RAINED UPON! Overcoming a disaster...

It rained on my gear...
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#astrophotography
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[@ronhunt2477]

Ok this will make you feel better - I set up in the back yard for what looked like was going to be a great summer night of astrophotography. One of the very first things I always do is to shut off the yard sprinkler system before setting anything up. About 2 hours into the imaging session I checked my iPad and my ASIair wasn't responding, so imagine my horror when I went out back and saw 2 heads of the sprinkler system on either side of my setup spraying full force drenching everything!!! The scope, camera, mount everything including my ASIair was soaking wet and all the lights on the ASIair were on. (not normal) The sprinkler had been running for over an hour. Frustrated as you were I took everything down thinking it was a total loss, took it in the house, dried off what I could, opened everything up just as you did and let it set for several days while I contemplated what I was going to replace it with. After 3 days I thought I would start it all up to see what if anything still worked. Long story short - Everything was fine, the ASIair started up without any issues, no more condensation in the scopes and the mount worked perfectly. 2 years later I'm still using the same equipment without any problems what-so-ever! Now as to how the sprinkler system got turned on - After I had turned it off at the control box in the garage, my wife came home from the grocery store and noticed it was off. Thinking that we usually keep it turned on in the "Schedule" mode, she put the switch back where she was used to seeing it not knowing what the consequences might be. For those who are curious - yes she is still here! 🙂

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Oh wow!!! I'm so happy to hear that the equipment itself was fine afterwards! All those things seem to be quite resilient :-) Good that your wife is still there as well ;)

[@ttp_007]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek Hey man, I'm sorry that happened to you. I freak out thinking that could happen to my gear. I live in the area that forecast service tries to do their best , but unfortunately the weather here can change in matters of minutes. I'm not sure if this input is valid, but I have WIFI water sensors from Govee on my scope that is very sensitive and it will send me a notification to my phone anytime as soon as a few drops of water hits it. Besides it has its own alarm speaker built-in that is very loud I can hear from inside of my house. Thanks for sharing your video.

[@djphild]

IMO, astro is one of the most frustrating hobbies I've taken up. When I have time, clouds screw me over. When the sky is clear, I've no time. When the skies and time align and I can get out, equipment issues (hardware/software) crop up out of nowhere. But finally when time, sky, hardware, software and planets align the joys of seeing/imaging whats out there takes all the pains away...for a while. Rinse and repeat. :D

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

That's exactly it! And the way you describe it sound exactly like the cycle of abuse in relationships lol

[@LorinBales]

Hi Cuiv, I purchased a telegizmo cover after watching an older video of yours. It's been working well with a evadry. You're correct that if you're system is setup at all times, you're much more likely to use it. Given that you have been so helpful on my own journey, I wanted to pass on a small tip. I have a custom made larger cover, so that I can bungee cord around the mount. I do take the newt off the mount in heavy winds, we have tornado concerns, but otherwise stake the legs to ground and hold the mount down with cinder blocks. ☺️

[@luboinchina3013]

I feel exactly like you. The moods go up and down. Sometimes want to give up, but there is always something that brings me back. I would say this hobby is like troubleshooting university. It teaches you how to overcome all the problems and obstacles. There is no financial reward. Only a final image. I wish you never give up. Your videos inspire me to do more astrophotography. If there wouldn't be people like you, giving inspiration and advise, I would give up long time ago. Please, keep making your videos. And stories of failure, there are plenty. Just the recent one. I went to Bortal 2 dark location for the comet and some night targets, alongside my 8HD and EQ6R-PRO with Canon 5D Miii I also borrowed a Star Adventurer to Track my Nikon D5300. I know, old cameras, I haven't got better. First night on Nikon I didn't plug the release shutter cable to camera, so when I pressed remote, it did make sound, but not the photo. I thought I was imaging all night, instead I had no photo. Second night it was so cold, that I didn't see on remote shutter LCD screen that I have changed 00h setting to 99h setting. No photo taken second night either. The big telescope I had OAG and realised that I cannot guide on Comet. Also at this focal length OAG could barely find a star. Second night I put guide guide scope instead of OAG guiding to track the comet, found many stars, however when I was streaming it on youtube live, the bright star affected guiding and would lock on it instead of comet. The worst part was that my mic was off and nobody in the chat told me. I was live streaming without sound...😂

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Wow now that is a frustrating outing!!! And the live without sound is the cherry on top... That can really be so tough. But you're still here and still in the hobby! :-)

[@sorcio46]

You are worried about the D5300, I have a modified D5100 as main camera 😂

[@davewilton6021]

Okay, here is another story to make you feel better. A few weeks ago I set up my brand new rig: a Paramount MYT, a Moonlite Nitecrawler focuser, a Software Bisque SkyX Fusion computer, and a Televue 127mm refractor (the scope and Fusion weren't new, but the rest was). But I forgot to install the counterweights or balance the rig. (Boneheaded move. A complete brain failure. All my fault.) Of course, on the first slew the whole rig toppled over. The SkyX Fusion and my ZWO filter wheel-which took the initial impact with the ground-were toast, but the filters inside were fine. The mount and scope were undamaged, although the screws holding the scope to the mounting plate had come loose, so it looked really bad at first. The Nitecrawler was scratched on the outside, but worked perfectly. Could have been a lot worse, but I felt like my guts had been kicked in. I had a second filter wheel, so the only thing I had to replace was the computer. An expensive lesson, though: always use a checklist (there's a reason pilots and surgeons use them).

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Oh no, such a recent disaster!!!! I'm so glad to see you were able to recover from it! Are you sure the Fusion computer is completely toast? There should be no moving parts these days, and I suspect it's repairable unless the board itself is broken...

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Good on you for catching the mistake early!

