HOW TO DISPOSE of UNWANTED ASTRONOMY EQUIPMENT 

Your gear is way nicer than many if us can afford. There are many young families out there who would jump at the chance for some hand me downs.

I’m glad you survived the terrible accident you described. A very nice heartfelt video and loved the way you tried to save your Astronomy equipment and your are doing the respectful responsible thing with the broken astro gear. How emotional that may have been to go back and find your binoculars and some of the missing items. Great video.

I was blessed to receive a 10" Meade LX6 that someone donated to my university. It was in really bad shape, but it was a wonderful project to work on and brought me so much joy. I hope your Meade finds a good home and brings joy to a budding astronomer like mine did for me!

Hi, Tsula! You are extraordinary and resilient, and your Mom was watching you. You're here with us. It's okay to cry and let it out. Thank you for trusting us. Why not repurpose the body of the Meade? Make it a decoration piece for the office or living room, just turn it on the bottom, and use the top opening as a flower vase. Or fill it with packing foam then stick artificial flowers in it to make a floral arrangement. To stabilize the bottom just glue felt cloth to protect table or floor, so it won't scratch the sitting surface. It would make a great conversational piece.

Glad you are ok - this is what matters as everything else can be replaced one way or another. Take care and please keep making your YT clips Tsula 👍😊

Very glad you're safe. My heart goes out to you about your scopes but ultimately they can be replaced.

Hey Tsula, thank God you are ok! I myself survived two BAD accidents many years ago. First Responders could not believe I survived either one, and with hardly a scatch. Truly miracles. I count the blessings. I may be interested in the mount. I like to tinker and do not yet have a GoTo EQ with my limited budget. I would like to keep an eye out for it on eBay. Are you ok posting your eBay seller name on RU-vid so we can find it?

Very glad you weren't physically hurt bad. Option#6: Clean up and display as a decoration or demo model. Telescopes are beautiful, and like the one in the background of this video, make great decorations, even when not functional. Why buy expensive art work when you have these beautiful devices that have great memories attached? (Unless, you want to forget certain events associated.) An old scope can also make a great demo device for a public outreach since you don't worry about further damage. To explain form and function of the various components of each telescope design, a model or non-functional scope works fine.

Glad to hear you made it out okay, that's quite a scary ride! Definitely DO NOT just throw away astronomy equipment without trying to move it on to someone else. It's always better to sell for parts or give away for parts as anything can be fixed and some people may just need a small, impossible to find part on it. Even that mirror can be re-aluminized and be good as new. eBay, Facebook marketplace, Craigslist, garage sale, or just a free sign at the end of the driveway even and that stuff will be picked up real quick. Astronomy equipment is quite expensive so there are also always people looking for something cheap that could be repaired and end up with a good deal and equipment they could never have been able to afford otherwise. That's how I got into astronomy, I can't afford to just go buy a fancy scope or mount, so I picked up a 114/900 Newtonian for next to nothing that needed a ton of work and was missing almost everything. Between scrap wood, other cheap parts, and a couple decent eyepieces from Amazon I've got a usable scope and spent very little on it. One person's trash is another's treasure definitely holds true here.

I am very glad you are okay after that wreck. I would be interested in the 8 inch corrector plate and secondary mirror. I have an old Meade LX 3 2080 that the secondary will not hold collimation anymore, making it useless. I could use the newer secondary holder to bring my telescope back to life. I am in AZ.

So glad you’re ok.

Ouch glad you were ok in the accident & you got reimbursed for the damage. I had a friend who gave me a RASA 11 & CGE pro mount which was damaged in a storm while they were away & rain water got in everywhere. I managed to get the RASA working again & I nearly ditched the mount as spares aren't available but I found a guy in the states who makes an ONSTEP kit for it so I have repurposed it & put it in the observatory & it's a great mount. I think your Meade scope could be repaired the stains on the mirror probably won't make much difference, your mount probably just needs the gears readjusting as my partners fell over & did exactly the same as yours.

there are people who look for corrector plate who have broken theirs. it will not be a perfect match but it will still be much better then having a sct without a corrector plate and heard on forums it works very well. glad your ok. i would try to use the mount manual.

What a terrifying ordeal, so glad you're OK! Best wishes

Hi Tsula, a sad subject indeed, but at least we know our options now. I was thrilled to hear you managed to recover some possessions, especially those binoculars…Yay! a nice reward for confronting the scene again, after such an event. In Europe many people now sell damaged equipment online for spare parts. With companies like Meade and Orion closing this market could increase in the future. I hope you’ve had some success with your AZ EQ6 that would be more good news to hear. Take care and enjoy your dark skies Lynn. 🤗🌙✨

Hi Tsula, first of all I'm happy you're safe and sound and here to tell the tale! I was thinking that perhaps the SCT might still have life on it, maybe just needs the corrector to be placed in the right orientation, this might require a bit of trial and error (and a good amount of patience). As for the blemish in the primary, should not affect the view dramatically, imho. You might also consider getting in touch with Reflactor (know that YT channel?), he seems to love tinkering with broken telescopes! Stay safe, love your videos. All the best!

