The chance of getting fungi on the glass is very high here as our humidity is very high (85% RH average). For me, I will not buy a scope if it can not fit my dry storage. My C8, Intes MK67, Megrez fit into this dry cabinet (one scope at a time, sell one scope before getting another :-)) together with my 10" and 7" newt mirrors.Some basic telescope care and maintenance:
1. Always handle with care, dont drop it !!! or knock over your telescope in the dark!
2. Use some means of protection, eg. hardcase or padded bag, when transporting or moving the ttelescope.
3. Learn by heart how to use every part of your scope well until it is second nature, so that you wont loosen a knob and sent the whole optical tube assembly crashing into the tripod legs!
4. Always keep close watch on your telescope, especially at a public viewing session, as some person may be curious to touch or fiddle it and unwittingly cause some damage etc.
5. Always ventilate all optical surfaces (telecsope, finders, binoculars, eyepieces) after use before storing it, to prevent growth of fungi on the glass.
5. Store it in a dry cabinet, or else keep it in a air-con room or a cool and well-ventilated place.
6. A bit of dust etc on the optics will not degrade the viewed image tremendously, so only clean the optics sparingly and only if the optics is really very dirty.
Perhaps others may like to add on....
Rlow
cheers,
Arief