NGC007

Not sure. I went on the list a few months ago and have been assured it will be ready in time for our trip to Yosemite next June. Hopefully sooner. Clem

Thanks, I think I have read all that has been reported so far as I know. Just like to hear from someone in the UK or thereabouts who has one. Clem

Great bit of kit. The AYO mount, top notch. Nexus DSC, top notch. The booze, proper job. Very tidy setup as well. Hope you enjoy. Clem

Hi all, I on the long waiting list for the Baader apo 95/560 caf2 travel companion. I was wondering if anyone has had one already. I would love to know your opinion. Clem

Looks rock solid, congrats. Clem

More like my Brains! So the wife says Barry! Clem

I could put lights on it at Christmas Barry. It's always the same when I upgrade, a ton of stuff gets sold. Roll on Monday! Clem

Hi Steve, It's around 10,000 euros. Clem

Hi Barry, I'm a Cork man myself ( well, a Mallow man) but I live in Wokingham, Berkshire now. Clem

I currently own a Celestron CPC 1100 customised to death.. Internal rechargeable battery pack, internal dew controller, fans and much more. I'm about to sell it though. Clem

Thanks all, the mirror cell weighs 25Kg and the mirror is 2" thick. It's installed on an 18 point support customised for each mirror, they say. If you go to Skyvision.fr you will see a tab to convert to English, but google chrome will automatically convert anyway. Mine is the Compact Dob 20" f3.3. Clem

Ooops! The Focuser is 5' 7" pointed straight up. I'm only 5' 7" so on those rare occasions when I look at the zenith I have a 3" step. No ladder required. Clem

Thanks all, I'll drive really carefully, most of the time! I have a Leica Zoom eyepiece and a Baader VIP Barlow, an amazing eyepiece. Plenty of links on Cloudy Nights covering it in depth ( http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=2390 ). Also, at Astrofest in London last week I got talking to Al NAgler. He convinced me the 21mm Ethos was absoloutely the best widefield eyepiece for this fast Dob. 1,1 Degree TFOV with Paracorr type 2 with an exit pupil of 5.5mm. He offered me a very generous discount and so I couldn't say no, could I? I rushed home and told the wife how much I saved but all she cared about was how much more I had spent! Women can be funny sometimes. The 21mm Ethos with the Paracorr type 2 weighs just over 3.5lbs in old money. Kelling better be clear next month! Clem

See link below for pictures of my new 20" F/3.3. It's the one with the wheels. The pictures are from the workshop near Bordeaux and I'm popping down there ( 1,550 miles round trip) next Monday. http://skyvisiondev.blogspot.co.uk Clem

Saw this scope at Astrofest on Friday. It seemed light and rigid and all Aluminum, a step in the right direction if you ask me. The guy on the stand was very enthusiastic but couldn't tell me anything about the quality of the optics. I ask him to demonstrate how to collimate the primary. He picked up a long metal rod and put one end of it on a nut in the corner of the mirror box about an inch from the mirror and then twisted it using a handle on the other end. I must say this alarmed me a bit as he had to be careful doing this in daylight in order to avoid striking the mirror but in the dead of night is another matter! When i mentioned this to him he pointed out some rubber protection on the end of the rod. Must admit it put me off a bit. Still, I believe lightweight Dobs with fast mirrors are a step forward. Clem

Light Polluted Steve. You go with what you got. Some nights are pretty good and I never run out of things to look at with my 11" CPC SCT. I will just wheel the dob about 8 feet out of the shed and go! That's the plan anyway. Clem

See you there

They seem to have taken the Obsession line of Ultra Compacts to a new level. Lighter, stiffer and better mirror protection. All the Dobs are ready to install Skycommander and GOTO, this makes it easier to install them later if required. Mine comes with Skycomander. I'm getting the grand tour of the workshops when I travel down to pick it up. Clem

Used to dream of owning one of those. Enjoy.

No. Once Skyvision guaranteed the minimum spec I stuck with them.

The prices are on the download section on the website tagged "Public Price-SkyVision 2013" http://www.skyvision.fr/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/PublicPrice-SVjan2013.pdf Never owned a reflector before, Just SCT's and Refractors. Got the whole collimation thing to look forward to. Clem

Decent weather for once. :-)

Thank you all for your comments. No it isn't my first scope, I’ve had many throughout my life. Currently own a Celestron CPC 11" SCT (heavily modified) and an Apo. Would have gone for a 20" Dob years ago had there been high quality f3.3 mirrors then. This particular scope all the boxes for me. Light. Mainly Aluminium and Carbon Fibre. Easily fit in the back of my car F3.3 2” thick mirror No ladder Rigid Etc.Here are a couple of YouTube links. Just found the one from The International Astronomy Show. It’f featured right at the end. The other vid is just a promo. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWOSphZyF9Q&list=FLx95qgCjxy70rw50ApaDj5g&index=14 SkyVision : The sky in High Resolution The French chap at the International Astronomy Show is the only one who can speak English. No one else can speak a word at the workshop. The website translation leaves room for interpretation and has some errors. I got them to commit in writing that the mirror will be at least a tenth wave PTV with a minimum Strehl ratio of 0.96. That’s pretty fantastic for such a fast mirror and when held rigidly should give some great planetary views. The mirror goes off to Airy Labs for testing at the end of the month and I’ll have the results then. Will post pictures and observing reports ASAP. Will be in the Red zone at Kelling in March. Clem

Yes the time has nearly arrived! My 20" f3.3 will be ready on the 10th Feb. It's being made in France by Sky Vision. http://www.skyvision.fr/wordpress/telescope/compact/?lang=en I am only 5' 7" and hate ladders or even steps hence the f3.3. Gotta go dow to Bordeaux to pick it though as I don't trust the postie with this one. In time for Kelling thank goodness. Will post more when I get my mits on it. Clem