Telescope Repair

[WhiteWidow]

Hi everybody my name is Jody, I am from Austin TX and I am new to this board. I have been casually messing with my telescope (Meade ETX 70EC) since I got it for Christmas in '99 up until last night when it broke. And guess what Meade quit repairing them a couple of months ago. I have been looking through yellow pages and Google and I have not had any luck finding someone that can repair it. Does anyone out there have any ideas? If I can't get this thing fixed I won't be doing any stargazing any time soon since getting a new scope would be pretty impossible right now. Please help!!

[Tucson_Tim]

Please tell us what is broken.

And welcome to the board.

[Kaptain K]

welcome!

Bummer about your scope.

Hope you get it fixed soon.

[WhiteWidow]

Please tell us what is broken.

And welcome to the board.

OK, the problem is that the scope no longer locks into place vertically. The lock knob on the side with motor threads into a small cylindrical piece that is connected to the tube on the other side of the fork arm. It is this cylinder that is broken. I could try to take some photos if it would help.

Thanks!

[Tucson_Tim]

Yes. Photos of the broken part would be great. Or at least a link to a website that has a photo of the scope.

I have to cash it in for the night but someone here will be able to help.

Good Luck.

[WhiteWidow]

Here is a picture of my scope. The cylinder I spoke of goes from the tube through the fork arm on the right. The lock knob threads into this cylinder to connect it all together. If I could just find this one spare part, I think I would be okay.

[parejkoj]

You might want to try cloudynights:

http://www.cloudynights.com

They have a lot of experts there, and probably someone who might even have spare parts. There are a LOT of users of the mead ETX scopes, so you should not have too much trouble getting it fixed. Might cost a bit, but definitely cheaper than buying a new one.

[ozark1]

http://www.weasner.com/etx/menu.html

Start with the authority on the ETX telescope. You might also try Clay Sherrod.

[RickJ]

I hate to sound like a broken record as I keep repeating this nearly every thread here. See your local astronomy club!

There's a good astro club in Austin.
http://www.austinastro.org
Contact: cdave@us.ibm.com
There you can get hands on help from many guys who know telescopes.

Rick

[WhiteWidow]

Thanks everybody for the suggestions. I got home today and decided to take my telescope apart. I was able to pinpoint exactly what was broken. Turns out it is just a little piece of plastic. I have now used some epoxy to try and glue it back together. Hopefully this works for the meantime, but I would really like to find that spare part and replace it correctly. I don't know the name of it, but if anyone happens to run across the part pictured below, please let me know.

[WhiteWidow]

Well I've quickly learned that this is a pointless endeavor. I'm just going to toss this piece of crap. Maybe I'll smash it first. Looks like I'm out of the telescope game now.

[parejkoj]

Where did you learn that? Noone has the part, or could make it? Maybe check with a machine shop and see if they can make a part out of aluminum?

Why pointless?

[Kaptain K]

I take it epoxy didn't work. don't give up yet! Try a cyanoacrylate glue (Super Glue, Krazy Glue) first.

[StarGzrMan]

FWIW—My 'original' ETX90 toppled over onto concrete due to the nescient design of the tripod provided. i had left it on a small porch for an hour or so in moderately cold weather. Perhaps that is why the stick-on friction strips intended to keep the leg clamps from slipping DIDN'T. Meade replaced the telescope and tripod. Hence, I have the damaged fork mount asm. and would be happy to help somebody who needs parts thereof . . . excepting upper fork arm body—the right fork arm was broken off. Otherwise the asm. and electronics/motors/controller etc. are 'new.' The broken section could be restored with a bit of epoxy creativity. I have used the ETX90 scope itself (On a Manfrotto tripod!) for general purpose nature, sunspot, & planet browsing with absolute satisfaction for 20+ years since. Other than my Canon 'stabilized' 10X40 binocular nothing I have gets more use, not even the coffee pot (well, maybe my bed) . . . and with fifty plus years as an electonic technician in industry and educational settings I gots lot'sa techie stuff. The ETX deserved a Nobel prize! But that was way back then . . . .

[jayman]

I hope I'm doing this correctly and not interrupting a thread but on the broader topic of telescope repar, I have a question and can use all the help I can get.
I recently acquired an antique presentation cane or walking stick that has a unique top; it contains an ivory bodied monocular or tlelescope that appears to be missing a tube and lens. It has the eyepiece lens as well as the front, larger lens. Upon unscrewing the eyepiece, I found that the eyepiece has a second, narrower set of threads that obviously screw into the middle tube, providing a single draw.
I realize that this forum is probably populated mostly by astronomy enthisiasts but wonder if anyone can help me restore my 'gadget' cane to it's 19th century glory.
Thanks for any help,
Jayman

[profloater]

If you have the eyepiece and the objective is it just a brass tube with thread that you need? A machine shop will be able to match the thread and brass is easy to machine.