Telescope Handling

Make sure you take good care of the telescopes. They are expensive and fragile. If you are not sure about something, ask someone who knows. Handle the telescopes gently and it will serve you well.

Here is a list of do’s and don’ts:

Do’s

• Be sure telescope is firmly attached to the wedge (i.e., DO NOT drop the telescope)
• Place eyepieces and tools in appropriate compartments
• Be sure that the star diagonal and eyepiece are firmly attached to the telescope
• Loosen sets crews before rotating star diagonal or changing eyepiece. Beware of falling parts!
• Place all the equipment on the sidewalk, rather than on the grass
• Be sure apperture cover is firmly attached to the telescope before taking it back to the clubroom

Don’ts

• Don’t overtighten the clamps
• Don’t turn the RA fine adjustment knobs while the clamp is tightened
• Don’t turn the DEC fine adjustment knob beyond its limit
• Don’t move the telescope whole RA and DEC clamps are tightened
• Don’t touch any glass surface (telescope aperture, eyepiece, star diagonal) with your fingers
• Don’t grab the telescope by the star diagonal, visual back, eyepiece or finderscope when pointing it

Good Advice

• Keep the box of parts and the telescope caps on the ground, under the tripod. They’ll be out of the way and you will always know where to find them
• When not using a part, put it back in the box, not on the ground! This way you won’t step on it or lose it (this is important when working in the dark)