TheSkySearchers

Hey all,
I was wondering what is the best dew solution for the Celestron 11" SCT XLT? WIth out going broke, but get something that is reliable.

I see a dew shield with built in dew heater, then I see just the Dew Heater Bands and a seperate Dew shield.

I have my Dew power box already and used Dew-Not strips for my refractor and guide scope and have been pleased.

So would it be better to get a sperarate Dew Shield and then buy an 11" DewNot Strip or Astrozap strip for the corrector plate?

Thanks All,

My heated dew shield does the job on my 9.25 SCT. If you do them separately the heatstrip will need to go under the dew shield to be effective. Then if you do that will the dew shield still fit?

Regards

Graeme

I bought one of these because they are adjustable, then I made my own nichrome wire heater that fits inside this dew shield. It took 2 hours to build the dew heater and was easy peasy.
https://www.highpointscientific.com/cel ... RjEALw_wcB

Cheers,
JT

Thanks Graeme and JT

I will look into both, as far as that celestron JT, I bought that for my RC8 and cut some notches to make it fit. It works great and also I had extra flocking paper from scope stuff and lined the inside of it to further suppress any light.

My only concern besides the cost of heated dew shield is the wind. Some nights it gets to windy to put celestron one I modified on my RC8 and it can fall off with a nice gust of wind. But that could be because I made separate notches to make it fit. So if it was windy with the heated dew shield (I am afraid it would blow off or become a sail) Have you had any issues with that Graeme and JT?

I also could do both get a heated dew shield + make a Nichrome wire heater as a spare if it is windy?

So now, the choice. I know soldering and electronics pretty well, but I am not one to sew.

There are also the AstroZap flexible/ heated dewshields available.
https://astrozap.com/collections/dew-sh ... =grid-view

Thanks Lady Fraktor,

Also what just dawned on me before I get one like that is that, The only OTA C-11 SCT's that were in stock came with a CG-5 tail. The ones with the CGE tail were out of stock and would not be in for a few week,s so I just jumped on the one with the CG-5 for $1825 at HP before they run out.

So from there now the choice is... do I just get the cheaper Non heated and stick with the CG5 tail at first and make a Dew Heater strap because I plan on upgrading to the more secure CGE tail in the future. Or upgrade the tail first make a heater strap and get a cheaper CGE dew shield until I get more funds.

I am not sure what you mean by tail other than dovetail plate?
If that is the case and you are going to be upgrading get the one that will fit afterwards.

Lady Fraktor wrote: ↑Tue May 05, 2020 7:46 pm I am not sure what you mean by tail other than dovetail plate?
If that is the case and you are going to be upgrading get the one that will fit afterwards.

Yes I meant the Dovetail plate.

I don't worry about the dew when it's windy. Wind and dew are usually mutually exclusive events so when it's windy (>10 mph) you shouldn't need a dew shield.

Cheers,
JT

JayTee wrote: ↑Tue May 05, 2020 9:33 pm I don't worry about the dew when it's windy. Wind and dew are usually mutually exclusive events so when it's windy (>10 mph) you shouldn't need a dew shield.

Cheers,
JT

Thanks for that tip, I did not know that. I ended up selling one of my refractors dew not strip that was like new and just bought a Dew Not 40" (d12) strip meant for 11" SCTs. I figure $40 was not to bad including the sale of my other dew strip.

As for the Dew shield I can't find a cheap one in stock, there all sold out for the 11" size. I guess I will keep on searching and maybe post a wanted classified.

Thanks again for all the help everyone

You can always make one from craft foam and hold it in place with some velcro.

Lady Fraktor wrote: ↑Wed May 06, 2020 3:49 am You can always make one from craft foam and hold it in place with some velcro.

Good idea Lady, I would of done that. But I placed a wanted ad and someone had a Celestron 11" SCT shield, like the one JT showed. And sold it for $30 total shipped, I figure I can work with that with the CG5 bar for a bit until I get a nice CGE one and can cut notches and stuff and won't feel bad. I actually have that same Celestron in an 8" version for my RC that was made for an SCT and I cut cut where the the dovetail plates are.

Thanks again all

A good thing happened, I checked my status on the shipping this morning and it did not go out yet and I saw that the C-11 with the CGE dovetail was back in stock. Apparently someone canceled their order and was made available, so I got it changed to the one with the CGE Dovetail Plate. Now for the Dew Shield I have that Celestron one that I ordered and will check it out to see how it is and then I am open to order the right one.

Thanks again all

I have switched to home made dew shields for all my scopes. I make them from crafting foam (3-5mm) and staple or duct tape to hold the shape. Here is my latest for 9.25" SCT.