willcastle

I just don’t get it. What have I done to warrant this. I have been so loyal to them over the years

This is very true. I once heard that people are ten times more likely to report something negative than something positive. To prove this point, I never made a positive review of this retailer even after my last 5-6 purchases were all fantastic; now something bad has happened and here I am.

Just to clarify these two points so that I am not accused of liable (should I mention the retailers name): I said to them in an email: “Considering the fact that I have only just purchased it, and it seems to have slipped through quality control, like the tripod and counterweight, I feel disappointed with the purchase.” Here was their reply to that point: “The manufacturers won't have boxed up a damaged tripod. Their QC is normally very good. It must have been done in transit somehow.” This totally ignored the fact that a) I had mentioned the counter weight AND lens glue in addition to the tripod and b) ignored the fact that in a previous email I had explained that I feel the tripod damage was done before transit because the dent didn’t line up with any exterior damage to the box. here was my reply: “I would also question the fact you are telling me their quality control is so good, when the lens of the telescope has glue on it. That is not something that happened in transit. Nor is the fact that during the manufacturing process they painted over a region of corrosion on the metal.” and their reply to that: “We sell a massive amount of Skywatcher and we get very few returns. This is the reason that I am a bit confused about the amount of issues that you've had.” That to me, is implying they are doubting me at my word. You may have a different interpretation. In my reply I told them I was unhappy with how they are talking to a loyal customer who has spent so much money with them. UPDATE: they just replied to my last email. They are still reassuring me that I will get a replacement scope and have contacted the supplier to tell me they contacted them too. (I also contacted the supplier to express my disappointment and ask for a replacement). but they chose to totally ignore all of my comments about upset, disappointment and their implications. So after a long process it looks like I will get my replacement scope, and due to my unhappiness with their commutation: they will have lost a loyal customer of 8 years. This whole situation could have played out so differently.

Does anyone know if I am allowed to name them on here? Is it okay with SGL’s forum rules?

The plot thickens. OVL are saying they will collect and inspect the scope to see what they will do about it. The retailer are insisting I will get a replacement. But then being vague about the entire thing. I quite honestly am very disappointed with how the retailer is handling this situation. They actually implied that I am the source of these issues in their last email and basically all but called me a liar. They went as far as to tell me that what I was saying isn’t accurate because skywatcher have exceptional quality control and the issues must have occurred in transit or after. Well how do they explain there being GLUE on the lens?!? That didn’t get their in transit. I apologise for the rant. I just needed to get it off my chest. It’s so disappointing when I have spent around £4000 with this particular retailer. I have never had any issues with any of the other 3 scopes I brought from them, or the EQ5 or EQ6 I brought from them. But I guess being a loyal customer doesn’t count for much when I get sent something with issues. After this business is concluded I will take my money elsewhere. I have heard tons of good things about FLO so that will now be my next retailer I guess. Shame. Because I have literally never bought any Astro gear for anywhere else. I’m weirdly loyal like that.

I agree of course, but I also don’t like being given the benefit of the doubt when I am being honest. It’s a strange one. I don’t doubt that people try and pull a fast one. But also check out these. The counterweight had a huge chip out of it and clearly the paint and finish has been applied over corrosion. Then the tripod leg also came out of the box with a dent and large scratch in it. That is a thick steel pipe and it again looks like it was done before it was ever put in the box. It is definitely all a bit strange and concerning. As for the retailer.... they contacted OVL and got me a replacement leg for the mount and a new counterweight which is good. And those replacement parts were sent to me extremely quickly. So I can’t complain about that. But yes I will keep this up to date. As a side note.... I have also noticed that the evostar range no longer has the Schott glass logo on it. That deal has come to an end between the two companies. But I am waiting on confirmation as to whether the scope actually contains schott glass still

Here is a picture of the glue, if anyone is interested in following this situation

Okay, I have had a reply from the retailer. They got me in contact with Optical Vision who are going to collect the scope. I just realised that OV haven't explicitly said they are replacing the scope; they have just arranged to collect the old one. That is strange. I am waiting for clarification of what they are going to do about it. I guess they wont email back until tomorrow now.

