gingergeek

An absolute pleasure to meet you, welcome to the forum, kick back and relax

Great picture Peter, I like the OIII shell filaments

🥳 Awesome, great image !

At my friends observatory I have an Esprit120 and associated kit installed including an Optec Flip Flat. This was installed the winter prior to the Human Malware situation and the associated lockdown. This is when we noticed that the Optec Alnitak Flip Flat had stopped working. It wasn't until I was able to visit the dome and remove the equipment for checking at home that I could diagnose it properly. The controller software was claiming that the cover state was TIMEDOUT and the Motor State was STOPPED but the motor kept running. As some time had passed I was aware that the Flip Flat was probably no longer covered by warranty. Initially I contacted the reseller I purchased the Flip Flat from but I got no response. So I decided to reach out to Optec Inc (support@optecinc.com) and explained the situation with observations and associated screenshots. Several weeks had passed with no reply and I feared that I would have an expensive paper weight on my desk. Suddenly out of the blue I received a response from Jeff Dickerman (President) apologising for the delay in answering and offering to assist. Jeff explained that it was a known problem and sent me detailed instructions on how to open the box and fix the issue myself if I wanted. Alternatively, if I preferred I could send the box back to the US for repair at my cost. As I was worried about making the situation worse Jeff was kind enough to perform the repair for free so I offered to cover the return postage which seemed the least I can do given the unit was out of warranty. Following the usual courier/customs delays once the unit received the problem was quickly diagnosed and the unit repaired. My return address was confirmed and Tina Dickerman (marketing/service) then promptly (minutes later) sent me the shipping details so I could track the parcel. I received the unit yesterday and a quick table test using Alnitak software/NINA/SGPro shows all is well in the Land of Albion once again ..... ignoring the current Human Malware situation of course. My experience of interacting with Jeff and the team was nothing but a joy given my past experiences when having to RMA items back to vendors. As we are looking at some rotators for the dome and Optec was one of the vendors on our list this gave us some confidence in choosing them. Once the de-commissioned observatory is rebuilt at it's new darker site location the flip-flat will be back in action once again. Thank you to Jeff, Tina and the team for the fantastic service.

Nice work Gina

I just got off the phone with Bern, always great to talk to him and he always finds time to help you. I just placed my order, they are selling extremely well apparently. Now I need to look into an OAG and connectors as a future purchase. Thanks for your time Bern - always a pleasure !

@FellsideIs it possible to make those events available to all that are trialling Voyager please ?

Both are fine, I have a Atik460 on a FSQ85 and recently a SX 834 on an Esprit120 at a friends dome. As Ray states the SX cools lower due to an additional external fan, has the USB2 hub and a tilt adjuster. I've recently had my Atik460 serviced and a faulty fan replaced and a broken temperature sensor identified and replaced. This meant I could get 25-30 below ambient instead of struggling to hit 15 below ambient. The service from Atik was superb, Terry and the crew at Starlight are also great and responsive so both vendors are very good.

Looking forward to watching it over a coffee !

Amp glow aside, it's a nice capture dude.

Welcome to SGL, kick back and relax. You have a nice setup there.

I'll be there, so I will try to keep an eye for anyone wearing any identifiers.

Excellent work Rodd

So many stars, sweet Jesus !

John, Yes Dave and Bob are still in BAS and in fact Dave is on this forum as @M44DSW ! As you say I do believe he is heading back out with a few others next April, I will mention this convo when I see him tomorrow when I'm helping him to commission his dome. Regards Gingergeek

Hi John, A warm welcome from the Basingstoke Astronomical Society, I think you know some of the members and showed them around the scopes before. I hope to join them on a visit one year, so much to do and so little time 🙁 Gingergeek

I sent him a message on March12 and it's not read yet, hope everything is okay !

It was truly tongue in cheek and I know nothing of iOptron future products......I will put on a naughty boy hat and go sit in the corner.

Just as you receive them the CEM90 is announced 😂 .... sorry couldn't help myself !

Good work !

Hi there Lorenzo, Don't be scared about talking to people, it's the best way to learn. If you are in London there are some Astronomy groups in the city such as the Baker Street Irregulars (http://www.bakerstreetastro.org/), it may need best to contact and meet with them as I'm sure they do journeys out to somewhere darker. Kick back and relax Gingergeek

Nice build build diary and it looks great

Sorry Sara I missed that, can you say it again ?

Excellent stuff Steve

Sheer heavenly beauty