I have had the long white tube of this telescope since around 2005. Then a few years later the lens had to be replaced due glazing of the anti reflection coatings on the glass. On the opposite end of the tube, the original eyepiece holder was functional but flimsy, so I ponied up considerable bucks for a finely machined, electric motorized focuser which works as beautifully as it looks. The new conglomeration became a workhorse for my moon and deep sky observations for several years.
Then one day I bought a larger diameter telescope which due to its mirror arrangement is less than half the length of this one. I then stopped using the refractor and stored it in the garage for a time. However, new scope has a very narrow field of view so I decided to take the refractor back out of storage and use it for wider field views of deep sky objects.
Oh no! Dampness in storage had fostered mold or mildew growth on the primary lens and it looked ruined, much to my chagrin. After a brief mouring period I decided that if it were ruined, I couldn’t make it any worse by taking it off of the tube and cleaning front and back of the lens. This can be tricky and can damage the alignment of the lense causing a distorted image.
To my great relief, the multiple, minature cobweb-like blemishes disappeared with cleaning, and I was able to remount the lens to the tube without damaging the lens or affecting the alignment. It was a great delight, recently, when I had it back under the starlight again, to see bright, pinpoint star images with no distortion or fogging. With wide angle eyepieces it was possible to get a full 2-degree field of view. Oh boy! I can hardly wait until the Seven Sisters come into later this fall.
PS–Now that the telescope has components from three different manufacturers I was uncertain how to declare what brand it was. An aquaintance suggested: “It’s an Eskildsen telescope.” I like that.
#telescope #refractor #moonlitefocuser
Eskildoodle Photos and Feelings 