[@LIJ]

What a bummer!! I hope it all gets back in working shape without too much of a hassle (and too much more money to spend)

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks Nate!! I think it's fine now, but waiting for the next clear night to truly test it out!

[@terrizittritsch745]

We’ve all been here, and the biggest fear for most of us who setup without an observatory, so good that you recovered everything so far.

[@ttp_007]

Hey man, I'm sorry that happened to you. I freak out thinking that could happen to my gear. I live in the area that forecast service tries to do their best , but unfortunately the weather here can change in matters of minutes. I'm not sure if this input is valid, but I have WIFI water sensors from Govee on my scope that is very sensitive and it will send me a notification to my phone anytime as soon as a few drops of water hits it. Besides it has its own alarm speaker built-in that is very loud I can hear from inside of my house. Thanks for sharing your video.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Water sensors seem like a good solution..

[@TScottT]

Thanks for not giving up Cuiv. You're an inspiration and a mentor to so many of us. I'd hug you if I could, but I'm in Chicago and you're in Tokyo!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks Scott! Virtual hugs are helpful too :-)

[@IMCDundee]

Really hope the equipment suffered no permanent damage!!! Nearest I've had is my XT8 being knocked over,denting the tube and killing the collimation. See if you can find some large ,reusable packs of silica gel? And as far as Astrophotography pulling you back in...may I quote poorly "We choose to shoot the sky, we choose to shoot the sky, in this Bortle and do the other things, not because it is easy, but because it is hard" (sorry JFK) .Keep at it Cuiv, onwards and (looking) upwards!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks Ian! And mwah, I love that "quote" hehe

[@photons_end1434]

Dang, that's one of my biggest fears! Sorry to hear it happened! I had a close call once where my old mount crapped out in the middle of the night after slewing to another target just rising. I woke up in the morning for the usual packaway routine when I saw the scope pointing at the rising sun. Panick, run and jump pushing the RA axis away from the sun, only to find a happy little sensor inside that just came tantalizingly close to turning into a paper weight. OTA was quite warm, so I'm guessing the sun was beginning to focus on the inside of the tube at an angle. Difficult to do a failsafe for, so I just make sure I slew to a rising target once it's a little higher on the horizon so I have a little more time just in case!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Oh wow, that must have been terrifying! That's also a fear of mine, I always make sure that NINA parks the mount at the end of the night... but if the mount just dies........... :( I'd get a notification on my phone though!

[@admiraloctavio5860]

2:50 is so relatable, I too am a B9 masochist in an abusive relationship with Astro

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Hahaha exactly! Maybe I should rename the channel to Astrophotographers Anonymous!

[@RandallKayfes]

For my Telegizmos cover (which I bought a little oversize) I use heavy-duty binder clips. The binder clips can be used to pinch the cover inside tripod legs. I also stretch the binding cord and put the loop around the center post of the tripod. I do not try to tighten the cord around the base as this is such a chore. I do not trust myself to do every time and sure enough disaster would strike the one time I did not do it. On my set I only have room to binder clip two legs, but it is completely secure with only one anyway. The binder clip goes over the bottom edge past the enclosed rope which helps hold the clip in place. I have noticed after several wind events the clips have introduced no additional wear on the cover. Binder clips are those extra heavy-duty paper clips with handles. Beyond that my disaster happened when I did not pay attention to cable management and destroyed the USB2 hub on my ZWO camera. Yep, I destroyed the hub and attached cables. Well, that will not happen again given my current paranoia. Your description of the aftermath enables me to ensure that I never take the status of my cover granted and I thank you for that!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Oh wow Randall that's a great tip!! For now I've added additional rope around the cover to avoid such situations but I'll looking into those binder clips!

[@Klyress]

I can sympathize with this! Really a disaster. I have the same accident last year because of my fault. I forgot my computer outside last summer, my telescope-mounted computer and the mount were exposed to heavy rain, and I was freaked out. The good thing is that it was not powered. After drying them, everything works well so far. I feel really lucky.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

It looks like many have had the same experience! And yet the equipment survives, which I find amazing!

[@dankahraman354]

Cuiv, here is my disaster but not really my fault! We had a 3 day blizzard here near Christmas. While the snowfall was not heavy, the winds were ferocious. Consequently ALL 3 of my Skyshed pods were full of snow. I gingerly removed the snow from atop my junctions on the floor (after fishing for them...remember everything is now covered). The next day I cleaned more of the snow and on the third day I was actually shoveling snow out of the pod with the clamshell top open! The fourth day I used towels to sop up the water that had pooled in the pod bays and the floor. Yes the snow was quite dirty as the near hurricane force winds had scoured the field bare and carried the dirt into my observatories along with the snow. Final result? No damage except for some moisture that got into my 11" Celestron SCT. I leave the dew heaters on and I hope over time the moisture will escape the interior of the scope, the bonus is that the insides of the pods are very clean now. I am not ready to take the corrector plate off yet...but talk about freaky experiences...through no fault of my own....it was a 3 day blizzard with sustained 50 mph winds with gusts to 60 mph.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Wow that is an intense experience as well!! And physically tiring to get rid of the snow! Well done recovering from that!

[@Astrogator1]

Last summer had everything setup for several days on balcony with no problems. The weather was changing and we could hear thunder kilometers away but was not too worried. We needed a few things from the shops and the weather had cooled from 33 / 35 °C. About 30 minutes later leaving supermarket there was very large hail. The kids were very excited about the “snow” and everyone was watching, trying not to get hit, it rapidly turned to torrential downpour of rain. Was I worried, nope until after 3 minutes was hit by nightmare thought- the telescope. Left family sheltering and sprinted 1.5 km ( was soaked in 30 seconds), back home the cover had blown off and water was pouring from balcony above onto mount, focuser and camera. Get everything inside dried with paper towels, opened any covering on devices and let a warm blower dry them for few hours, then left everything open to air for about 4 days before powering on. By a miracle everything worked Lesson- don’t assume because it’s covered,it’s safe!! Allow plenty of time to finish drying!!

