Re: Vibrating Newtonian!

J. White wrote:
> Greets,
>
>   I just got a secondhand Meade Polaris 3" reflector, complete with
> tripod. After a few hours of restoration (missing screws,
> collimation, broken reticle crosshair in the finder scope...), I
> tried it out tonight.
>
>   I _think_ I was looking at Arcturus; I live in Pensacola, FL, and
> the star was high in the west-northwest (RA 14h 17', Dec 18d 39'
> according to SkyGlobe).
>
>   It was the most aggravating bit of stargazing I've ever done,
> because the scope vibrates if you so much as look at it. Turn the
> focus knob and it takes 20 seconds to settle down enough to be useful.
>
>   Is there a way of damping the thing down? I don't have much use for
> a scope that is going to show me live-action star trails instead of a
> point of light. ;p

General types of things to handle vibrations: solid footing for the
tripod - wooden decks are terrible, concrete is best; make sure the
tripod is fully extended and fully locked down (however it is designed).
If it has leg tension adjustment screws/leg tensioning links, make use
of this feature.

Q