| would you keep (or, better, do u currently keep) such or similar equipment permanently outside under a TG365? | |
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| Yes | |
| No | |
| Other (please comment) | |
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Hello, I image from my small balcony. I'd like to ease my setup and teardown procedures by keeping the tripod (Berlebach Planet) and the mount (cem70) always outside under a telegizmo365. Where I live (north east Italy) the weather isn't extreme (e.g no hurricanes, super strong winds, etc). I have to deal with lots of humidity in summer and that's it. |
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Always done and currently doing it but not under a TG (waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too expensive). Spent 10 quid for a tarp and a bit of weatherproof sticky tape and works a treat. Spiders and other critters are a bit of an annoyance to be honest but hey, there is no free lunch. Got 3 rigs out under some cover or another and had for decades. |
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This topic comes up from time to time and the responses do not vary much but it is always good for everyone to understand what is possible. I have left my entire rigs, mounts, scopes, cameras and electronics outside under a Telegizmos 365 cover for 6 years day and night, through rain, snow, ice, and wind in temperatures from -30 C to 40 C or -22 F to 105 F. The rigs have worked flawlessly all that time without any problems other than usual self induced wounds with only a small amount of care regarding occasional dust from the leaf blower and the already mentioned ZWO camera fade. The main thing to take away is that air from outside the cover must be allowed to circulate under the cover. This naturally minimizes or even prevents the formation of dew or frost by keeping the inside temperature in the general range of the ambient temperature with the cover itself acting as a shield from the rest of the weather. Although expensive,Telegizmos offers a variety of covers in shapes and sizes for most types of telescopes. Hope this helps, scott I forgot to mention I live in a temperate rain forest in the Pacific Northwest with average daily humidity of 70%  New Permanent Pier |
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Of course! Dismounting and mounting takes too much... Simple Geoptik Cover works well, you will need to change it every 2-3 year to be sure that no crack can create any issue My 6200mm is pink now but still works well after 4 years almost |
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@AstroDivers that's the one I've bought too! Glad to hear that it's holding well!  @andrea tasselli cool, thank you! Yes, bugs are a pain. Where I live we have lots of stink bugs during autumn, and those are a pain to deal with. Last year I found one inside the toner cartridge of my printer. @wsg thank you! It's always nice to read about other ppl experience, especially in worse weather than mine this give me more confidence to (finally) leave stuff out.
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I use a Telegizmos cover as well, and have kept my equipment outside, for days and sometimes weeks. I generally take my scope in and leave the mount and tripod covered outside which reduces the profile. Wind is the only thing I am cautious about, specifically wind above 25-30 mph. There was one occasion where wind caught the cover and lifted it completely off, exposing the equipment - it was configured similar to Scott's photo above. Fortunately, I was there to see it, and also fortunately, it was not raining at the time. So now a days, I will dismantle my equipment if high winds or thunderstorms are expected. The force of wind should not be underestimated, especially with a volume/area as large as a telescope and mount. I thought using a 28 lb counterweight to hold down one end would keep the tarp in place, but it didn't. |
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not permanently but for long stretches under various cover solutions apparently it will be clear tonight  |
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Ciao Paolo, I left my SW HEQ5 with tripod for 3 years outside my balcony in Florence, Italy using bbq covers and a car sunscreen. No issues at all so far... |
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Telegizmos 365 works great. I've used them for several years and have left my gear under them year round in the worse weather. I too allow air to circulate under it by not over cinching the bungee around the bottom of the pier. I occasionally spray insecticides around the pier and T365 during the warmer months. Just be careful not to snag anything on the inner silver lining. It will tear. You may see my set up here: https://astrob.in/g6pqmb/0/ C & DS! Terrance |
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| I see mention of air flow. I leave my EQ6-R Pro out through everything, I bring the OTA inside. To help reduce risks with snags on the 365 cover I put a towel over the mount. After heavy rain it can be outright wet (the towel). I just got an AM5 and went with a grill cover, still using a towel, but added 1 lbs of desiccant and I am cinching the cover around the base of the mount at the tripod. Thought is the desiccant will keep it dry inside. I'd be OK removing the bungee but would like to know what the problems might be with that desiccant also involved. I haven't done this long yet so I don't know how much moisture actually makes it inside. Is it also a factor of heat buildup? |
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| i currently do. So far i have never had a problem. So far winters, rains and winds. all have been ok. 1 full year in august. i have a hard time seeing north. North is right at a tree line. |
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| I haven't had any issues with overheating and I usually recharge the Eva-Dry 2-3 times a week during the humid days/weeks of the season. While I am recharging one, I replace it with a fully charged one. |
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Thank you all for sharing your experience! That's valuable information for everyone  next time I'll set my rig up, I'll leave it there!