[@rudyamaya2532]

Happen to me just last week. I started the night with very clear dark sky and began my session. In the morning I found the skies gray and of course it was raining. Boy I panicked! Surprisingly I did not get any water inside my Newtonian and was able to wipe all of my equipment dry. I was up and going the following night. I guess it happens to all of us eventually. 😄

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Good to hear things were fine in the end Rudy!!

[@carlospecharroman4870]

You can find cheap wifi cameras which can be controlled by the phone. I've put two of them in my observatory and instead to check my social networks, I have a look on the gear. If you want to remove moist, the best solution is to use silica gel. Here I can find in the Pet's section at the Supermarket, because this is used for low quality cat's beds.

[@OlliesSpace]

I've had a few near misses myself which is why I moved to the heavy Canvas BBQ covers. I then put a bungee cord around the bottom. Glad you've recovered from it pal, I understand the Masochist side as well 🤣😉 Good on you persisting ! 👍

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Haha thank you!

[@TimK-1971]

The little PC had passive water cooling for a little bit. Going forward, adding bungie cords would help a lot to keep the cover securely in place even in strong winds. Thank you for your persistence! You are an inspiration to the rest of us budding amature astro photographers.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Hahaha free water cooling! No tubes or fittings needed! :D I added a bungie cord for now :)

[@deep_space_dave]

Hey Cuiv! I had my little disaster a few months ago when I was trying to remove my HyperStar from my C6 so I can do some long FL AP. When I tried to remove it, it was stuck but I carefully removed the HyperStar only to loosen the nut holding the mirror cell tube! So I had to remove the whole corrector place to remove the HyperStar and retighten the mirror cell tube assembly. While I had the corrector off, I noticed some greasy residue on the inside of my corrector so I carefully cleaned the inside. Now the C6 is brighter than when I bought it and no I didn't rub off the coatings LOL. Actually from what I hear the coating on the corrector plate is pretty robust. It is just the mirror that is delicate and can flake off it you are not careful. Hope you get your C6 working well again. I have since moved on to a RASA 8 that I had been waiting forever for on back order and almost forgot about it 😀though I do miss the simplicity of the HyperStar as I have been battling tilt issues. CS!

[@dadwhitsett]

I suspect we all have a nightmare story to tell. I really can't recall the last time I had an uneventful outing imaging. However it is a reflection of our character to continue to honor the sky gods. Hope your equipment continues to work. We appreciate you sharing.

[@ASTROindi]

Sorry to hear that, feel for you. I too have my rig on balcony and I make sure no matter what after the session I will wake up cover the telescope with plastic cover and then tie it up before going to sleep.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks! I will definitely be more careful in the future!

[@robvandenwijngaart988]

Hi Cuiv, Don't give up. Well, living in the Netherlands I was not able to use my telescope very often after I bought it. I worked in shifts and always as the sky was clear I had night shift. And because I could not use it telescope often and practice with it, I forgot al the time what I had to do. Now, living in Spain in a rural area with dark skies I made a pilar so I just have to put the mount and the scope and everything is ready to go. But then the problems started. My laptop alway lost the connection with the mount. I replaced everthing but nothing worked. Finaly I bought a new motherboard for the mount. All fine.... No! Then the mechanical problems started. When that was solved things didn't go great again. PHD2 always had troubles guiding. That seemd to be a problem with a setting in ASCOM. And to day I found, hopefully, the last mechanical problem. Now I just need a clear sky and hopefully all works like it should be. I didn't give up and will not give up! I have the telescope for 6 years now and have just 8 deepsky photo, but hopefully I can make some more finally

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Wow, persistence man, mad respect!!! I hope that last issue you corrected was the last one, fingers crossed!

[@robvandenwijngaart988]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek Hi Cuiv, Imaging as we speak and all doing well after my last repair. Guiding numbers are RA 0.12 Dec 0.11 Total 0.16 So I'm happy :)

[@gregerianne3880]

Ugh, good grief! I'm so sorry to hear about the problems you had, Cuiv. But, as always, your willingness to share them with us is instructive and inspiring so thank you! I'm glad you're getting everything back in shape and thanks for the encouragement to stick with it when things go 'south', which is almost a given in this hobby. Best of luck getting the rig back up and running!

[@uschi414]

Since there appears to still be moisture in the OTA you might want to bring it inside, remove the corrector plate, get a bag of desiccant from Amazon, and put the desiccant in the tube. Then just wait a couple days and it should be good and dry in there! Sorry to hear this happened to you and thanks for the cautionary tale. As with many things, we all have a tendency to get a little lazy (not that that's a bad thing :D ) when it comes to our hobbies when nothing has gone wrong for so long. I sure hope you never have to deal with this again!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I left it alone and open for a couple of days, I _seems_ to be fine now!

[@uschi414]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek good to hear!

[@anthonyexmouth]

My setup stays outside 24/7/365 under 3 layers of BBQ covers. I didn't go the telegizmo route because it seemed over priced. I just replace one BBQ a year, newest one on the bottom and oldest exposed to the sun. They cost £15-20 each.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

That is genius!! I'll probably go that route next time!

[@anthonyexmouth]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek it's worked well for 6 years. I built 1.2t concrete garden pier and haven't looked back since. I started with 2 layers but felt 3 would be safer and it means there's always a good, new one as the bottom layer and the oldest, although still mostly waterproof is used to take the brunt of UV damage. I live by the coast and it's survived brutal storms.

[@anthonyexmouth]

Oh. Btw, look for the 600D Oxford fabric type.

