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That freak clear sky week in October was a total trap for my gear
Got five perfect nights in a row last October, no moon, no clouds, just pure dark. I was out every single night with my Sky-Watcher 200P, pushing 4 hour sessions. On night six, I woke up to find the whole corrector plate on my main imaging scope fogged solid from the inside. The rapid temp swings from day to night that week had pulled moisture right into the sealed tube. It took three full days with a hair dryer on low to clear it out safely. Has anyone else had a perfect weather streak turn into a gear nightmare like that?
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sullivan.finley1mo ago
Those perfect stretches are brutal, man. I've started leaving my main scope in the garage to slow the temp change, seems to help a bit.
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the_andrew1mo ago
Genius move right there. That garage trick is a total game changer for thermal drift. I tried the whole gradual cool-down inside the house thing and it never worked right. Putting it in the garage first acts like a real buffer. Makes those clear nights way less stressful for sure.
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robinp7219d ago
Oh man, I feel that pain all too well. I've ruined more than a few good nights by rushing my gear outside and watching the focus drift away like a bad dream. The garage trick is something I need to try myself, though I'm worried my wife will start hiding her car out there just to make a point. @the_andrew makes a good point about it being a buffer, I guess I just need to commit to a longer routine and stop being impatient. Honestly, I'm at the point where I'll leave my scope out there for a couple hours before even setting it up, just to be safe. Better to lose a little time on the front end than to fight with a blurry image all night, right?
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