Fozzie

I do need to figure out what i'm going to look through though....  after the stellalyra cloud penalty the UK is currently under disperses! 🤔

9 hours ago, andrew s said:

Have a word with Mrs @JeremyS I am sure see can sneak one out from under his nose without him noticing he has so many now.

Regards Andrew 

Takahashi scopes not noses that is 

Takitus is worse than the green and black slippery slope..  If feel bad for @JeremyS for being so inflicted...  

I'm also fairly sure every Tak he had was on a 50% promo, with a further reduction of 15% if bought in cash, with a claimable cash back value to put towards his next purchase...  

I'm going to print a few dummy voucher codes off from work...  see if i get that past the mathematician at home!

for what its worth..  being tired, i rekon i've 30 years in me.. that's nearly 11,000 days.. so that DZ would cost me £0.27 a day...  You can't even buy a 10p fudge for that now..

Money well spent considering the resale value of say £1800..  that would equate to £0.11/day....   sign me up, we should all have one when you think about it!

£3k a day, what is she on about! ☠️ 😬

I am without scope, my beloved f11 is going to a new master, who has great plans for it, which made the transaction a little more bearable..  this however puts me in the market place, which requires certain discussions with the finance director..  never easy, even when thoroughly rehearsed..

"I'm surprised you sold your scope without getting one in first, have you seen one you like?"

Innocent enough "I've seen loads I like, not made my mind up yet, thinking similar but better glass tbh"  "like this for instance" flashing her a picture of a Tak DZ package.. at £3k

"Take this for instance... I'd  probably never need to buy another 4" frac ever again"

"For as long as you live" she says... "That's right.. take I keep it for the rest of my life..Do you know how much that would be a day...?" 

"Yes" she says.. "about £3k"

I didn't know she was that good at maths... 😞

1 hour ago, johninderby said:

Sort of Russian Roulette astro style. 😁😁😁

there was a certain excitement about the "what if...." element..

glad it's all done and dusted now.. I can concentrate on buying reputable astro purchases from reputable suppliers... if I ever make my mind up on what I actually want!

On 07/10/2020 at 18:09, bingevader said:

Just as a little aside, I've always wondered if anyone has tried to hold Explore Scientific to some of the prices they quote on their website.

There are always misplaces decimal points all over the place!

At the moment in the New Offers section, there're deep sky astro cameras for 1 and 2 Euros.

so it's true you never know with ES....  

So to update this, I spoke with Amazon on the 10th as suggested, and raised the A/Z insurance protection they had told me to once the delivery slot expired..  bearing in mind this was all done through the mobile app on live chat, it was really easy and simple.. and they even resisted the temptation for the "STUPID BOY!" comments when reviewing the order..

All was in order, but my card would be charged, however it would be refunded within 5days, sure enough sometime Saturday evening the charge showed up on the card.

While I wasn't alarmed, it did cross my mind that maybe i hadn't actually been speaking with amazon and this was how the scam works..  Who knows, but i thought I'll start to panic after 5 days..

Not to fear though, my card received it's credit back from Amazon this morning..   Fair play, I've found them really quite easy and professional to deal with..

The curious case of the £393 165mm FPL53 F7 with feather touch 3" focuser closed!

Ta

Fozzie

Thanks Craig..

I thought that about the 6"CC being close to the F11, but the astrotools calculator threw out some figures that made me think again..  the F11 has a dawes of 1.14arc/sec while the 6"CC has a DL of 0.76arc/sec, that feels like a reasonable jump...  resolution is 0.68 to 0.42 (native) 38% increment..  

weight wise its easily 8kg for the 6CC, the 8CC is going to be 11kg including camera.. i'm not sure the 25 year old motors would thank me for the later, especially with counterweight, its a lot of weight, not to mention the setting up etc..

I think 6CC is more realistic..  

Any thoughts on camera to match..  I'm basing the fact the canon has 3.75 pixels to the 2.4 pixels as being/bringing a better resolution..  but i have no idea how that side works..

thanks again 

Fozzie

Oh and the f11, will probably change to a F7 when back in stock/at some point..  which will obviously impact resolution

On 05/10/2020 at 12:52, Fozzie said:

A bit of new reading material...