[@douglassmith1215]

I also use a BBQ cover. They are really quite good. Under the BBQ cover, I put 2 layers of big green plastic bags (for collecting garden leaves). So it's also a triple layer, just in case. The plastic bags just protect the top instrument area in case something leaks. The BBQ cover is oversized so it reaches all the way to the ground. I then tie the BBQ cover to the bottom of the tripod legs with thin Velcro straps. I actually have a pair of quite wide and heavy Velcro straps (which came with a mattress from Ikea); I wrap one around the inside plastic bags and the other around the external BBQ cover. These wide straps are to prevent the wind from inflating the covers and weigh them down a bit.

[@jimbob4484]

I feel your pain Quiv. I bought my EQ6-R Pro mount last year and a few weeks after I bought it I left it outside in my backyard without a tarp on. It had been sunny for days and little did I know that a storm moved in that day so my mount got soaked. I thought it it would be damage the mount but to my surprise I haven't had any issues with it since so they are pretty robust. I'm pretty OCD now about checking weather forecasts and making sure that my mount/telescope/camera are securely covered if I leave them outside. Interesting to hear about your love-hate relationship with astro imaging and I'm sure a lot of people can relate for several reasons; 1. It's an expensive hobby. 2. Software and hardware problems can be all too common. 3. There is a steep learning curve. 4. Quite a lot of things can go wrong during an imaging session from snagging cables to mounts crashing or guiding/focusing/plate solving issues. 5. You can spend ages setting up equipment and then the clouds roll in. 6. Overall a lot of work goes into creating an astrophotograph. All of that said, it's an amazing hobby that is technically challenging and allows to take awesome photos of outer space 🔭✨📸

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

You summarized it excellently :-) and glad your mount was fine!

[@zborkz]

Glad you escaped as easy as you did, you have reenforced my it must come in every night mantra.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks Rich! For me bringing it in every night would mean tight stairs and stuff, so not quite feasible for me with my injured back! It has to stay outside...

[@Mobius3c273]

If anything comes from this disaster it is that you will learn so much from this incidence. You will learn so much more about your equipment. In a crisis never panic... it all gets sorted in time. So sorry to hear this, I can only imagine what you've gone through. I would put one of those condensation absorber silica pack things inside the equipment. You don't become an expert without these experiences. At least the mount did not blow over

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks Robbie - I just image the comet yesterday, and everything was back to normal :-)

[@douglasfleming1]

Thanks C! Had a similar issue around condensation after a snow dump here in ottawa. Basically, I shouldn't have left the pipe and radiator heaters on around the mount (needed when the temp drops below minus 10). Should have kept just to the low voltage light bulb while not in use. I have a very large and heavy gizmos cover that would take a hell of a lot of wind to blow away. Brought the 11" SCT in to dry (will wait a week) and then follow your method to clean the inside of the corrector plate. Lots of swearing and punched pillows! Note: my 8" Newt (open at the top, naturally) doesn't suffer from condensation (at least in the same way). Replaced the SCT with the Newt (after shovelling off the snow) and found myself back in love with the hobby. D

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Aaah that sounds painful ad well!! Glad the Newt was there to provide comfort and imaging :-)

[@antoniopelaez7148]

Un saludo desde Blanes,España.Gracias por tus vídeos!! A mi SC 9,25 le he desmontado la placa correctora en varias ocasiones. Las placas correctoras tienen simetría de revolución. Se aconseja colocarlas en la misma posición para facilitar el colimador. Pero no es crítico o imprescindible.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks Antonio! I learned in the past that the corrector astigmatism was paired with primary astigmatism for best results, but maybe it's no longer the case with newer scopes!

[@douglasestrada26]

Wow Cuiv, I feel your pain my man! Same thing happened to my 12' dob about 3 weeks ago, I thought it's cover was gonna keep it dry but it did not. Clear skies!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Oh no, sorry to hear that... I hope the dob is fine!

[@Astro_Shed]

Get a desiccant holder eyepiece and put that in the back and it will remove any residue condensation, rather that take the corrector off again, I keep one in the back of my scope all the time when not in use…glad it’s all ok….👍🏻

[@SarahMathsAstro]

This happened to me. Such great advice about this hobby overall! Thank you for making this video!! Very uplifting :'] "Why am I such a masochist??" is my mantra lol.

[@RazorChrist]

Man that sucks. I'm glad nothing got permanently damaged though. I think frustration and wanting to give up are par for the course with this hobby. I remember just updating my imaging laptop from Win7 to Win10 caused my mount not to communicate properly any longer and I was stuck trying to get Astroberry to work, which also had a similar mount communication issue. So in the end, I had to completely wipe my laptop and put Win7 back on it. That was almost one of my "give up" moments.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Yeah having to mess with software and installing an OS from scratch can be such a demoralizing task...

[@robinell]

Cuiv, maybe it’s time for a Roll Off Roof Observatory? You can even get a cheap plastic storage cabin and do some diy on the roof so it slides off.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Probably not, the roll off roof observatory itself might just fly off (no joke, typhoons can be brutal), even if well secured!

[@robinell]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek i see. you know better. Fortunately, we dont have typhoons in the Mediterranean (im in Cyprus). Clear skies and thanks for all the amazing work you do!!

[@dankahraman354]

I have one EQR-6 Pro mount I always leave out. It has two layers of clear contractors garbage bags tied with a bungee chord. To make this easier you can take the counterweights and counterweight shaft off.

[@siegfriednoet]

Hope everything will work out fine Quiv, moisture can be very tough and keeps turning back till it's completely dried out. Also when the sun shines on it, the tiniest bit of moisture in the tube will condensate on the corrector plate. But at the end all will come out fine I hope. yes that damn astro hobby, it's like life itself with it ups and downs ;-)

[@nikanj]

I think this is everyone's worst nightmare. Glad everything survived. I'm paranoid that the forecast will change after I go to bed and my gear will get rained on when everything is powered on.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Yes, I was fully expecting that this would be the reason my equipment got rained on! But it was the wind that prepared the way...!

