I'm sick. High winds damaged my vintage telescope *UPDATE pg 3; FIXED pg 4*
Found my 1975 vintage Criterion RV-6 6" Newtonian telescope had been blown over by high winds overnight.
My younger son came out to address things and found the wing screws holding the drive and mount rings to the top of the tripod tube had been sheared off. Worse the focuser has been partially pushed into the tube. Mirrors and spider diagonal assembly are still fine.
Repairs would require a new tube (I have another partially completed ATM 6" Newtonian tube with an installed high Strehl quality Coulter mirror I picked up at the same time as the Criterion, but no holes or mounting ever done for the focuser or diagonal spider), drilling out and tapping the tripod head screw holes and obtaining new oversized wing screws. All this is beyond my capabilities due to health issues and beyond my son's skill set. My son set it up outside for me to eliminate my need to get help moving outside to use.
Like I said I'm sick.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: bald1,
Certifiable member of the gun toting, septuagenarian, bucket list workin', crazed retiree, bald is beautiful club! USN (RET), COTEP #192
January 15, 2021, 01:49 PM
gunnutty
Sorry to hear this! Any place have parts for it??
January 15, 2021, 01:50 PM
ensigmatic
Sorry about your bad fortune, bald1
"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe "If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher
January 15, 2021, 01:51 PM
highroundcount
Dang man. Sorry for that. That would probably make me puke.
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January 15, 2021, 01:54 PM
old rugged cross
shoot, that was a heck of a wind storm. The worst part about things like this, is you know you should of done something prior to the storm that would of prevented it. We have all been there, trust me.
"Practice like you want to play in the game"
January 15, 2021, 01:59 PM
bald1
quote:
Originally posted by old rugged cross: shoot, that was a heck of a wind storm. The worst part about things like this, is you know you should of done something prior to the storm that would of prevented it. We have all been there, trust me.
My son was unavailable to move it back into the garage and as said, I am incapable due to health issues. So saying I could have done something prior to the storm is a non-starter. In a perfect world........
Certifiable member of the gun toting, septuagenarian, bucket list workin', crazed retiree, bald is beautiful club! USN (RET), COTEP #192
January 15, 2021, 02:04 PM
sigfreund
Oh, man, that’s terrible.
I still remember the anguish I felt when my nearly 50-year-old Bushnell Spacemaster got blown over on its tripod and only the finish got dinged up.
► 6.4/93.6
“Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something.” — Plato
January 15, 2021, 02:32 PM
bald1
Close up of tube damage. I pulled the base up out of the tube to where you see it here.
Certifiable member of the gun toting, septuagenarian, bucket list workin', crazed retiree, bald is beautiful club! USN (RET), COTEP #192
January 15, 2021, 02:38 PM
HRK
Not sure if they can help but they have three locations in DC
Might help you locate someone who could repair it, or build the other tube into a functioning scope..
January 15, 2021, 02:40 PM
ensigmatic
quote:
Originally posted by bald1: Close up of tube damage
*ouch*
"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe "If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher
January 15, 2021, 02:40 PM
bald1
quote:
Originally posted by HRK: Not sure if they can help but they have three locations in DC
Might help you locate someone who could repair it, or build the other tube into a functioning scope..
Thanks but they're >350 miles from me.
FWIW the local astronomy club is extremely small. This is a relatively small sparsely populated area. I think Rapid City itself is now just over 60k.
Certifiable member of the gun toting, septuagenarian, bucket list workin', crazed retiree, bald is beautiful club! USN (RET), COTEP #192
January 15, 2021, 02:42 PM
Rey HRH
Yeah, I know how sick you must feel. I can't even put into words how I feel when it happens to me but I certainly know the feeling.
"It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life – daily and hourly. Our answer must consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual." Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, 1946.
January 15, 2021, 02:44 PM
Hobbs
Dang aliens ... don't want you peeping at 'em
January 15, 2021, 02:45 PM
bald1
quote:
Originally posted by Hobbs: Dang aliens ... don't want you peeping at 'em
Chief, appreciate the humor. Still....
Certifiable member of the gun toting, septuagenarian, bucket list workin', crazed retiree, bald is beautiful club! USN (RET), COTEP #192
January 15, 2021, 02:46 PM
arfmel
Wonder if your insurance would help defray the cost of the loss.
January 15, 2021, 02:47 PM
bald1
quote:
Originally posted by arfmel: Wonder if your insurance would help defray the cost of the loss.
Nope... as I have a $2k deductible. And yeah, I did call them just in case to sanity check things. No joy.
Certifiable member of the gun toting, septuagenarian, bucket list workin', crazed retiree, bald is beautiful club! USN (RET), COTEP #192
January 15, 2021, 03:11 PM
rsbolo
Bald1 I am very sorry this happened to you. My sympathies sir.
____________________________ Yes, Para does appreciate humor.
January 15, 2021, 03:20 PM
NapoleonSolo
That is rough. I just got a Gskyer 600 and new to telescopes except for 50! years ago. Hopefully you can find a fix. I am looking forward to learning about the heavens and will upgrade once I get the basics. Best of luck.
“Our actions may be impeded... But there can be no impeding our intentions or our dispositions. Because we can accommodate and adapt. The mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacle to our acting.
The impeding to action advances action.
What stands in the way becomes the way.”
― Marcus Aurelius
January 15, 2021, 03:23 PM
HRK
quote:
Originally posted by bald1:
quote:
Originally posted by HRK: Not sure if they can help but they have three locations in DC
Might help you locate someone who could repair it, or build the other tube into a functioning scope..
A mere day trip for South Dakota LOL
I was thinking, call them and see if they can recommend someone closer to help...
Thanks but they're >350 miles from me.
FWIW the local astronomy club is extremely small. This is a relatively small sparsely populated area. I think Rapid City itself is now just over 60k.
January 15, 2021, 03:27 PM
bald1
Yes a day trip, but as a disabled C patient I've been basically sequestered here at home since March. Great neighbors get my groceries, mail, put out trash, etc. Last attempt at a leisurely road trip was well over a year ago to see the changing colors in Spearfish Canyon. That run lasted a hair over an hour and I was totally exhausted. And yeah I really miss enjoying my S2000 this way. This year it saw a total of TWO miles on the clock from my son putting air in the tires.
Certifiable member of the gun toting, septuagenarian, bucket list workin', crazed retiree, bald is beautiful club! USN (RET), COTEP #192
This message has been edited. Last edited by: bald1, 
Still.... 