Hello all. I was pretty much tired of watching my wife stare at the moon and stars with binoculars every night, so at a weak moment bough a telescope at a local flea market. I probably should have studied this site a bit before buying anything. The scope is a ETX 90 EC (I believe) which was not in so good condition. Problem number one was a broken clutch knob. Problem two was that it is missing the controller. My lack of knowledge was/is problem three. Me being a tinkerer, had the scope down to all its basic and small parts. I put it back together and took it out side to view the stars. Problem four showed up when I relished that the scope was also missing the focus knob. Ten minutes on the lathe fixed that.
Now this is where my lack of basic knowledge showed up. While focusing on the stars with my 26mm eyepiece, I expected to see everything in huge proportions. All the stars and planets looked like white donuts with the big black dot in the middle. After a few days of frustration, I finally figured out that I was getting no way near to focus. Now everything comes in crystal clear, albeit much smaller. Jupiter looks to be about 1/4” diameter. I couldn’t believe how many stars I could see through the scope.
I dug out my old camera tripod and removed the scope from the original cradle. I may replace it when I get the parts to fix it.
I also purchased another cheap scope on ebay which was probably not a good idea, but I was getting frustrated with this one at first. The new scope is a table top Astroscan Mellinium. Just something to hold me over until I feel comfortable enough for a large Dobsonian.
No more rambling for now, but I am waiting for more eye pieces to be delivered.
george
Now this is where my lack of basic knowledge showed up. While focusing on the stars with my 26mm eyepiece, I expected to see everything in huge proportions. All the stars and planets looked like white donuts with the big black dot in the middle. After a few days of frustration, I finally figured out that I was getting no way near to focus. Now everything comes in crystal clear, albeit much smaller. Jupiter looks to be about 1/4” diameter. I couldn’t believe how many stars I could see through the scope.
I dug out my old camera tripod and removed the scope from the original cradle. I may replace it when I get the parts to fix it.
I also purchased another cheap scope on ebay which was probably not a good idea, but I was getting frustrated with this one at first. The new scope is a table top Astroscan Mellinium. Just something to hold me over until I feel comfortable enough for a large Dobsonian.
No more rambling for now, but I am waiting for more eye pieces to be delivered.
george