Many years ago (about 31 I think), I had just mounted my 10" Newtonian on a trailer and Doug & Bonnie McCombs and I went out to Simpson Springs between Christmas and New Years to photograph a Lunar eclipse. This was in the days of hypered film. As this would be the telescopes maiden trip on the trailer I was careful to use Locktite on all of the screws, nuts & bolts. We arrived just at dusk and we started to get ready. I carefully aligned the trailer with North and then removed the blue cover. It had snowed a few days before but there was only a thin crust of snow left on the ground. I had covered the ends of the OTA with some cloth covers to keep out dust. Standing at the front of the OTA I removed the front dust cover. Curiously some silver flakes settled to the ground in front of me. I thought it strange that snow had gotten into the OTA. So I looked in to see if there was any more snow. Gently rocking about half way down the tube was the primary mirror on its side. Looking further I found that the secondary was way out of alignment and seemed to actually be tilted. At the end of the tube was the mirror cell. It seems that in my haste I forgot to use Locktite on one of the three mirror clips. The bumpy ride to Simpson Springs loosened this clip and allowed the primary mirror to come out of its cell. I suspect that the last 10 miles of the road caused the mirror to bounce back and forth between the mirror cell and the secondary. Well that was along time ago and the original secondary and primary had to be replaced. They were both made by Coulter Optical and were of fair quality. Since then I have replaced both of these again with the last mirror done by Steve Dodds. If you ever get to the Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival stop by and I can show you the cracks in the side of the OTA where the original primary mirror finally came to rest. I suspect that everyone that ventures out to a remote site has a similar story to Joe's & mine. Jerry Foote ScopeCraft, Inc. 4175 E. Red Cliffs Dr. Kanab, UT 84741 435-899-1255 jfoote@scopecraft.com
Yes, Jerry, I bet they do -- and they only happen at remote sites! ________________________________ From: Jerry Foote <jfoote@scopecraft.com> To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Sent: Thu, March 18, 2010 4:04:17 PM Subject: [Utah-astronomy] An awful astronomy expedtion Many years ago (about 31 I think), I had just mounted my 10" Newtonian on a trailer and Doug & Bonnie McCombs and I went out to Simpson Springs between Christmas and New Years to photograph a Lunar eclipse. This was in the days of hypered film. As this would be the telescopes maiden trip on the trailer I was careful to use Locktite on all of the screws, nuts & bolts. We arrived just at dusk and we started to get ready. I carefully aligned the trailer with North and then removed the blue cover. It had snowed a few days before but there was only a thin crust of snow left on the ground. I had covered the ends of the OTA with some cloth covers to keep out dust. Standing at the front of the OTA I removed the front dust cover. Curiously some silver flakes settled to the ground in front of me. I thought it strange that snow had gotten into the OTA. So I looked in to see if there was any more snow. Gently rocking about half way down the tube was the primary mirror on its side. Looking further I found that the secondary was way out of alignment and seemed to actually be tilted. At the end of the tube was the mirror cell. It seems that in my haste I forgot to use Locktite on one of the three mirror clips. The bumpy ride to Simpson Springs loosened this clip and allowed the primary mirror to come out of its cell. I suspect that the last 10 miles of the road caused the mirror to bounce back and forth between the mirror cell and the secondary. Well that was along time ago and the original secondary and primary had to be replaced. They were both made by Coulter Optical and were of fair quality. Since then I have replaced both of these again with the last mirror done by Steve Dodds. If you ever get to the Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival stop by and I can show you the cracks in the side of the OTA where the original primary mirror finally came to rest. I suspect that everyone that ventures out to a remote site has a similar story to Joe's & mine. Jerry Foote ScopeCraft, Inc. 4175 E. Red Cliffs Dr. Kanab, UT 84741 435-899-1255 jfoote@scopecraft.com _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
Joe: My story didn't end as badly as yours. I'm sorry for your loss of an old friend. Summer of 2003 I was at The Valley of Fire in Nevada with my 12" LX-200, my SBIG ST237 camera and a new laptop. I was having trouble with the scope. I could not get it to align properly. I was having trouble with the camera. I was kicking rocks and using words I haven't used since Boot Camp. One pass through I tripped on a cord and pulled the laptop from the table and it hit the ground. I was really upset. Then I found the camera lying on the ground beside the tripod. Finally, I took time to stop to cool down and assess the damage. As I looked around I realized that I was standing under the best skies I had probably ever experienced and here I was cussing and kicking rocks. I came home sold everything that "buzzed", "clicked", "whirred" and bought a Dobson mounted scope. I lived that way for three years. It took that long before I went automated again. The moral of the story should be "never let a bad night with equipment spoil a good night out under the stars". Again, sorry for your loss. Steve
Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:49:21 -0700 From: josephmbauman@yahoo.com To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] An awful astronomy expedtion
Yes, Jerry, I bet they do -- and they only happen at remote sites!
