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Post by timwalsh on Mar 25, 2010 23:53:10 GMT
Hi all , new to this but have just bought a celestron astromaster 114 with equatorial mount for the bargain price of fifty quid !!
I got her set up and was treated to a great view of the moon tonight ( 7pm - prior to cloud / rain ) and am well pleased with it , the only problem is that the mirror is covered in a layer of dust , I would attempt to clean it myself but dont want to do more damage than good , can anyone recommend anyone offering this service or tips for some DIY ?
It is also missing the lens cap , and a fine tuning adjuster for the azimuth , does anyone know if they are available seperately ?
Any help would be greatly appreciated , many thanks , Tim Walsh , Greenisland , Carrickfergus. ;D
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Post by brianb on Mar 26, 2010 8:36:44 GMT
Welcome to the forum!
A little dust will have no effect on viewing but heavy contamination probably does need to be dealt with. There are many sites which have instructions for washing mirrors but my best advice is to try blowing the dust off with a rocket / hurricane blower (large photographic rubber bulb type) as this will probably get the mirror clean enough to be usable. Avoid "compressed air" cans (cold may crack the mirror, and staining is very likely) and garage compressed air lines (contamination by oil mist is inevitable).
You can make a replacement lens cap using cardboard & sticky tape, or do what most people do & use an ordinary shower / swimming cap which is very effective at excluding dust, spiders etc.
Don't know where you might get the adjuster but you could try the importer / UK distributer, David Hinds Ltd email astro@dhinds.co.uk
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Post by timwalsh on Mar 26, 2010 21:53:09 GMT
great job Brian , thanks for the help  I have to say , its pretty addictive ... been thinking all day about the clouds hopefully clearing to get a view later , just had a good 20 minutes viewing the moon , really crisp even through the light cloud cover ;D Hoping to get a barlow lense (2X) for some close up viewing , any ideas where to get a half decent ones ... ive seen basic ones for £19 .. are these any use ? hope you get a view at delamont , I think its clearing out there All the best , Tim. |
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Post by timwalsh on Mar 26, 2010 21:54:28 GMT
ps - downloaded this yesterday , looks like a great job ! www.stellarium.org/handy for a noob like me |
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Post by brianb on Mar 27, 2010 1:10:06 GMT
Don't know but I doubt it. Especially with a reflector with a fairly short focal ratio.
Personally I don't use a barlow at all for viewing. I do use one for imaging, I have Televue Powermate 2x, Celestron Ultima SV 2x (which is nearer 3x when used for imaging) and AE Imagemate 4x. All these are a lot more than £19 ... the cheaper ones I've tried have had their problems.
Don't go overboard with magnification. It's a common fault with beginners. 30x per inch of aperture will show everything the scope can resolve ... I rarely go over x200 with my 11 inch scope.
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Post by timwalsh on Mar 27, 2010 19:46:19 GMT
ok , thanks Brian . My biggest problem at the moment is trying to find a star lol my starpointer was out of alignment , so I practiced today at far away transmitters and getting it zero'd on than , Hopefully get some better results later . Starting to wish I'd bought a goto scope Patience is what I need I suppose Cheers again , Tim. |
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pook
Member
Posts: 147 
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Post by pook on Mar 28, 2010 21:18:05 GMT
Hi Tim,
Why don't you come along to the next meeting on 7th April in QUB and get to meet some of the characters. You'll get plenty of good advice. Also our next observing night is on the 16th April at Delamont Country Park (near Killyleagh). The craic is good and you'll also get to see and experience a selection of equipment.
Hope to see you there.
Pook
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Post by timwalsh on Mar 28, 2010 22:41:56 GMT
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