Telescope repair/maintenance?

**klingon** · 23rd February 2009, 11:40

Last year my partner bought a second-hand telescope on a whim, in an auction.

It has been sitting in the garage ever since, and I'm sure that's really not the best place for it! For those of you who know about this kind of stuff...

Where should we take it for a general inspection and clean?
What basic care and maintenance should we give it at home?

It's a Jason Mercury 430. It is really, really grubby (it was like that when it arrived). It has a tripod and a box of bits with it somewhere...

Please excuse my ignorance about such things - I really don't know what came over him when he decided to buy it!

**vifferman** · 23rd February 2009, 12:18

Try Jacobs in Highbury (Birkenhead). 480 5903

**klingon** · 23rd February 2009, 13:04

Originally Posted by vifferman

Try Jacobs in Highbury (Birkenhead). 480 5903

Thanks. Will do!

**dipshit** · 23rd February 2009, 19:27

Originally Posted by klingon

What basic care and maintenance should we give it at home?

If it looks like the one in the pic below like i suspect, then it is a refractor that is very rugged and low maintenance. Just keeping it clean and stored in a dry place so fungi cannot grow on the lenses will see many years of use.

**klingon** · 23rd February 2009, 20:47

That's exactly what it looks like! Thanks Mr Dipshit

Our garage is definitely dry... maybe it's not such a bad place to store it after all. Once we've got the lenses clean and nice we'll take it up north, away from the city, and see what we can see in that great big starry sky.

**dipshit** · 23rd February 2009, 20:55

Even looking at the moon and Jupiter and Saturn from your urban backyard with that small scope will be an eye opener!

**Ixion** · 23rd February 2009, 21:02

Don't get me started on light pollution. How come the Greens never made an issue of that ?

Very few people under about 50 have a clue how the night should look. Not to mention the total fuckup it has made for all the night creatures whose whole ecosystem has been pretty much destroyed.

You can no longer wander at night in the darkness as you once could and see a whole different world of animal and plant life.

And 90% of it is down to bloody shopping malls and corporates.

**klingon** · 23rd February 2009, 21:20

Originally Posted by Ixion

Don't get me started on light pollution. How come the Greens never made an issue of that ?

Very few people under about 50 have a clue how the night should look. Not to mention the total fuckup it has made for all the night creatures whose whole ecosystem has been pretty much destroyed.

You can no longer wander at night in the darkness as you once could and see a whole different world of animal and plant life.

And 90% of it is down to bloody shopping malls and corporates.

I couldn't agree more. And there is absolutely no need for all the light spillage we get - there are perfectly good street light reflectors available that will focus plenty of light downwards (where we need it) AND save power because the light is used effectively so we can get away with lower lumens!

(Oh and various Green Parties around the world have picked this up as an issue. Just in case that was a genuine question.

)

**Ixion** · 23rd February 2009, 21:23

Originally Posted by klingon

I couldn't agree more. And there is absolutely no need for all the light spillage we get - there are perfectly good street light reflectors available that will focus plenty of light downwards (where we need it) AND save power because the light is used effectively so we can get away with lower lumens!

(Oh and various Green Parties around the world have picked this up as an issue. Just in case that was a genuine question.

)

Yes, it was, actually. More pertinantly, why do we need all those street lights at all. Some, yes. All, no.

**klingon** · 23rd February 2009, 21:33

Originally Posted by Ixion

Yes, it was, actually. More pertinantly, why do we need all those street lights at all. Some, yes. All, no.

Agreed again. I realise that some people (women especially) consider it a safety issue, but actually walking in and out of pools of bright light just makes you more visible to people lurking in the shadows, and ruins your night vision so you lose some of your situational awareness.

Light pollution is a very interesting subject. As usual, there are technological solutions (newfangled fluoro tubes, electronic starters, do away with ballasts...) but the social and cultural solutions are often much more effective.

**dipshit** · 23rd February 2009, 21:46

Originally Posted by Ixion

very few people under about 50 have a clue how the night should look.

Move to the south island. We still have our high remote areas.

http://www.photoshare.co.nz/PhotoSha...32e3ul3111.jpg

This place has absolutely nothing... not even the odd farmhouse. It is also where they want to build the big wind farm.

Pitch black skies with stars right down to the horizon...

http://www.photoshare.co.nz/PhotoSha..._3716ul590.jpg

Excellent place to have a good look and do some astrophotography of the Milky Way...

http://www.photoshare.co.nz/PhotoSha...e3ulbig456.jpg

**dipshit** · 23rd February 2009, 21:51

Originally Posted by klingon

Light pollution is a very interesting subject. As usual, there are technological solutions (newfangled fluoro tubes, electronic starters, do away with ballasts...) but the social and cultural solutions are often much more effective.

I was involved with the International Dark Sky Association that helped get 'earth hour' going a couple of years ago. Maybe people could be persuaded to waste less energy and light at night if they thought it was helping the planet....

**Swoop** · 24th February 2009, 08:55

Originally Posted by Ixion

Yes, it was, actually. More pertinantly, why do we need all those street lights at all. Some, yes. All, no.

When the D'auckland "power crisis" hit, a few years back, it was wonderful.

Why do we need electrically powered and lit bus stops? Apart from being an advertising outlet? The old ones worked fine, but now we have a bigger power bill and shattered glass on a regular basis.

**klingon** · 24th February 2009, 09:49

Originally Posted by dipshit

I was involved with the International Dark Sky Association that helped get 'earth hour' going a couple of years ago. Maybe people could be persuaded to waste less energy and light at night if they thought it was helping the planet....

Oooh at last! A good excuse to get involved with Earth Hour! I have to admit I was a bit sceptical about this - how was turning your lights off for an hour a year really going to help with saving power? But now I understand - it will help people grasp what darkness means!

Must get that telescope renovated in time for Earth Hour in March...