Accident! Ed Destroys a Telescope. Total Loss!

For the first (and hopefully only) time in my life, I dropped a telescope. Ugh.

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[edting]

If someone local wants the remnants (I'd like to keep the Moonlite) make me an offer (hint: I probably won't refuse). Otherwise it may go on the swap table at Stellafane.

[zacharyniswender]

Thanks for sharing, my stomach dropped when I saw the corrector plate. Good on you for making it right with the owner though! “$h1t happens!”

[jimwaller]

So sorry for the accident. I hope there is a silver lining as a result down the road. I appreciate all you do for this community and your content is excellent. Take Care!

[davidstaiti]

Sorry to hear about this Ed! Given the cost of equipment, and rarity of parts for older scopes, this truly is a nightmare scenario!

[stevejohnson]

Wow, sorry to hear that. I was looking forward to a Schmitt Newtonian review.

[AmatureAstronomer]

I bought a Celestron 6" SCT with a shattered corrector plate for spare parts. Have seen several available since then. So, it would seem that Ed is not the first person who dropped an optical tube.

[markattardo]

Wow! Thanks for sharing, it could save a scope in the future.

[pyro-gliffix]

Sorry about the slipped mount and all the ensuing damage it caused, all you can does just pick up the pieces and keep moving forward. I have really enjoyed watching your reviews and the astronomy community owes you a big thank you for your efforts. I have a 2000's Meade LXD-75 and the mount worked for about 6 months till it succumbed to a slipped gear. I still have the mount and thought about spending the money to have it fixed but I would probably be better off replacing it with something beefier like an Atlas. The 10" optical tube is still in great shape and would like to replace the focuser.

[chrimony]

"There's no sense crying
Over every mistake
You just keep on trying
'til you run out of cake"
--Aperture Science

[Elkastro]

That's what my SN 10" looked like when it was first shipped out back in 2001, looked like it fell out of the back of the UPS truck and then ran over it, the secondary came loose inside the tube, thankfully they did ship me out a new one though, I still have it, I flocked it and put a Baader focuser on it.🙂

[jamiboothe]

I dropped a Vixen SS 200 from a Vixen GP mount, because those saddles are funny, and designed specifically for that weird Vixen plate. Anyway, I was lucky. the tube had a significant dent by the primary, and it also landed on the focuser causing a deformation of the tube where the focuser is. I was able to make the area around the focuser near perfect, using some bent washers and screws, to pull the dents out. I learned a lot from that mistake.

[michaeldanielson]

I have the reverse situation with a Losmandy plate adapted to a Vixen mount. The Losmandy plate slipped once and dinged one tooth of my focuser. It's still fully functional. I use a safety bolt on the dovetail plate now, so it can only slide up. There is not enough room on the Vixen plate to use a bolt, but at least the Vixen clamp has a main bolt and a safety bolt. The standard Vixen clamp is not popular, but it does seem less prone to slipping. I think they need to make some design adjustments.

[kurt]

i had the same thing happen with my one month old 6" Celestron SCT.... breaking the corrector plate sucked.

[ychang]

I visibly cringed when I read the title. I just had a similar accident using an AZ-GTI as a EQ mount. The skywatcher legs are twist clamps and one leg got loose in the cold on a sub zero night, and one leg clamp let go. It smashed a 2 month old full spectrum modified Sony A6000. It also damaged the focuser in a Skywatcher 72ed but I fortunately fixed it by taking it apart. Best of luck on your new telescope project.

[jrwestimate]

I just want to echo the thoughts that all the prior posters have expressed. I'm hopeful that somewhere in all your followers and friends that a solution will be found to repair this telescope. Keep us posted and keep up the great work. I am still a novice at this passion but I take great inspiration from you and your many experienced and knowledgeable subscribers.

[svt]

Heartbreaking, but testament to your character, you did the right thing!

[RagShop]

40 years ago I accidentally knocked my Edmund Astroscan 2001 off its makeshift stand and irrevocably broke it. Not nearly as big a loss and it was mine, not another's. I feel for you bigtime man.

[aw]

So very sorry, take care and clear skies

[paulcontursi]

Soon after I got my new 6 inch Mak, I accidentally tipped it over while I was adjusting the tripod legs. I was lucky in that the red dot finder absorbed all the impact. The finder was smashed to pieces but, luckily the OTA seemed to weather the ordeal unscathed.

[dwightlethbridge]

I have one of those scopes. The LXD55 mount actually still works after over 20 years. The UHTC coatings work very well. I also replaced the terrible focuser with the Moonlight one. Great scope for tic tac toeing up and down the Milky Way. It provided my best view of M31 ever using a 22 Pantopic. My ZWO cooled camera (294MC Pro) is very happy with the large fast aperture. On the downside aside from the focuser, the paint is coming off the tube in big chunks.