I've had a good read of this now..  initial thoughts are really good.

for someone interested in a "how too" for a workflow on PiPP, RS6, AS3 and some basic PS then this book covers it well, sections on equipment configuration, DSLR and High frame dedicated cameras, also covered.  and to finish a section on ICE..  All bases covered.  What i think attracted me is the colour imagery, as opposed to mono.  the subtle shades of the images are really engrossing... close ups are taken with a Skymax180 and ASI 224..  

The remining sections in the book, are a lunar features guide, based on the scopes he used, 80mm triple and skymax 180..  with a colour code to the best observing instrument..  must say, don't quite agree with some, as my 4" frac has shown me some features down as needing more aperture.. 

decent read, talented imager..

ta

Fozzie  

little lunch time nudge!

I've seen similar to this, was just about to swap out the EP for a camera, when i took one last look... and yep tiny black dot.. I put that down to a satellite.. still though does give you a little thrill of excitement..  also i won't deny the history channel guy popped in to my thoughts for a second too..

Hi all, I'm thinking of upping my time and capabilities on lunar imaging..  currently I use a 102F11 achro and unmodded eos750d, and I've had some nice whole disk images.. coupled with an es x2 Telextender for closer

I'd like to get a bit deeper than that combo allows me, so with weight in mind for the GP mount, duel motors, I'm thinking the new 6"f12 CC and asi 178mc might make a really nice combo, especially with the pixel size of the asi 

Totally new to dedicated astro cameras, would this be a good match, with the x75 reducer I could use the 750d and CC for whole disk also..

What's people's thoughts..

Tia 

Fozzie 

3 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Think the 8” CC is a bit much for a GP mount. My CC weighs about 11kg but that is with tube rings and handle and Steeltrack focuser. Probably about 10kg without. 🤔

Thanks, I thought it would be tight... shame, I could see myself really enjoying it, on a tracked mount.. there's always the skytee though..

These are great looking scopes, the 8cc has my eye, do we think a GP is man enough for lunar work, as I think the the 6cc is too close to the 4"f11..?

3 minutes ago, Deadlake said:

When we have the weather. Very quite in operation compared with other mounts even with Rowan belts drives added.

Star book controller or other..?  I've only had a GP driven mount, and that is quiet...  even on max slew.. 

1 hour ago, Stu said:

Posted in the ‘in action at night’ thread already but belongs here too. Vixen FL102S on a Vixen GP mount with DD3 controller and dual axis drives. Lovely views of Mars last night.

As Meg Ryan once said... "yes, Yes...... YES!"  

I do love the sound and look of this set up!

1 hour ago, Deadlake said:

Recently acquired SXP2 mount, however in the last month I've not found a single clear night to use it on. How spoilt over the summer, when just about every night was good.

 

Will take heavier, maybe a 130 mm APO would look good on it.


 

lovely this set up...  bet it's a joy to use!

16 hours ago, Alan White said:

Your either crazier, braver or far more an Optimist than myself, probably all 3!
 

put that side of me back in the box.... for now!

8 hours ago, Scooot said:

https://milestomemories.com/amazon-low-price-possible-scam/
 

This might be how the scam works.

I spoke with Amazon last night, and this is about 99% accurate, apart from the delivery time which was 3 days not 3 weeks, that confused them because, as the article states its well before the payment would due to be made by them for goods received. 

either way they have confirmed i'm protected by A-Z conditions/insurance, and they have raised a cancellation directly with the seller, with a note on the system preventing charging of the account, so i appear to be safe..  however to close out i still need to raise the non delivery/cancellation after the allowed delivery variance on the product, + 3 days, so the 10th October..

just need to wait for the clouds to blow over...  interesting, because I generally trust Amazon 100% to filter this sort of tomfoolery out, because it impacts reputation and this scam targets them directly, in the sense that the buyer has protection in a number of ways, so shouldn't ultimately end up out of pocket.

10 hours ago, Shimrod said:

What is probably more of a concern is that the scammer will now have your email address (and contact details as it was despatch by vendor). You might expect an increase in spam and such like in the near future depending on how sophisticated a scammer this is.

thought about this, but the email address linked to my account, is old and no longer in use with a diversion in place to my current one..  it's tied up in a list of expired domains through work so shouldn't cause too much issue, and our fire wall at work stops literally everything, even legitimate enquiries which can be frustrating..  THey know my work address, but that's publicly available too...  hopefully limited impact, other than to our IT crowd.

