoring that nice set of adjustable Vixen wood tripod legs -- I polished the bolts & wing nuts, and if the wind stays low tomorrow, I'm painting the steel tips & other hardware satin black.  

That's amusing... but not sure if that's a good thing or not