My dew heater failed right as Jupiter was coming into view

I was out in my yard in Boise last Tuesday, it was about 2 AM and my scope was finally cooled down. The lens fogged up so fast I couldn't see a thing, and I had to pack it in for the night. Does anyone have a good backup plan for when your gear just quits on you like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

oliviahenderson1mo ago

Ugh that's the worst feeling. Just a quick thing, you said lens but I'm guessing you meant the corrector plate or eyepiece? Newtonians don't have lenses. Anyway, for a backup, I keep a big pack of those hand warmer packets in my case. They're cheap and you can just rubber band one to the eyepiece or corrector in a pinch. It's not as good as the real heater but it can buy you an extra hour to finish up.

sarahpatel5d ago

Oh man, hand warmers are a lifesaver! I've been in that same spot where my primary heater gave out and I was scrambling. I actually tried a similar trick one night with a couple of those pocket warmers taped to the back of my finderscope, and it kept things clear just long enough to finish aligning. Nothing beats a proper dew heater, but when you're out there and desperate, a little creative engineering does the trick.

evan_jenkins1mo ago

Oliviahenderson is totally right about the hand warmers, that's a great tip. My dew heater died last winter and I was stuck with fogged up eyepieces too. I ended up using a small USB powered fan from my desk, just pointed it across the corrector plate. It moved enough air to keep the dew off for the rest of the night. Not a perfect fix, but it got me through my imaging run. Keeping a spare power bank in my bag now for stuff like that.

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