I've spoken with Amazon and they have raised the cancellation, and registered the item as a possible fraud/scam.. if this does go through, have an avenue of claiming the money back, but need to wait until the delivery window is finished, so the 10th... I could cancel the card.. but for bow just keep an eye.. if they had my details, it would be maxed by now no doubt.. so payment is via Amazon, not direct with the third party.. 

Could be a close call..

54 minutes ago, Shimrod said:

Always worth checking the buyer profile - the details on this page scream Scam!   amazon - edexpressworld profile

A little more digging (the same seller is on ebay) suggests the amazon account has been hacked - edexpressworld would normally sell candles and incense, but appears dormant.

Candles!!! Good grief the wife's well capable of spending A similar amount on them..

2 hours ago, johninderby said:

A 150mm triplet FPL53 APO for 500 quid. I think not. 🤔

Oh i know, but still.......   

wouldn't have minded a look through it though...

1 hour ago, Alan White said:

I can see the temptation in a unreal bargain Fozzie, but I am not sure I would have bitten.
Your either crazier, braver or far more an Optimist than myself, probably all 3!

 

He who dares Rodney, He who dare's...

It was only the fact this was through Amazon that i did take the gamble... knowing i 30 days to return if it wasn't sold as seen in that sense, i i had some credit card protection for purchases...  Still struggling to see the scam in that sense, to it's fullest! 

I've not had a cancellation email yet, but no dispatch notification either!

My main grip is now I've tied up £400, I don't have that spare until this drama is over...  and typically @omo is selling the scope I was thinking about buying.. I've even got a way of getting to Leeds with out courier, as a work colleague lives in dundee.. simple drop of job...

What's the luck in that!  Another Vixen ED gone to another home!

Afternoon Everybody,

it's a bit dreary and damp outside so i thought i'd share with you all a cautionary tale of on line shopping...  The outcome of which, I'm still not entirely sure what we'll end up with..

My tale of woe starts on Sunday morning, as usual i was up with the kids, trying to watch match of the day, whilst filtering out the persistent moaning because cartoons weren't on whilst they were having breakfast..  Sunday is my TV morning, and i only watch match of the day, so i wasn't for turning.  

During some of the boring analysis (i make them watch that out of spite really, even though I'm not overly bothered with that bit, I'll make the most out of my TV hour) I was browsing on line for a new scope, when following some links I ended up on Explore Sci triplets.

One site called "switch budget" appeared in the shopping section of the google search, now I've never heard of this site and clearly the price for a triplet at £393 is a total scam.  But i was intrigued to see how this was going to pan out... obviously you basket, buy, pay your money for your deal of the century, which wont ever turn up and within minutes your card is maxed out, with a holiday to St Lucia for 10 and several long distance calls to India..  However this wasn't the case...   you see "Switch Budget" is a comparison site, not offering to sell, infact it states it takes prices from retriable online venders and lists for you to see...  Oh so that's how they get you, click on the link, hooky web site for who ever sells the items, cheap price is their...  BANG,  you basket, buy, pay your money and your back to funding a holiday to St Lucia for 10 and several long distance calls to find a wife agency in Russia..  

Interestingly though, the scope that was offered under the comparison was an ES 165mm/1150 FPL53 with 3" feather touch triplet apo (circa £9k RRP) and it was showing for less than £400 pound, with a link to no other than amazon UK. 

Total SCAM, but the site wasn't offering to sell it, it was, for purposes offered for sale through amazon, even more so the page i was viewing had links to other products I'd recently browsed for the little lads birthday and returns policy etc..  really legit looking, as can be seen from the screen shot.  It even had the postcode of my work...  Hmmmm odd.

.

Anyway I'm still going with scam, so closed it down, had breakfast..   but it stuck with me.. 

A little while later, still slightly bemused at this I went direct to amazon on the phone, did a search and again found the item listed.  Sure that's not right, my phone been dupped in some way to bring me back to a hooky website, probably the most detailled website i've seen, as again the other items were items i'd looked at inbetween time.. this is really confusiong, it looks like Amazon, smells like amazon, has all the links... just like Amazon.

At this point I practically reset the phone thinking I'd been hacked..