[@AndreH3d]

I’m 7 months in the hobby, I think 3 months ago, for the very first time I overslept and didn’t hear the alarm, I always bring the equipment inside around 5-6am, that day there was no rain expected, and I woke up with my wife telling me it rained and my equipment was out… had to disassemble my triplet APO completely, including the lens elements 😢… I thought I was done for… assembled it back and it is performing as well as it did before, but was a scary moment

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Oh wow, glad you managed to take the OTA apart and dry it out. That is also so frustrating, but I'm glad you powered through!!

[@mcruffian]

Our thoughts and prays are with you, my friend xD Think it this way: at least you could try. I haven't seen a clear sky since 6 months ago :D

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Hahaha there's always that, very true! Thank you!

[@drahomirmichalko]

A while back, when I was beginning with the hobby, I programmed my remote shutter and pressed start just to find out after two hours that the camera wasn't turned on :) and then the storm rolled in.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Hahaha yes we've all done that haha! But then the storm rolling in, I hope it didn't damage the camera!

[@drahomirmichalko]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek no, everything was fine. I was actually going to check the camera because I saw storm clouds on the radar. So I went to look outside to see whether I should abandon my "session" because of lightning flashes. And then, I found out :D

[@Astrolavista]

Oh Man! That must have cut deep when you realised! Glad you were able to ride out the bad vibes, sort most things out and get back on the horse....head nebula. I'm going back a decade but learnt the hard way regarding the importance of having your telescope horizontal when you're working on it! I undid the finder on the Dob and almost instantly heard the metal plate on the inside of the tube smashing into my two week old primary mirror! I was so upset that I sold the telescope as damaged, I guess I didn't want the constant reminder of my stupidity:D

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Mwahaha I love dad jokes man! Oh no that poor Dob! I'm pretty sure I would have done the exact same thing as you, I wouldn't want a reminder of my stupidity...

[@Astrolavista]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek with 3 kids my dad jokes are on point😎

[@Wheeljack678]

Story-time: Few weeks ago, it was clear and I decided to start a new project (M33). I had planned about 5-6 hours, maybe more if I could stay awake. Around the time for Meridian flip I walked outside to check (I don't trust my cabling) and noticed that my battery-pack was almost empty. No stress. I have more in backup. Figured I'd stop NINA after an exposure then quickly change battery. After I'd done that, NINA couldn't connect anymore for some reason. Some swearwords ensued, but I figured I just have to dis- and reconnect the USB. I removed the USB from the mount and in the darkness I accidentally put the USB-B connector in the Hand Controller port. A faint "bzzt" was heard and the power-light went out on my EQ6-R Pro. Panic!! After some research, I found that a new motherboard is about $200 but at least that's less than a 10th of the cost of a new mount. I went to bed, furious at myself and wanted to destroy something. The next morning, after having calmed down a little, I did more research and troubleshooting. I found that when I tried to plug the 12v cable in a now recharged battery-pack, the light on the cable didn't turn on either. I opened it up and sure enough; a small glass 5a fuse was broken. I went and bought a new fuse (which set me back about $1), reconnected the power to the mount, held my breath and turned it on. The EQ6' red power light lit up. I connected the USB cable (in the right port, lol) and fired up NINA. The glorious green message appeared saying "Telescope Connected!"

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Daaaaaaamn the suspense until the very end!! So, so happy it worked out well for you!!

[@gabrielperano]

That's really rough Cuiv, I have to agree with this hobby being an abusive relationship. Every time I fix an issue another one comes up, for example when my SWSA arrived the guiding rejected to work (as in the guiding wouldn't even start), I then realized my kit lens at the time was compelty unuseable at 200-300mm as all of my stars looked like they were trailing. I then replaced my lens with an Askar lens after looking at your reviews of it, ordered the lens off aliexpress & waited 3 months for it too arrive (as I live in New Zealand) only for it to get lost in shipping. I was really upset & then instead bought myself a goto mount & a 6" newt. My lens finally turned up :), however my mount is really hit & miss, sometimes it preforms awesome (0.5 arc sec guiding), while most of the time the guiding is so bad that I'm losing 33% of my subs or more, sometimes even an entire nights worth, so for the last couple months I have attempted to fix my mount but to no success.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Oh no, that's really too bad about the mount... which mount is it now??

[@lukomatico]

Well, I'm very glad to see it hasn't 'dampened' your spirits too much mate! - I'd probably be hyper-vigilant for a good while, as you'll know rainwater can contain a lot of microbes & fungal spores so just keep your eyes peeled for any growth happening! Sorry to hear this happened man, but I know you'll push on! :-) Clear skies!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks Luke, and thanks for the dad joke as well :D Will definitely stay vigilant, clear skies!

[@Astrofrank]

Fortunately, rain usually is just like distilled water, so it should rarely cause much damage. But with the air pollution in large cities, that might be a different thing.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Yes I was very surprised to see that the rain didn't just short circuit everything, since each drop would have picked up a lot of electrolytes in the way down...

[@marcusa3177]

...time to move to the inaka where you can make your very own man-cave, high-tech observatory with all the sensors and automations? I've always wanted to upcycle the smallest shipping container (supposedly there's an 8ft one?) into a car-portable astro-shed. Put it on wheels, hitch it on a pickup truck (or IDK, a Pajero?), add hydraulic legs for leveling when deploying, turn the top into a roll-on-roll-off roof, seal everything up for climate control, and just add ports from the outside for external power and connectivity. Put it on a ferry to Oshima (if you really want that Tokyo address) or Okinawa, or find a nice spot along the Shimanami Kaido, and enjoy the B3 and lower skies. One can dream yeah? Glad the gear didn't suffer much damage. I know some Japanese bathrooms have this dry mode; would putting everything but the tripod inside while it's on dry mode help? Assuming there's no water sloshing around to leave deposits it should, right?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

That's a genius idea! If I were to ever manage to make enough as a KZbin creator and it became my day job, I'd totally do that!

