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Model: lynxastro_dew_strap_sec_smlPart Number: lynxastro_dew_strap_sec_sml
Simply wrap around the stalk of your secondary mirror holder. A gentle heat is then transferred to the optics until the temperature is slightly warmer than the dew point.
The power cable can then be routed along the secondary spider vane. We recommend black insulating tape to hold it in place.
Will I need a Dew Controller?
A simple 12V Dew Heater Supply Cable can be used to connect the tape to a suitable 12V power-supply. When connected this way, the tape is essentially running on full power. This won't harm the tape, but running it at full-power wastes energy. The solution then is to use a Dew Controller that regulates the heat (also enables you to use more than one heater tape).
A little too big but nice concept.
As the title says, the cable was a lot thicker than expected which made it harder run it across one of the vanes.The heater itself isn't as flush with the 2nd mirror as I would've hoped, it sticks a little bit out at the bottom and I hope that doesn't affect the optics that much. The heater works as expected and is able to keep my 2nd mirror clear of dew all night. I think that a dew shield might be a better option for nights with a light amount of dew, and only using the heater in severe conditions.
I've had this fitted for a few imaging sessions now and although I've tried my best to wrap it as flat as possible it does inevitably increase the central obstruction slightly. As I am carrying out astrophotography rather than visual astronomy it's hard to tell if this increase reduces light transmission significantly enough to be an issue- I would need to image the same object with and without the heater and check exposure times and I haven't had the time or inclination to do this yet. What I could see though is that when not fitted as tightly as possible star diffraction spikes can look a bit odd. This effect went away when I fitted the heater tighter around the mirror.I've not been able to test the unit yet on a damp night so cannot confirm how well it carries out its heating function, but no reason to believe it won't work well.In summary it would be nice if the profile of the heater could be reduced and the flexibility increased, but it's not a deal-breaker. I'm using it with a 6inch primary mirror so those with bigger mirrors may find that the above issues become non-issues as the obstruction relative to the mirror size, decreases. But then again, a bigger primary mirror implies a bigger secondary mirror so this version may not fit bigger scopes!Delivery and support from FLO second to none as usual.