However, totally engrossed in the saga unravelling in front of me I then checked, straight through Amazon on my laptop, and works phone and in all instances it was there, listed at just under £400, used but as new condition.  I even got the mother in law to check through hers... as at this stage either amazon has been hacked or there is some legitimacy to it being sold through amazon... Clerical Error?  someone's having a really bad day if it is!

the page clearly states it includes, optics, accessories, case etc..  and is word for word from the ES UK website..  The seller had 13k plus reviews at 92% and lists a whole host of optical stuff from microscopes to binoculars etc..  so they seem to check out.  Other items on offer also seem to be correctly priced, even the returns policy was in order.  I've bought less legitimate stuff through amazon than this..

Then the wife. the dear wife pops up with the DR Pepper moment "what is the worst that can happen?"  and she's supposed to be the sensible one..

So I basket it, I've got a 30day return policy, credit card protection and amazon returns protection..  and it's not costing £9,000 for delivery...  so i punched the buy button, followed the usual steps through amazon and got what looks like a bonified amazon order number, and it's listed in my pending orders, ready for dispatch.

Now comes the worry, Regular checks of the credit card, show a pending payment of £393 to amazon, not to anyone else, to amazon..  No Russian Brides or holidays to the marigot bay beech club in St Lucia, just a normal transaction..

Everything appears to be a normal amazon transaction, maybe someone's missed a "0" of the price..  I'll get an email notifying me of the error and that the item is not for sale..

Sunday comes and goes, Monday morning my little green bar racing towards dispatch keeps on it's merry way....  BUT...

Conscious is getting to me here, what if this is a genuine mistake, and someone's unwittingly just lost there job over a typo!  Im not in for that, that's not cricket in this age of COVID and the like..  So i seek a bit of council from a Mod on here about a few things..

The more i thought, the more issues this presented itself with..

Firstly, i cant use the scope, I haven't got a mount capable of holding it at all. it would wipe out my GP and Skytee at nearly 20K with accessories.  let alone what it would do to my back.

Secondly if i was purely getting it to sell on, which is more likely what sort of market is there, even if i offered it at £4k or something.. What if it's stolen or so far out of collimation that you can see round corners.. more hassle

Thirdly how do i sell it on...  not posting it..  last scope i bought i met someone in a dark carpark at 20:00 on a sunday night, ok for £50 but not thousands... Bank transfer, I can't do time for handling stolen goods..

Fourth, is it even legit, if it turns up.... get a bench test done or contact ES regarding the serial number, only to be informed the glass is made from plastic and it's a stolen display model.

So it's starting to become problematic actually doing anything with it..

Monday comes and go's at work, no dispatch note...  I'm holding my nerve as most n the office seem to think is a good idea..  Then whether coincidence or not i get a txt on my works phone, my works phone is linked to amazon account FYI..

the txt reads "who is this", number's not in my phone or on any emails... I respond with the company name... " you called me numerous times"... no didn't..  a screen shot appears with my works number on it with a call less than 5 minutes ago. followed by another txt "YES YOU DID!"

So I apologised, said honestly it wasn't me, to block the number and I'll report it to IT in case my phones been cloned and long distance calls to India are in progress.  "OK NO PROBLEM" i get in response., capitals are so passive aggressive.  I finish by texting, "some here, have a nice evening"..

THEN IT HAPPENED the response which made me bottle it "DO TRY AND STAY SAFE"

I mean WTF...  is that just a general breezy "hey theres covid about stay safe" or in capitals as it was, out of the blue that sounds like a warning from Hell that impending doom is coming my way..

At this point i'm out..  i get home and tell the wife everything, even the expected phone calls to India and that if a Blond russian lady turns up at work, it's really got nothing to do with me..  

worryingly  after going through the selling options (see above) she didn't seem overly concerned about me taking a beating in a car park, left with no scope or money... I think she's probably swinging it, either he'll be fine and get the sale or I'll get the Life insurance so win win..

We agree, cancel the order, which is done immediately..  It is still showing in my orders, but it hasn't been dispatched and my accounts are still in credit so hopefully this will just turn out fine for the time being....

As quoted by a wise man - "if it's too good to be true, it usually is!"

Who knows whether this is a scam of some kind or mistake or something entirely different.. im still at a bit of a loss, and can only see what happens over the next few days.. either way

"what's the worst that can happen!"

take heed people...  be vigilant....   STAY SAFE

Ta

Fozzie

A bit of new reading material...

Over the last week or so it's been a bit hit n miss, the redirect message.. but was working fine a few mins ago..