[@ericbonneville6837]

If astrophotography was easy everyone would do it and that's also why the reward of a successful photo is so great and that's why we continue!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Good point Eric :-)

[@jeremiahacuna4870]

More like if it were cheaper

[@yangotira]

It is not the hobby, it is us. It happened to me twice but in my case because of the lawn watering system. Luckily I only had to replace the power supply, twice.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Glad it worked out well for you in the end as well! We are a bit crazy!

[@jreichle59]

I am so sorry you had to deal with that. I have had several close calls but no drenching yet.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Fingers crossed it always stops at close calls!

[@rickclevenger6352]

The "AstroDumps" my new favorite mood name.

[@andyfischer3852]

Cuiv, I have a Lymax SCT cooler I use for my C8 and C11. Using one on your C6 would get every drop of moisture out. Run it for a few days. Andy

[@theheavensdeclareastro]

I’m so sorry to hear and see that, I would’ve been crushed. I always appreciate your positive attitude though, and hearing how you patiently addressed things!

[@athopi]

Nine months after you posted, but an idea for your plastic spacer tabs: If about 1/3rd down their length you make a 90` bend in them, you can place and remove them without getting your fingers on the corrector plate.

[@LogansAstro]

Had my setup caught out in a sudden downpour a couple of times (my 10" Meade, ASI1600mmPro and the CEM60) but after drying them out, including the Intel Nuc which had the vents pointing upwards 😱, everything worked fine the next night so this stuff is surprisingly resilient. But my first reaction to the events also resulted in a lot of interesting expletives and I was convinced it was all destroyed. Hope you don't have any long term issues.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks Logan!! It's crazy how that equipment we keep babysitting just shrugs off water attacks... not that I'm complaining!

[@Lord_Whiteley]

Greetings Cuiv - we all feel your pain (Did you see Astrobiscuit's rain covered telescopes??). Luckily, its only happened to me once and just brought everything indoors to dry out. It was a RASA (with guide scope, ASIAIR) and decided to remove the corrector plate just in case it needed a clean(making sure it goes back in the same orientation!!). I only use Baader Optical Wonder Fluid for cleaning all my glass surfaces ie scopes and filters - this is totally brilliant stuff. For applying and wiping the fludid, I use lint free Kimwipes precision wipes.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Oh yes Astrobiscuit suffered from that as well, and his baby Tak being thrown down and dented as well...!!! Glad your RASA recovered, and thanks for the tips on the cleaning solution! I remember there was a cleaning solution that couldn't be shipped to Japan because of one of the ingredients, but I'll have to look into it!

[@Lord_Whiteley]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek and remember as I said to Luke (lukomatico - KZbin) - you both have great knowledge and enthusiasm and so only make videos at your own pace and never feel obliged to produce regular content. Hopefully this way, you won’t lose the “love” for Astrophotography - which my wife has described as the most stressful & frustrating hobby anyone could do. But as I said to her I am an Engineer (I actually design hardware for satellites) and being an Engineer, is a roller coaster of highs and lows (mainly lows) and so Astrophotography is the perfect sadistic hobby !!!!

[@dumpydalekobservatory]

Ouch Cuiv hope everything is all dried out now? This isn't really my disaster story but does relate to me, the previous owner of the RASA 11 & CGE pro mount were away in Switzerland on vacation when he got notified of a storm incoming to his home town. He has cameras placed in the observatory & was watching the stream when the roof got ripped off & rain poured into his observatory ruining the computers & all the astro equipment. He offered me the mount & scope which I have both working again although the mount had to be retrofitted new motors & an onstep system as parts are near impossible to get now.

[@PagyBio]

Such a rollercoaster of emotions! Hope all the best, dear Cuiv!

[@alalal1979]

Oh man, thats tough. sorry to hear

[@digit975]

That bit of advice around 3:25 really hit home. I’ve had my entire setup for sale on marketplace for the last two weeks with currently three people wanting to buy it and this just swayed me not to sell it. That’s such a bummer about your set up but I’m glad it wasn’t worse!!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Glad I was able to talk you out!! Good luck with the hobby!

[@robertvanvugt3371]

Taking a break is not against the rules, good to hear it all survived! I hate cleaning optics so I feel your pain! So lets say a person has a triplet APO refractor that had this happen, how would you clean the air spacing internal lens surfaces? They are adjusted/calibrated in the factory so at least with the SCT you have access and can do it yourself... Maybe store it in a dry/warm room and let it dry out for a week as water can get into the most impossible places.. Best of luck with it - sounds like you had some luck on your side..

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Exactly, an SCT is so much easier to fix!

[@dankahraman354]

Cuiv, use dielectric grease on all your connectors AC or DC. You don't need much and will make your connection sockets/prongs corrosion proof

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Excellent tip, thank you!

[@pigeond]

one thing i haven't done with my rig is leaving them overnight imaging while i sleep, and rain is one of the reasons. i was thinking of putting together some rain sensor using arduino/pi pico and it can send me notifications to wake me up when there is water/rain, but i haven't worked out the details yet. perhaps something you can play with too?

[@dettie1948]

I managed to drop my 9.25" SCT ( vixen clamp not fully locked )which meant using a car dent puller to take out a dent (very successfully) and then with help from a good German friend of mine strip the corrector plate out and clean both that and the primary and secondary then re-collimate, thankfully no cameras were attached !...

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Well done of keeping cool and managing to clean things up and recollimate!!

