Bob, Great Pix -- Thanks! for sharing. And, for getting up at 0 Dark Thirty!
Steve & BB were on the same page: I used my Mizar 130SL for the first time in months. In 7 / 10 seeing, the GRS was tougher than usual -- I had to use 180x (Radian 4) to see it clearly near meridian. No pink, all shades of gray. A large barge NE of the GRS was much easier -- jet black against the white zone. Io & Europa did quite a dance!
After Jupiter & before Moonglow became a problem, I switched to my RKEs (28 / 25x & 8 / 90x) for some sweeping & zooming in Taurus-Auriga (getting Lower every night, dang it!). My 130SL is such a versatile old scope. But, I noticed that there's resistance in the AR-1's DEC axis -- like the clutch is stuck / dragging. I had that issue with the SP's polar axis, so I removed the knob, and shot some WD-40 inside. I'll try that with the AR-1. I really don't want to take the mount offline, and break it all down to clean & re-lube.
Uh... the Mizars have quite a few parts:
*****
Used the WD-40 on both axes, spun each at least a dozen times, and now they're slicker than greased lightning:
With the ShortPod extended, I can sit on my old padded bar stool, and observe in comfort. Functionally, my 130SL is DONE. Cosmetically... I'm not gonna repaint now. JD retired, but his protégé now runs the business. She did a great job on the Kenko SC125L. I'll talk to her about all those decals this summer. Right now, I'm gonna enjoy the scope!
Edited by Bomber Bob, 15 March 2025 - 08:26 AM.
