TeleGizmos 365 All-Weather Telescope Cover Review

By: Vlad Fedosov

Intro:

Building a backyard observatory has always been a dream on mine. Unfortunately living under a light polluted sky and limited space in my backyard has stopped me from realizing this dream so far. In an effort to get a taste of what it would be like to have an observatory I decided to put in a permanent pier in my backyard so that I can at least leave my mount setup during the dry months. Upon doing some research I stumbled onto a product called the Telegizmos 365 cover that allows you to leave your equipment setup outside no matter the weather! I had to give it a shot.

Testing:

I ordered the SCT GEM version of the cover that was large enough to cover my 12” Meade LX200R. Upon receiving the cover it was immediately obvious that this was a quality product(made in the USA, which I love). The cover is comprised of several layers that keep moisture out and also help to keep the heat down under the cover in the sun. Once I started using the cover, I soon discovered that putting this thing on is a bit of a chore as it is hard to lift it high enough to go over the scope without a step stool. The cover being somewhat stiff does not help at all also. After putting it on only a few times I also noticed that the inner reflective layer was starting to get scratched by all the sharp corners on the scope. I ended up putting a  bed sheet over the scope first, and then the cover to prevent this. I do think that the manufacturer could easily add a silky lining on the inside to prevent this issue from the beginning.

I used the cover without much issue during the summer months. I liked the convenience of leaving the entire scope setup and ready to go! My troubles came when the brutal northwest wet season returned. I had an issue with condensation under the cover whenever it rained. I did a little research and found that people have had luck with putting a small heat source under the cover to help mitigate the issue with moisture. I proceeded to order a gun safe warming rod. Unfortunately, this did little to help my moisture issues… I then ordered a rechargeable dehumidifier that I put under the cover in addition to the gun safe rod. Even the combo of both of these did not do the trick. My equipment was getting so wet under the cover that my g11 mount would refuse to power on with a motor fault error on several occasions.

Conclusion:

In the end, I ended up giving up on the cover and sold it. This is definitely a good product if you live in a dry climate or you only want to leave your equipment setup when its dry outside. From my experience, I really do not see how you can use this in a very moist environment.