[@dettie1948]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek Though, like most amateurs I have several rigs, the 9.25" SCT with a F6.3 reducer remains a firm favourite and, situated in my run-off shed, gets regular use imaging both Lunar and Deep Sky objects, keep doing the videos I love them...

[@jonkjon]

The hobby is definitely frustrating. After months of poor weather, I finally get a window of opportunity to do a little imaging and the astrophotography gods just decided that my QHY camera would no longer work. The camera and scope have been stored in my home just waiting to be used again. No updates to the software, no changes to the rig. Now I have a nice $1200 paper weight at least until after the Spring Festival in China. So, don't feel bad for your mistake because the other worldly beings that truly control this hobby would have simply intervened in other ways. Cheers to you and thanks again for the fantastic content.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Oh that is so painful with the camera... Equipment trouble always hit hard because they take away precious imaging time... Hopefully QHY will repair it!

[@jonkjon]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek Remember me??? Still waiting for my camera from QHY! No word on what was wrong with it or what it's going to cost me. I just wanted to post a follow up so others will perhaps know what to expect from them for any service issues. Terrific camera when it works but likely my last one from QHY.

[@StarlancerAstro]

Luckily water on these lower voltages rigs run on rarely causes much of an issue as long has it has time to dry up and most of the equipment is at least designed for outdoor work. It would be neat to build a rain sensor that could cut off power then the worst part would be from rust that could form. I've had nothing but clouds for months and sometimes it makes me think to selling it all, but I think of all the classic car people that really only get to enjoy their hobby for half the year with winter here.

[@tmrdarkstar85]

Cuiv, I had this happen once in my early days just finished polar alignment sat down at my pc to start the imaging and it started to pour. Wife an I ripped the scoped down in 3 min. Spent the rest of the night cleaning everything. Luckily it wasn't bad. With the celestron focus motor on your SCT. Did you use blue Loctite on the 3 mounting screws? I had one back in the day for my c8. They actually unthread over time unless you Loctite them "a little dab will do on each bolt" For collimation on the hyperstar I found a artificial star worked the best downside you need 24-30m of space to do it

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thanks Steve! Yep, those were the mounting screws - I remember James Lamb cursing them for always getting unthreaded... I'm a bit leery about using Loctite though... Thanks for the tips!!

[@tmrdarkstar85]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek To be honest I was leery too an never did it myself even though the stock bolts had loctite on them. Even my local telescope shop made that recommendation. Sadly when I had originally put my c8 up for sale the autofocuser got lost at the telescope shop. They gave me money for it. But now the c8 just sits because I need a custom m42 spacer that I can mount in the Filter wheel spacing stack "because the zwo m42 ring adapter doesnt not tighten the camera rotates on its own during a slew to leery about it unthreaded an dropping a few thousand dollars on concrete" for the 268m and a auto focuser. Neither of which have been high on the priority list since I have my 80mm APO. My main goal atm is a mini pc with windows Pro so I an let some people in the southern hemisphere RDP into the scope an image our northern skies from their homes.

[@textandtelescope8199]

In the immortal words of Capt Taggart - "Never Give Up!! Never Surrender!!"

[@forerunner75]

Oh man.. What a nightmare ! Let's hope everything goes fine for you and your equipment in the next days and weeks!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Thank you!!

[@PopeAstro]

Cuiv you should do a video on how you connect your Cem60 to the MeLe, Ascom and Nina. I'm getting a Gem45 and there's no good videos out for how to connect to mini PC, Ascom and Nina.

[@dankahraman354]

Make a cardboard model of your gear you can throw off your roof when you get frustrated....should make for a more balanced relationship.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Hahaha, and maybe have some sort of voodoo effect? :)

[@lensoffrey]

Persistence is key, I appreciate this video Cuiv!

[@MisadventuresInAstro]

Misadventures you say? I actually had to go run out and unplug my equipment today when a storm came in. I'd been set up for multi-night sessions for C/2022 E3 since it's so tedious to setup and break down every single night. Had a cover for the scope and mount so decided to leave the equipment out rather than tear down things in the middle of the storm and either expose it to more rain, or have some unfortunate accident trying to manhandle all the equipment in a hurry. Turns out my cover is great for blocking out the Sun, not so much for rain... BUT I think everything is okay.

[@irfanyr]

Hi Cuiv. I’m glad you got it sorted. Can I ask what model this telescope is?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Celestron C6 with Hyperstar lens!

[@PagyBio]

Btw, did you change your little "onboard" computer? Is it windows mini Pc? You used to have a raspberry, haven't you?

[@enricocarca7899]

Hi Cuiv, looks like you have an all-weather mini pc! Can you please share brand and model... I am about to add a mini pc to my set up too! Thanks Ciao!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

It's the Melee Quieter 2

[@enricocarca7899]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek Thanks!

[@user-hj1il9vh6y]

No matter how bad things get at least your not the guy who forgot to clamp on his 14inch edge hd and when he went to balance it, it fell and smashed the front corrector plate 😂

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Aaaaugh isn't there a video of that?? That is so, so painful to watch!!

[@dankahraman354]

You never know about being out in the open...even passing heavy clouds with no rain forecast can drop unexpected raindrops.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Yep - I always image on pure clear nights to avoid those issues, and am aware of the risk. I didn't expect this to happen while I wasn't imaging! :P

[@thimitri1]

That's 99% of all astrophotographers.. with the relationship and frustrations, but we always come back (well, maybe 80% do).. we, always learning...

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Exactly :p

[@Backcorner_Astronomy]

I can’t help but wonder. Do you swear in french or japanese? Or does the weight of the situation depend on that? Nevertheless it’s good to hear you are up and running again.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Usually French :-)

[@blakenancarrow5239]

Can you use desiccant to absorb more of the humidity inside the parts?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Yes!! If I see any more condensation within the tube, that what I'll do!