________________________________ From: Jerry Foote <jfoote@scopecraft.com> To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Sent: Thu, March 18, 2010 4:04:17 PM Subject: [Utah-astronomy] An awful astronomy expedtion
Many years ago (about 31 I think), I had just mounted my 10" Newtonian on a trailer and Doug & Bonnie McCombs and I went out to Simpson Springs between Christmas and New Years to photograph a Lunar eclipse. This was in the days of hypered film.
As this would be the telescopes maiden trip on the trailer I was careful to use Locktite on all of the screws, nuts & bolts. We arrived just at dusk and we started to get ready. I carefully aligned the trailer with North and then removed the blue cover. It had snowed a few days before but there was only a thin crust of snow left on the ground.
I had covered the ends of the OTA with some cloth covers to keep out dust. Standing at the front of the OTA I removed the front dust cover. Curiously some silver flakes settled to the ground in front of me. I thought it strange that snow had gotten into the OTA. So I looked in to see if there was any more snow.
Gently rocking about half way down the tube was the primary mirror on its side. Looking further I found that the secondary was way out of alignment and seemed to actually be tilted. At the end of the tube was the mirror cell.
It seems that in my haste I forgot to use Locktite on one of the three mirror clips. The bumpy ride to Simpson Springs loosened this clip and allowed the primary mirror to come out of its cell. I suspect that the last 10 miles of the road caused the mirror to bounce back and forth between the mirror cell and the secondary.
Well that was along time ago and the original secondary and primary had to be replaced. They were both made by Coulter Optical and were of fair quality. Since then I have replaced both of these again with the last mirror done by Steve Dodds.
If you ever get to the Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival stop by and I can show you the cracks in the side of the OTA where the original primary mirror finally came to rest.
I suspect that everyone that ventures out to a remote site has a similar story to Joe's & mine.
