My telescope mount gave out during the Perseids and I learned something weird

Last week I set up my old Celestron on a hill outside Austin for the meteor shower, and about 30 minutes in the clutch on the mount just slipped completely. The whole tube swung down and hit the tripod leg, and I thought I'd cracked the mirror for a second. Turns out the screws that hold the tension were loose, not stripped, and I didn't have a hex key small enough in my bag. I ended up wrapping a rubber band around the knob to add friction, which actually held for another hour until the clouds rolled in. It made me wonder how many other folks have a cheap field fix like that for gear failures, or if everyone else just carries a full toolkit. What's the jankiest thing you've done to keep a session going when something broke?

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joseph_green1311d ago

Once lost a focus knob in the dark and finished the night using a paperclip and a pencil eraser.