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Currently I have to tear down and setup each session. I am hoping to get a pier installed this summer so I can at least keep the mount installed and polar aligned. That in itself will help in setup and tear down time. I don't mind take the scopes inside as they are all refractors and easy to mount and dismount. Cabling is not an issue due to my current setup. Maybe one of these days I can get a shed built and keep the equipment set up permanently. Clear skies to all. |
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| I keep my mount outside if weather will stay dry for days which saves me trouble of bringing it back in again. but do take scope in and out. |
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I live in Colorado and keep both of my rigs outside year around under my TG 365 and never had any issues. Though its a dry climate, so I dont have much humidity risk. Tommy |
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Currently I have to tear down and setup each session. I am hoping to get a pier installed this summer so I can at least keep the mount installed and polar aligned. That in itself will help in setup and tear down time. I don't mind take the scopes inside as they are all refractors and easy to mount and dismount. Cabling is not an issue due to my current setup. UPDATE: Ok, I still do not have a shed or observatory but I managed to get a custom pier and created a portable setup using a Tractor supply wagon for 100 bucks. Now I just pull the wagon out to my yard, plug in the extension cord, level the setup with my attached trailer jacks and fire up the mini pc and I'm off and running. Controlling everything from inside the house. This option still gives me the flexibility of viewing locations but still not as nice as a permanent setup. You can see all the progression images from the wagon build at my astrobin site, My latest project for my Sky Watcher HEQ6-R pro as it's getting heavy for me ( Djennings ) - AstroBin Thanks for sharing and I do like your setup. Clear skies, DJ |
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| I currently leave my rig outside without any cover besides a jacket covering everything besides the counterweights and tripod legs. Slightly zipped up and arms wrapped over the AM5 ports. It's been -15 to -20 the past week or so. If there's any rain or snow forecasted I put it inside in a ventilated (non isolated) shed attached to the house (or under a roof on the patio). Normally I'd put it inside if there were long periods without any clear skies, but the temperature difference causes everything to fog from the inside instantly. As I don' have any way to effectively remedy this I've not had it inside for a few weeks now. |
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| My CGX-L and 9.25 SCT have been outside all year. Cover includes a custom made Orion and 2 tarps. No problems encountered. |
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Just a small update: I've been keeping my Planet tripod and cem70 permanently outside under a Geoptik cover for a few months now, all good. I recently started keeping everything else outside too (besides when strong winds or hail is foreseen). It's been only few weeks, so I can't comment on that |
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telegizmo 365 for the win! I have a concrete pier in my backyard, didn’t bother to tear down once or twice during tropical storms in Florida. The Telegizmo is that bomb proof… but you absolutely have to tie it down super well in those wind conditions Florida is humid, so I put a towel on top of the mount or OTA then to TH365 over it, leaving the bottom open to minimize condensation on the gear if you have a concrete pier, you can use rechargeable desiccant dehumidifiers inside the cover, and keep the bottom of the cover lashed with a bungee cord around the pier refractors and reflectors can be damaged by mold and fungus over time, so I won’t leave an OTA out for more than a couple days, unless we are in the low humidity time of the year |
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I have a backyard permanent pier resting on a deep concrete footer. I found that the TG cover was too short to adequately protect the bottom of the pier and too difficult and too heavy to place over the rig even with a ladder. So, I made custom covers from Orion Cloaks and attached skirting from tarps. The Orion is more flexible than the TG and can be placed and removed without using a ladder. I've made one each for my 6" refractor and 12" CDK which I switch out periodically. I've been using this year round setup over several years without any equipment damage Wind can lift off a cover so anchoring cords are necessary. The double layer (aluminumized and waterproof fabrics) Orion provides sun and precipitation protection. However, UV does make it necessary to replace the Orion cover every two years. It is essential to keep the bottom of the cover loose for air circulation. I'm in Ohio and rain, humidity and dew on the equipment haven't been an issue under the cover. The outside aluminum fabric keeps the equipment significantly cooler than uncovered. Michael  |
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| Too much wind and weather here for a portable tripod based rig for me. A permanent solid pier might ok for this, but its not in the cards for me here. |
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| I have a question about the counterweights while on topic. I am thinking of building an outside pier for my mount but will be bringing the OTA inside when not in use. I have the EQ6R with the expandable weight bar. Do you leave the counterweights in place or take them off and retract the bar during down times? |