[@blakenancarrow5239]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek I wouldn't wait to see it. Assume there's more water in there. So continue the warming and drying. When it is a really warm or hot day, more water will appear!

[@CDigata]

dam that sucks.. sorry to hear

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Yeah... At least things seem to be mostly back to normal now

[@theHDRflightdeck]

No Webcam looking at the telescope???!!! 😢

[@robertgrenader858]

Kleenex, scented or not, will leave behind lint. You would have been better off using a clean, dry microfiber cloth.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

True, I do use a manual air blower at the end to get rid of that

[@AnakChan]

Ouch! Sorry to hear your woes! I think this is the 2nd time you had a scope rained on? Coincidentally I had the same thing happen to me during my Australian summer holidays only last weekend Sat 21st Jan. In my case, I brought my Nikon D810a (repaired only in July '22 Shinjuku!) 14-24mm, and Vixen Polarie. I managed to capture a night timelapse before the the thunderstorms came. Luckily my gear survived. Here's the timelapse before the thunderstorms came in: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d5vGXpd7itGdarc

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Oh wow, that final image of the clouds getting so much more menacing, super cool timelapse Sean! And I'm really glad the gear survived, surprisingly resilient!

[@dankahraman354]

I hate dew inside the tube of a closed system

[@steveperry814]

I dropped my RASA 11 while carrying to the mount. Glass everywhere. Robbed my bank account and received new scope in a week without telling family. Back in business next weekend. SHAMEFULL.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

That is so devastating... Glad your band account allowed itself to be robbed!

[@Robin-Visser]

Looks like a CSI murderScene

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I should have drawn out the shape of the scope in the floor with chalk :D

[@theheavensdeclareastro]

This is eerily similar to my most recent Astro parody video 😳

[@radioparisment628]

I don't understand Cuiv, it seems to be sunny, no ?

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Yep, the sun after the rain - the cover had been blown off days ago, and it had rained since. When I noticed the issue it was back to good weather

[@lachezarkrastev7123]

You call this disaster ... you should see the entire roof of my observatory lifted from the wind and thrown 10 meters over its top, everything smashed and the entire observatory flooded ...

[@luboinchina3013]

Sorry to hear that .

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Oh no that is horrendous... How did you recover from that?

[@lachezarkrastev7123]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek about ten friends to lift up the roof on its place ... and couple of botles of Jameson :)))

[@astroamateur5394]

The horror…

[@denodan]

The moral of the story, if not using it, pack up the scope and take it inside

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

My house configuration and my back injury won't let me do that unfortunately!

[@blakenancarrow5239]

You know the rice trick, right?

[@dankahraman354]

A one way abusive relationship.

[@gregorybchapman]

Swearing all the time? Nothing to do with anything but I wonder, with your demonstrated multi-lingual skills, what your favorite language for swearing is. Asking for a friend! I have had similar issues but not with rain. Failed dew heaters can lead to frost on the lenses and, if they are allowed to dry, make some of the toughest to clean water rings I've ever encountered. Good luck to you, don't give up. You're my favorite astro channel and you make it feel alright to be lazy!

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Hahaha, now THAT is the question! I started in English and finished in French, because French really does have the advantage for a varied swearing session! Oh and I hadn't thought about dew -> frost issues!

[@gregorybchapman]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek Lacking the required skills for any language but U.S. English, I have to admit that the color has left our profanity. One particular phrase is so ubiquitous now that all the flavors of frustrated expression seem to have died here. I feel some refreshment listening to military retirees vent their spleen with twists of phrase and forgotten pieces of profanity. Thanks for replying!

[@anata5127]

Why do you leave equipment on balcony all the time? Any suspicious weather, and I reassemble entire rig. Hot whether, and I do the same. Overall, 20-30 assembling-reassembling cycles per year! It is nothing. Look TAIC about Gary Imm. He does it every day. He still managed to take 1500 pictures in 7 years. Bottom line, it is not worth of risk. I know, you are lazy. But, ….

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

I simply get more use of the equipment, that's it.

[@anata5127]

@@CuivTheLazyGeek Why? I use almost every opportunity for astrophotography. But, when >3-4 days are blank, I pack it up. Several times it was wind and hail. Severity was not predicted. It could have end up in disaster. How long does it take to assemble your rig and tune? 1h? I think it is not big deal.

[@aradani3]

I'm really impressed with the MELE quieter 2 resilience Regarding the frustration, I think taking breaks is part of the process. I bought the MELE because AZ GTi wasn't working for me in my Bortle 8-9 rooftop; including some really frustrating episodes with Synscan app not Syncing with AZ GTi. I tried moving to Astroberry and didn't like it either. Maybe ASIAIR would have been easier, but I have a Player-One camera. So I took a break, bought a new mount (iOptron CEM26), bought the MELE Q2 downloaded NINA, and haven't done any DSO from my rooftop since (I have done planetary, Milky way, constellations and even Solar which are also fun) The AZ GTi, survived from being thrown from the rooftop of the building that night, but is now on sale to finance at least part of the new mount. Last week was clear over here and my setup is not ready yet, a bit sad but hey... the stars are going to be here when skies are clear again and the mount is ready. My frustration post in CL here: www.cloudynights.com/topic/586532-new-skywatcher-az-gti-goto-wifi-mount/page-143#entry12023985

[@andesastro]

Cuiv thanks for sharing your experience. The other night I went to sleep while I was imaging and there were some clouds expected in Clear Outside, so i left my alarm for 1 am. Good i didnt snooze the alarm because when i went outside the dark was red, covered in clouds and 5 minutes after i rushed putting everything under the roof it starting pouring 🥲 PS: Did you see one of the latest Astrobiscuit videos? He got his Tak and gear all soacked up.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Well done on avoiding the disaster! Yes I saw Rory's video, the Tak being dented was so hard to watch, I don't know if I could have recovered from that!!