Jerry Foote ScopeCraft, Inc. 4175 E. Red Cliffs Dr. Kanab, UT 84741 435-899-1255 jfoote@scopecraft.com
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
Thanks Steve -- my story about Valley of Fire is that my friend Conrad and I went there to photograph comet Hyakutake in March 1996. An old campground host was keeping his eye on everybody. I guess he saw me taking a picture of Hyakutake during the night -- it was gigantic, covering a huge swath of sky. The next morning he warned me that if I "get caught again" taking a commercial photo without a permit in a Nevada state park, dire things would happen. It definitely wasn't a commercial photo. I told him he didn't own the comet, which I could have photographed from anywhere.We had planned to hike around the park that day but left instead. As we drove off I couldn't help but yell at the host, "Thanks a lot, Barney Fife!" -- best wishes, Joe ________________________________ From: Steve FISHER <sfisher01@msn.com> To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Sent: Thu, March 18, 2010 5:01:31 PM Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] An awful astronomy expedtion Joe: My story didn't end as badly as yours. I'm sorry for your loss of an old friend. Summer of 2003 I was at The Valley of Fire in Nevada with my 12" LX-200, my SBIG ST237 camera and a new laptop. I was having trouble with the scope. I could not get it to align properly. I was having trouble with the camera. I was kicking rocks and using words I haven't used since Boot Camp. One pass through I tripped on a cord and pulled the laptop from the table and it hit the ground. I was really upset. Then I found the camera lying on the ground beside the tripod. Finally, I took time to stop to cool down and assess the damage. As I looked around I realized that I was standing under the best skies I had probably ever experienced and here I was cussing and kicking rocks. I came home sold everything that "buzzed", "clicked", "whirred" and bought a Dobson mounted scope. I lived that way for three years. It took that long before I went automated again. The moral of the story should be "never let a bad night with equipment spoil a good night out under the stars". Again, sorry for your loss. Steve
Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:49:21 -0700 From: josephmbauman@yahoo.com To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] An awful astronomy expedtion
Yes, Jerry, I bet they do -- and they only happen at remote sites!
________________________________ From: Jerry Foote <jfoote@scopecraft.com> To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Sent: Thu, March 18, 2010 4:04:17 PM Subject: [Utah-astronomy] An awful astronomy expedtion
Many years ago (about 31 I think), I had just mounted my 10" Newtonian on a trailer and Doug & Bonnie McCombs and I went out to Simpson Springs between Christmas and New Years to photograph a Lunar eclipse. This was in the days of hypered film.
As this would be the telescopes maiden trip on the trailer I was careful to use Locktite on all of the screws, nuts & bolts. We arrived just at dusk and we started to get ready. I carefully aligned the trailer with North and then removed the blue cover. It had snowed a few days before but there was only a thin crust of snow left on the ground.
I had covered the ends of the OTA with some cloth covers to keep out dust. Standing at the front of the OTA I removed the front dust cover. Curiously some silver flakes settled to the ground in front of me. I thought it strange that snow had gotten into the OTA. So I looked in to see if there was any more snow.
Gently rocking about half way down the tube was the primary mirror on its side. Looking further I found that the secondary was way out of alignment and seemed to actually be tilted. At the end of the tube was the mirror cell.
It seems that in my haste I forgot to use Locktite on one of the three mirror clips. The bumpy ride to Simpson Springs loosened this clip and allowed the primary mirror to come out of its cell. I suspect that the last 10 miles of the road caused the mirror to bounce back and forth between the mirror cell and the secondary.
Well that was along time ago and the original secondary and primary had to be replaced. They were both made by Coulter Optical and were of fair quality. Since then I have replaced both of these again with the last mirror done by Steve Dodds.
If you ever get to the Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival stop by and I can show you the cracks in the side of the OTA where the original primary mirror finally came to rest.
I suspect that everyone that ventures out to a remote site has a similar story to Joe's & mine.
Jerry Foote ScopeCraft, Inc. 4175 E. Red Cliffs Dr. Kanab, UT 84741 435-899-1255 jfoote@scopecraft.com
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
Careful, he has a bullet!
Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:57:42 -0700 From: josephmbauman@yahoo.com To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] An awful astronomy expedtion
Thanks Steve -- my story about Valley of Fire is that my friend Conrad and I went there to photograph comet Hyakutake in March 1996. An old campground host was keeping his eye on everybody. I guess he saw me taking a picture of Hyakutake during the night -- it was gigantic, covering a huge swath of sky. The next morning he warned me that if I "get caught again" taking a commercial photo without a permit in a Nevada state park, dire things would happen. It definitely wasn't a commercial photo. I told him he didn't own the comet, which I could have photographed from anywhere.We had planned to hike around the park that day but left instead. As we drove off I couldn't help but yell at the host, "Thanks a lot, Barney Fife!" -- best wishes, Joe
________________________________ From: Steve FISHER <sfisher01@msn.com> To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Sent: Thu, March 18, 2010 5:01:31 PM Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] An awful astronomy expedtion
Joe:
My story didn't end as badly as yours. I'm sorry for your loss of an old friend.