Well I had the tripod on it’s lowest height because I was worried about stability and imaging. But I guess I could use short legs for imaging and then extend them out for viewing. It did help having the diagonal in...... but yeah I think one of these chairs is a good idea

Yeah this is basically what I did. I have emailed them. They asked to see a photo and said they will decide what to do based on that. I’m home tomorrow so I will take one then. I definitely don’t want to try and clean it myself and then make a mess of it. That would definitely stop me being able to return it

It’s already on one

Using an evostar 80ED pro. At one point, it was pointing straight up and was about a foot from the ground 😅 that was particularly uncomfortable. It was even tricky pointing it at the moon because I had to bend over it. I’m not sure how a chair could adjust that much?

How do you try and ensure a comfortable viewing session? After a couple of hours, my body had been contorted into positions I didn’t even know I could achieve, and my back was aching pretty bad. 😂😂

Yes all brand new from a fairly reputable supplier. One I used to use a lot a few years ago. On another note, why are the reviews sections on the forum locked? I was going to share some of my experiences. I think from now on I may switch to using FLO.

My new skywatcher evostar 80ED Pro arrived a week ago or so, and naturally I kept the dust cap on as much as possible to avoid getting dust on the lens. I took it out for my first light on Friday and noticed that there is a small amount of glue on the actual glass of the lens. It looks like someone has glued something on the ring around the lens and accidentally got a thin, stringy bit of glue on the lens. I don’t want to even touch it without getting some advice from people here first but urmmmmm any thoughts? It looks like it could potentially come off really easily but on the flip side.... until you try it’s kinda impossible to say and it could be stuck tight onto the surface of the glass. I don’t want to damage the lens or remove any coatings on it. I’m also a bit hesitant to send it back as this would now be the FOURTH issue with this particular order (order missed its delivery date, tripod arrived with a large dent in it, counterweight was literally corroded and had a large chip in it).

I have two questions: 1) can I manually move the scope around whilst the mount is switched on, without damaging the motors? the handbook suggests that you can, as long as you loosen the RA/DEC clutches. But it also says that it will then lose alignment. Is this correct? 2) how tight do the RA/DEC clutches need to be whilst the mount is switched on? You can either nip them up a bit or you can really tighten them? Does anyone know how these “clutches” even work? It seems strange that they have variable resistance / tightness

Omg. I’m such an idiot. Thanks everyone who was telling me to recheck the settings. I plugged it in now and thoroughly checked everything and I had put the latitude and longitude the wrong way round. What a fool. Now I just need some clear skies to recheck it. And we are forecast about a week of cloud by the looks of it

It looks astonishing. It’s mesmerising. So much detail throughout. I would love to know what scope and camera you used. I’m using a Dslr for the foreseeable future. I noticed you can buy a clip-in Ha filter. I wonder if that would allow me to improve my own images. I am still very new to deep sky photography however, so maybe I am getting a head of myself a bit 😅

Was on handset. Will try computer when I can at least get the basics right 😅

Oooooooohhhhhh!? Wait what. Maybe I did this bit wrong? If I use Ashford as an example too (so I don’t post exact coordinates to my house 😆), I get this come up: So I typed it in like that

Yep certain it was m31. It had it written on the screen right next to the “below horizon” warning.

I used google maps to type in my exact coordinates 😕

Took the HEQ5 out for the first time tonight and ran into a few issues. After realising for ages that I was inputting the date wrong (dd/mm/yy instead of mm/dd/yy), I also realised that when it mentioned the position of Polaris at the end of the setup, it seemed to say it was at a different position to my app (but maybe I am misunderstanding it). Secondly, I told it to do a one star alignment just as a quick test and it was so horrendously out that I was a bit stunned. I loosened the clutch and pointed it where it should be, and from then on it was approximately okay and finding the moon / m42 / m45. It managed to at least get each of these in the 30mm finderscope, if not the actual scope (80mm). But then I typed in m31 and it said it was below the horizon! And... well... yeah it was pretty much right over head.

Can we just take a moment to appreciate how gorgeous this image is 😂 it is pretty much my idea of imaging perfection. In terms of the Ha you are mentioning? Do you mean the bits like I have circled in my quick screenshot? Those are my favourite bits of the image. They bring it to life. Am I understanding you correctly, that those red regions are star forming regions?

I think I could also turn image 2 into something resembling image 1 very quickly but I wouldn’t be confident trying to do the reverse (trying to make 1 look like 2). I also find it interesting that a lot of people go for the second style, and yet I haven’t seen a great tutorial yet on how to achieve that look.