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Explore Scientifics 12" dob


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Well folks, after much waiting the scope has arrived. Those of you following the saga will be well aware that it took 2 months from the date of ordering and then UPS did their best to ensure it wasn't delivered.

Anyway, it has arrived.

I'll use this thread to post pictures, my opinion of the scope and when the clouds part - first light report.

First then, the box..... and contents:

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I'm glad it's with you at last Tom  :smiley:

They really do arrive "flat packed" these days don't they ?  :grin:

I'll be looking forward to seeing more photos when it's all together and hearing about how it performs  :smiley:

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Well I've now had a chance to assemble and take  few more pictures and I'm ready to give a run down on my initial thoughts.

No 1st light yet, so it will only be a general review, but here goes nothing.....

Instructions

There aren't any in the box, so you have to work it out yourself. It took about 15 minutes, so no biggie there.

Packaging

All fine. No damage in transit.

General finish

Hmmmm... The paint is wafer thin and has flaked off in a couple of places (see below):

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QC

Poor. I had to recut most of the threads for the fixing screws, as they hadn't been fully tapped to depth. Good job I had an M6 tap and wrench to hand, otherwise it would have been very frustrating.

There is also a thread insert which is loose so this will require a bit of thread lock.

Although these are problems I can fix myself (and I will) it shouldn't happen on a new product. If it was a product shipped from the UK, I would send it back but as I have to pay for any return shipping (and then argue about a refund after the event) and these are easy to fix, I've gone ahead and resolved them.

Matching description

Not bad, except I'm sure the focuser is R&P not Crayford as advertised (not that this makes much of a difference).

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Performance

Moves fairly freely in both axis and I don't think it will sag with big eyepieces. I do note a need to add some small felt pads to the sides of the rocker box, to prevent it catching on one little bit (but this is just me being a perfectionist) and I might add a bit of silicon spray to the azimuth to make it a lighter action, but it is pretty good.

Stability is good. Trusses hold the top together very well.

Haven't checked the collimation yet or the optics, but this will be done over the next few days and we may even get 1st light in.

Optics

Look fine in the daylight, but will only really check out on a dark sky.

Upgrades

A better finder is a must. I think a tetrad will fit......

Pipe insulation to the truss poles will prevent them getting damaged and make it easier to handle.

Verdict

Overall I'm okay with the scope. As an early adopter I knew there would be a few issues and I'll feed these back to ES in hopes others don't suffer the same, but I can overcome most of them.

It isn't a Sumerian, but then it was only £750 (a Sumerian is at least £1800).

It packs down a lot smaller then a Skywatcher Flextube (£850) and as my lovely wife has booked us a weeks holiday at Kelling Heath this year, the fact I can get it in the car with wife, daughter and dog, is a big bonus.

As it is not my main scope (I have a C9.25 and some AP gear obsy mounted) it will be only be lightly used for family hols and trips away. With a few tweaks I think it will be brilliant for the purpose. If the optics (made by GSO so should be okay) are okay, it will be fine.

Shame about the QC.

A few more pictures and some more to follow when I get back home (away again for work).

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Ooh, look at that. Looks great! Glad you finally received it.

What are your impressions regarding the build, and how long does it take to put it together?

Build is okayish - could be better...... Takes about 10 minutes to assemble (if that).

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For all those hoping I would bring i to SGL9, I'm afraid to say pressure of work load (swamped at the moment) means I've had to cancel my spot.

If anyone wants to come over and have a look, I'm sure we can arrange a trip to a Northants dark sky or drink tea in my garden....

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Just using the box labelling as a rough guide to the packing dimensions...it looks amazingy compact.

I'll take some shots one evening this week and use something to give a sense of scale, as it all packed away at the moment and this is the important factors - how big is it when packed.....

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I think it looks great. there are always as you say, going to be some teething problems with a brand new product and basically it seems to be an excellent buy, especially for the price. the question is I suppose, would you be happy to pay another £300-400 to get it received in perfect order or be happy to do the odd bit yourself. I fall into the latter category for sure.

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I think it looks great. there are always as you say, going to be some teething problems with a brand new product and basically it seems to be an excellent buy, especially for the price. the question is I suppose, would you be happy to pay another £300-400 to get it received in perfect order or be happy to do the odd bit yourself. I fall into the latter category for sure.

Hmmm... I certainly don't mind getting my hands dirty and fixing things up but this is brand new from the factory and should be perfect. There is no excuse for poor workmanship or poor machine finishes. The fact is that ES have marketed it for sale and are shipping them so all the niggles should have disappeared long ago. The customer should not be a guinea pig. If it was secondhand I certainly wouldn't mind having to re-tap a few holes and mod bits but from new?...

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I have not bought a scope yet (new or second hand) that I have not almost instantly started to modify to make it work smoothly / better for me.  QC has been an issue for some time with many scope brands and it's a symptom of working to a price for a market that seems extremely price sensitive. if they spend more time on QC then the price goes up. the finishing of a scope like this is where a lot of the money is so this is where QC is likely to matter most (or a lack thereof). it looks like they have not used an etch primer on the aliminium in this case, nor cleaned out all the threads after finishing. again time.....

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I think it looks great. there are always as you say, going to be some teething problems with a brand new product and basically it seems to be an excellent buy, especially for the price. the question is I suppose, would you be happy to pay another £300-400 to get it received in perfect order or be happy to do the odd bit yourself. I fall into the latter category for sure.

If it was more expense, I would have had to think very long and hard before buying it.

I don't mind doing a few bits myself, but agree with Tiny Small as well.... Should have fixed them before sending out.

Hmmm... I certainly don't mind getting my hands dirty and fixing things up but this is brand new from the factory and should be perfect. There is no excuse for poor workmanship or poor machine finishes. The fact is that ES have marketed it for sale and are shipping them so all the niggles should have disappeared long ago. The customer should not be a guinea pig. If it was secondhand I certainly wouldn't mind having to re-tap a few holes and mod bits but from new?...

I agree. The QC is iffy but then as Moonshane points out, it isn't just ES.

It is symptomatic of having stuff made to a price in China. If you want hand crafted, you have to pay!

Shame though, but nothing a tin of Hammerite and some thread lock won't fix.

I'm also guessing the next batch won't ship for 9 euros, which is what these cost in terms of packing... So I'm glad I got in early.

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I'm pretty surprised by that. Anywhere else it would be unacceptable and if they don't control the quality, they are just making a rod for their own back. All of the things that are wrong with Tom's scope could be dealt with under warranty. Can you imagine how much time and money would be wasted on sorting these problems out if everyone sent their stuff back when it could have just been done right in the first place. It is no harder to set up a milling machine (for example) to do a job correctly than to do it incorrectly and a part of that process would be to check the product output for faults and to ensure it is within tolerances as well as ensuring it is fit for purpose. If you have to re-tap threads because they don't extend fer enough, it isn't fit for purpose and the company are relying on it being a pain to send back to avoid having to deal with it.

Don't get me wrong, I know this does happen with cars and anything else (though people are more likely to complain about that) but it shouldn't.

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