Summer of 2003 I was at The Valley of Fire in Nevada with my 12" LX-200, my SBIG ST237 camera and a new laptop. I was having trouble with the scope. I could not get it to align properly. I was having trouble with the camera. I was kicking rocks and using words I haven't used since Boot Camp. One pass through I tripped on a cord and pulled the laptop from the table and it hit the ground. I was really upset. Then I found the camera lying on the ground beside the tripod.
Finally, I took time to stop to cool down and assess the damage. As I looked around I realized that I was standing under the best skies I had probably ever experienced and here I was cussing and kicking rocks.
I came home sold everything that "buzzed", "clicked", "whirred" and bought a Dobson mounted scope. I lived that way for three years. It took that long before I went automated again.
The moral of the story should be "never let a bad night with equipment spoil a good night out under the stars".
Again, sorry for your loss.
Steve
Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:49:21 -0700 From: josephmbauman@yahoo.com To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] An awful astronomy expedtion
Yes, Jerry, I bet they do -- and they only happen at remote sites!
________________________________ From: Jerry Foote <jfoote@scopecraft.com> To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Sent: Thu, March 18, 2010 4:04:17 PM Subject: [Utah-astronomy] An awful astronomy expedtion
Many years ago (about 31 I think), I had just mounted my 10" Newtonian on a trailer and Doug & Bonnie McCombs and I went out to Simpson Springs between Christmas and New Years to photograph a Lunar eclipse. This was in the days of hypered film.
As this would be the telescopes maiden trip on the trailer I was careful to use Locktite on all of the screws, nuts & bolts. We arrived just at dusk and we started to get ready. I carefully aligned the trailer with North and then removed the blue cover. It had snowed a few days before but there was only a thin crust of snow left on the ground.
I had covered the ends of the OTA with some cloth covers to keep out dust. Standing at the front of the OTA I removed the front dust cover. Curiously some silver flakes settled to the ground in front of me. I thought it strange that snow had gotten into the OTA. So I looked in to see if there was any more snow.
Gently rocking about half way down the tube was the primary mirror on its side. Looking further I found that the secondary was way out of alignment and seemed to actually be tilted. At the end of the tube was the mirror cell.
It seems that in my haste I forgot to use Locktite on one of the three mirror clips. The bumpy ride to Simpson Springs loosened this clip and allowed the primary mirror to come out of its cell. I suspect that the last 10 miles of the road caused the mirror to bounce back and forth between the mirror cell and the secondary.
Well that was along time ago and the original secondary and primary had to be replaced. They were both made by Coulter Optical and were of fair quality. Since then I have replaced both of these again with the last mirror done by Steve Dodds.
If you ever get to the Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival stop by and I can show you the cracks in the side of the OTA where the original primary mirror finally came to rest.
I suspect that everyone that ventures out to a remote site has a similar story to Joe's & mine.
Jerry Foote ScopeCraft, Inc. 4175 E. Red Cliffs Dr. Kanab, UT 84741 435-899-1255 jfoote@scopecraft.com
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
Thankfully, no...and I think I've been at the game as long as you, Jerry. The Nikon episode was the worst for me, and I claimed the "stupid teenager" defense, lol. But it's never easy. The only thing worse than destroyed precision hardware is no toilet paper. No, broken hardware is worse. There's always ersatz toilet paper, even if it's a copy of S&T. [?][?] On Thu, Mar 18, 2010 at 4:04 PM, Jerry Foote <jfoote@scopecraft.com> wrote:
I suspect that everyone that ventures out to a remote site has a similar story to Joe's & mine.
participants (4)
-
Chuck Hards -
Jerry Foote -
Joe Bauman -
Steve FISHER