In article ,
Rod Mollise wrote:
I already had and got it outdoors the clouds had started to roll in.

So...you thought all the tales of the "new scope blues" were just
hearsay, huh?
:-)

Those weren't the first clouds I've observed with a telescope, just
the first clouds for that telescope.

When we were dating (and I had more free time to help with the local
club's monthly public events) I took my wife to so many clouded out
star parties that she still says I should take up amateur meteorology.

Tonight was a little better. I got to see the Moon for a little
longer in clear skies, and M42 for a bit as the clouds approached. As
I tried to find Saturn the clouds rolled in.

I need to figure out a way rotate the tube without upsetting the
balance on the declination axis. I'm thinking about adding a ring to
the OTA so that it can't slide down further when the rings are
loosened.

I also need to get used to pointing a GEM. All of my smaller
telescopes (various copyscopes and a 500mm f/5.6 mak) have been on
camera tripods.

At some point I'm going to have to degrease the mount and focuser.
The focuser and manual setting circles get pretty stiff in the cold.
That will probably have to wait until I get a lot more free time.

--
Brian Reynolds | "But in the new approach, as you know,
| the important thing is to understand
http://www.panix.com/~reynolds/ | what you're doing rather than to get
NAR# 54438 | the right answer." -- Tom Lehrer