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I got myself a refractor!


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So this is the unboxing of my new WO GT102!

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Mounted

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Objective

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Newly released FF68II

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50mm of clear aperture producing a generous 45 mm image circle

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First light report.
Took the scope out last night with a fellow astronomer.
The location: The outside porch.
Conditions : Clear with high humidity and 8 degrees Celsius dew point.
Viewing conditions : 3-4 mostly.
Transparency: Superb.
Magnification and Eyepiece used : 2.25x Baader Barlow and 8-24 Clickstop Zoom Hyperion
I placed the OTA outside to cool for about 20mins.
I had no red dot finder nor finder scope that could fit the WO, since it was kind off a impulse buy.
Regardless I found my alignment stars and Saturn.
Oh boy, SATURN!!! 
I spent the whole night at 197x magnification, admiring the storm bands and rings of the planet of which there was crystal clear spacing and the contrast of photo image quality. Very stable with no fluctuations in contrasts whatsoever.
In my whole experience as an astronomer that has spanned a mere 7 years with a 8 inch dobsonian, I have never seen a planet so clear.
Then on another note concerning this OTA.
I did a star test on the objective, collimation perfect with no change from what I suspected from the unfortunately chipped middle element.
This is a brand new scope with no marks or any form of wear on the OTA, but I noticed yesterday upon close inspection of the objective there is a clam shell chip on what seems to be the middle element when viewed straight on I would say its radius is about ~1.5mm. The picture i of the objective clearly shows the chip once its location is known under "CO".
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Should I be concerned about it spreading in the future?
I am honestly not to phased about it and since it tested so well visually last night.
I doubt it would effect my image quality tremendously when I start shooting long exposures of DSO later on, since the field flattener produces a massive 45mm image circle and this chip is on the extreme outer edges of the objective.
Anyhow some input would be appreciated.
link  to the full album of shots for anybody interested.
Regards
Ohan
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Hi Ohan, very nice scope you have there! Personally, I would be upset if a brand new scope had a defect of any sort let alone optical. You could be a bit more forgiving of second hand stuff I suppose. As you say the image quality is superb, how bothered are you with the chip. I don't think this type of crack spreads by the way.

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Great write up but you should return the scope. All parts of the scope should be in pristine condition. The supplier should rend you a replacement unit without any arguments. That damage to the lens simply should not be there.

While the damage may not affect imaging results much it will really damage the re-sale value of the scope, should you eventually decide to part with it. Get it sorted now is my advice.

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I've sent the supplier an email requesting a return shipment quote since that would be on me :/ its probably going to add another 500usd value to the expenditure.

But like you guys have said brand new scope should not have this defect.

Thanks for the swift responses

Ohan

Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk

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Lovely scope & write up.

That is a manufacturing defect missed by their quality control, check your legal status as for 'fitness for use' it should be the distributor / supplier paying to remedy this. Including return shipping costs.

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Looking on their site if you are not asking for a refund and are with 14 days (2 days also read) of getting it I am thinking they may cover the cost.

It's not like warranty because some part failed it arrived with a fault.

The site had a warranty online form to complete.

Good luck.

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They should send out a new one whilst collecting the old one!

That would be my customer satisfaction. They can clearly see the chip as we can from the image, and as already reported above, this chip looks like it was present during assembly, but its still possible that the optic has just failed for whatever reason after construction and quality control.

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Oh my, here is an update guys.

Now WO has filed a claim against the shipping company for the damage to the scope... this might cause some unnecessary delays.

I am rightfully allowed to continue using the scope in the meantime? Since I paid for it, broken or not.

Does anybody else with WO gear(esp a scope) know if their scope ships standard with a QC certificate/ sticker? Since my scope didn't arrive with any form of QC on the scope, only the Field Flattener had a QC card and sticker.

Regards.

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Hi 

So here is the final verdict from customer support.

I have to ship the lens objective back under my costs.

The consensus seems to be that the shipping company is to blame for the damage to the middle element that somehow happened during shipment.(I had to complete a lengthy survey for the claim)

Once they receive the old objective they will replace it with a new one and send it back to me.(I'm still uncertain who pays for that round of shipping)

How's that for customer satisfaction?  :unsure:

'Sigh'

Have a great day folks.

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What a shocking way to treat a customer! If I was you, then I'd be checking what your statutory consumer rights are in your country. Also check if (assuming you used a credit card) you have protection from them. In the UK, our credit laws means that a credit card company is jointly responsible with the vendor.

Its not your problem if the courier damaged the kit. You bought it from the vendor and it's their responsibility to get it to you in good fashion. they should be building the cost of insured transit into the cost of shipping.

Without getting into supplier bashing, it seems to me that WO have a history of making nice-looking scopes that can under-perform (poor focusers and pinched optics spring to mind). Adding appalling customer service to the list would mean that I would never consider buying one of their items.

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Everything I've heard about William of William Optics is positive. He personally bends over backwards for his customers. If your supplier gives you any flack, I'd find his contact and write him directly.

Keep us informed please,

Dave

Hi Dave

This is directly relating with William Optics, no supplier(middleman) involved. I bought it direct from them.

This is why I'm rather frustrated with this experience to be honest.

Ohan

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What impact would it have on resale value and would there be any impact on imaging if you kept it?

Is it worth imaging a star field to quickly see how it performs?

Someone on our forum is selling a refractor with a similar small chip out of one of the objective elements. The asking price is around half what it would normally be for that scope on the used market.

The issue that prospective buyers consider is how the damage got there and are there any other possible consequential issues yet to emerge ?. Triplet objective lenses are delicate things.

If the scope is an absolute bargain they may take a punt but otherwise I think folks will wait until a mint condition one comes along.

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