Hello Tsula. Glad you are still with us and sorry about your loses. There is the clasified section on Cloudy nights and is free to join not like Astromart, and the people there are very honest. Craigs list I don't recommend at all, is more prone to scams and bad people. Just specify its for parts and buyer pays shipping. Either you put it for free or some price and local pickup or whatever you wish. the odds of one cloudy nighter lives nearby are good! Dark skies for ever!

Thanks Tsula.

Hi Tsula! Glad your ok! I wonder how many Tasco 60mm telescopes. Are in the landfills.clear skies

I also find it hard to throw things away if they might have value to someone. I recently cleaned out my apartment and spent a good deal of time, and a fair sum of money, getting my unwanted items to the proper charities and recycling facilities. I'm also a supporter of organizations which collect "past best buy" items from supermarkets, for distribution to local food pantries - food waste is appalling in the United States. I'm disturbed to learn that plastic recycling is a losing proposition. There's a big market for waste metal and paper - the newly built New York City recycling facility, the city's largest industrial project of the last fifty years, boasts spot-traders on the stock exchanges to keep abreast of fluctuating commodity demands, the more profitably to manage the facility's day-to-day output - and glass can also be reused, but plastic is another matter entirely. Due to the constraints of organic chemistry, only the plastic types #1 and #2 can be realistically repurposed, and even that's beyond the reach of smaller facilities. It looks like we're going to burdened with the hazards of plastic waste for a long time to come.

Sorry to hear. I hope I never have to deal with something like that. I've gotten attached to some of my astronomy stuff and I'm sure that damage like that was tough to take. Clear skies here tonight, but hazy. I've got the WO FLT-110 refractor cooling down on the mount.

Hello There, I'm so sorry to hear what happened to you.. Glad you are doing okay, just take care of yourself. Steve in UK 🇬🇧

I rebuild astronomy gear when I can find it. Half of my personal equipment are items I rescued from the trash. What I can't rebuild immediately I put into my stockpile of old parts just in case I need something for a future project. If you put it into garage sales or put up a notice on a community board, chances are someone will want it.

Any ideas for disposing of an old, broken, defective, and no longer wanted astronomer/astrophotographer, Tsula? 🤣 How are you?! It's been a minute... I still can't believe that horrible accident you were in. Thank goodness you were okay. Sorry about losing most of the equipment, though. That really is so sad. This is GREAT stuff to know!! Thanks so much for sharing all that information. Things we don't think about! Since I know you haven't used one before, if you have any interest in a Celestron EdgeHD 8 (very, very lightly used), please get in touch with me!

Good that you escaped with no injuries. I know what you mean about the trauma of throwing out your old telescopes. I still have my Meade LX2, which I was unable to give away for free, even though it was resilvered,

Hello, I would love to help you out with your scope. Any chance you would be willing to bring it to Montana next time you are there. I live in north west Wyoming and would love to get it from you. I have some young aspiring astronomers that would benefit greatly from this kind of project. Thank you for your consideration. I would be happy to pay for shipping as well 😊

Thank God you're ok!

Hi Tsula, please don't take the LX 85 to the landfill, I think it can be repaired ... I also repair electronics. I have a background in this area and a future hopefully. Kind regards, Marv

Always wanted a Mead telescope. I'd buy it off of you for something plus shipping. If you list it on Cloudy Nights that would be great. I had a C11 with a problem and was able to sell it on CN.

Geeezzzz Tsula. If I remember correctly you just had equipment stolen from your car and now a huge accident. You need to buy a lottery ticket. First of all equipment can be replaced, you can’t! So glad you are ok. Take good care of yourself.

Your accident serves as a good reminder to store loose or heavy items in the trunk. During an accident anything not properly secured will become a projectile and could seriously hurt someone.

I'm glad you didn't get hurt

A telescope can be replaced tsula cannot.thank the lord you are ok.🙏🏻

Glad you and your binocs are o.k.

thank you

Hey Tsula - ah, what a shame with your gear. It might be worth trying your corrector plate in different positions before you toss the SCT. Normally, you have to mark the plate position before you take off so you can return it to the same position. Glad to hear insurance paid up. 😂

NO NO NO landfill I will take them! I am in Oklahoma and will pay for shipping.

A little dirt on a small part of the primary mirror is not that catastrophic. Try it out!

anyone out there have a dead Meade 2080. it was my first scope and the secondary is flaking.

Wish I had money I'd make you an offer for the schmitt

I like fixing things. I’m retired. You could send it me? Definitely needs your signiture.

I'm glad you are OK. What a horrible experience. You are tough. I've taken old cameras, batteries and other miscellaneous electronics to Best Buy. Meade and Orion are out of business now. I bet someone could strip, clean and relubricate the mount or buy it for spare parts.. Your Pelican case shouldn't have leaked. So much for the credibility of Pelican cases. Use it as an excuse for a new or used replacement. Treat yourself. Good luck.

Sorry about that ❤

Donate to your local astronomy club, they will be super glad you did.

dont toss the scope, im sure there will be a lot of people who would take it either to repair or they need the parts.

I WILL TAKE ANY SCOPE ANY SHAPE!!

I am sorry this had to happen to you.

give it to a poor boy with cancer so he can restore it 👀😂❤️