http://www.orion-xt10.com/blog/gave-my-scope-a-good-flocking/ Jim Priors Astronomy blog about the Orion Skyquest XT10i Intelliscope Newtonian Reflector telescope Sun, 05 Feb 2012 08:10:34 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 http://www.orion-xt10.com/blog/gave-my-scope-a-good-flocking/#comment-931 garden gift Fri, 23 Apr 2010 10:56:59 +0000 http://www.orion-xt10.com/blog/?p=77#comment-931 Very interesting blog. Im new to stargazing but this info is useful thanks Very interesting blog. Im new to stargazing but this info is useful thanks

]]> http://www.orion-xt10.com/blog/gave-my-scope-a-good-flocking/#comment-442 XTSee Sun, 19 Oct 2008 12:33:26 +0000 http://www.orion-xt10.com/blog/?p=77#comment-442 Hi Dave, thanks for the comment, glad its been of use! Yes, I really like Stellarium. I think its probably very similar to TheSky6 which should be far superior, and I would like to get some time soon. The flocking was well worth the effort and seems to help on nights with full moon also. Its only when the scope is pointing almost directly at the street lamp that it affects the view, so I'm quite pleased. The only thing I should have paid attention to was the overlap of each strip of flocking material, because the material has contact adhesive on the back which sticks VERY well to the metal tube interior (have to be careful to line it up properly before sticking down as its a pig to lift up again), but it does not stick to itself too well. Of course this is probably to be expected, but over a few days the material curls up and away from the overlaps. Where I used narrow overlaps (e.g. 5-10mm) its not too much of a problem. But where a larger overlap occurs (e.g. 25mm), because I didn't place it properly but was committed because the adhesive is so strong, the curling lifts the corners or edges of the strips a bit too far for my liking, to the point where it could start encroaching on the field of view. Also I learnt that it is a mistake to add small pieces of flocking to cover bolt/nut heads (at the altitude bearing mount points) as these soon un-stick and fall off and down onto the primary mirror! Another piece 2inches x 6inches which I had cut to stick over a long narrow triangular section of bare metal (that badly placed piece again!) also came un-stuck after a few days, and it wasn't until I set the scope up and looked through that I thought, "What the heck is that oblong shadow?", and discovered the strip laying across the mirror, which I had to shake the scope horizontally to get it to fall off the mirror, then gingerly remove with one of those long flexible grab tools. So the moral is to use some strong resin glue (i.e. Araldite) to help glue down corners and wide overlaps when you do the job the first time round!! I'm going to have to dismantle the scope again to do the job properly. You've been warned! ;-) I wonder what the night skies are like in Iraq? Jim Hi Dave, thanks for the comment, glad its been of use! Yes, I really like Stellarium. I think its probably very similar to TheSky6 which should be far superior, and I would like to get some time soon. The flocking was well worth the effort and seems to help on nights with full moon also. Its only when the scope is pointing almost directly at the street lamp that it affects the view, so I’m quite pleased. The only thing I should have paid attention to was the overlap of each strip of flocking material, because the material has contact adhesive on the back which sticks VERY well to the metal tube interior (have to be careful to line it up properly before sticking down as its a pig to lift up again), but it does not stick to itself too well. Of course this is probably to be expected, but over a few days the material curls up and away from the overlaps. Where I used narrow overlaps (e.g. 5-10mm) its not too much of a problem. But where a larger overlap occurs (e.g. 25mm), because I didn’t place it properly but was committed because the adhesive is so strong, the curling lifts the corners or edges of the strips a bit too far for my liking, to the point where it could start encroaching on the field of view. Also I learnt that it is a mistake to add small pieces of flocking to cover bolt/nut heads (at the altitude bearing mount points) as these soon un-stick and fall off and down onto the primary mirror! Another piece 2inches x 6inches which I had cut to stick over a long narrow triangular section of bare metal (that badly placed piece again!) also came un-stuck after a few days, and it wasn’t until I set the scope up and looked through that I thought, “What the heck is that oblong shadow?”, and discovered the strip laying across the mirror, which I had to shake the scope horizontally to get it to fall off the mirror, then gingerly remove with one of those long flexible grab tools. So the moral is to use some strong resin glue (i.e. Araldite) to help glue down corners and wide overlaps when you do the job the first time round!! I’m going to have to dismantle the scope again to do the job properly. You’ve been warned! I wonder what the night skies are like in Iraq?
Jim

]]> http://www.orion-xt10.com/blog/gave-my-scope-a-good-flocking/#comment-441 Dave Sun, 19 Oct 2008 10:00:20 +0000 http://www.orion-xt10.com/blog/?p=77#comment-441 I'm sitting in Iraq now just soaking in information for my reunion with my beloved XT10 at home near Seattle, Washington. I just wanted to let you know I've learned a good bit from you on your sites. I downloaded Stellarium a while back and am impressed with it. I intend to try the flocking material when I can because those neighborhood lights are a big problem. Anyway, your efforts are appreciated. I’m sitting in Iraq now just soaking in information for my reunion with my beloved XT10 at home near Seattle, Washington. I just wanted to let you know I’ve learned a good bit from you on your sites. I downloaded Stellarium a while back and am impressed with it. I intend to try the flocking material when I can because those neighborhood lights are a big problem. Anyway, your efforts are appreciated.

]]>