Still have not had a good clear sky this month 🙁 Over the last week the temperatures have been a bit cooler and the nights are getting a bit longer, but the clouds, and recently the full moon, have been keeping the scope covered. Speaking of covers I ordered a new Telegizmos 365 cover from Skies Unlimited and it arrived this past weekend.

I had my previous Telegizmos cover for over 10 years and it worked well through all kinds of weather… rain, snow, wind… keeping the telescope and equatorial mount head safe and dry. The reason I am replacing the old cover is the radiant barrier on the cover had started to deteriorate. The old cover was still doing a great job protecting the telescope but the radiant barrier was flaking apart and making a mess of things.

The cover I am using is the Telegizmos 365 Series Cover for 8 to 10-inch GEM mounted SCT (SKU T3G1). The Telegizmos 365 series covers are a multi layered/dual material design with an inner radiant barrier coupled to an outer cover made of high count, acrylic coated woven polyester and is capable of handling all types of weather on a continuous 24 hour a day, 365 day a year basis. The inner liner radiant barrier provides radiant heat protection and additional protection from water penetration.

The T3G1 is made for an 8″ to 10″ SCT scope mounted on an equatorial mount. I like this size since it fits nicely over all my scopes: the 8″ SCT, the 6″ SCT, the AT66ED (though it is a bit loose on this one), and even the SV503 102ED with the dew shield retracted. The cover comes with an adjustable elastic band to keep it in place but I prefer to use a set of nylon spring clamps along the bottom seam to keep the cover snugged down.

The Telegizmos 365 cover is a great investment which allows me to keep my gear set up in the driveway. It’s a great option if you want to keep your gear mobile or you don’t have the room or funds for a more permanent observatory. I leave my gear setup most of the time. Over the past 8 months or so there have only been a couple of weeks where the telescope was not set up in the driveway ready to observe.

I really only bring my gear in if I am going to be out of town or if we are expecting a storm with a lot of wind. It has been out in wind gust over 35 mph, but I worry about it blowing over so I bring it in if the wind gets to blowing. Those are the exceptions, most of the time the mount and telescope remain setup, leveled, and balanced so I can get to observing faster.

Now just waiting for clear skies…