Tyson M

I am not an imager, visual only. I prefer to not bring out my computer at all costs. I don't think I have a problem with power but I can easily test that with a multimeter.

Wise choice! My friend absolutely loves his.

^ my observing buddy said the same thing for his EQ8. He does long exposure imaging and ended up selling it for a 10 micron

Hmmmm it seems platesolving is the way to go. I carry out a deep cycle battery which can power the mount and computer so perhaps I should look into this. I will buy a 12.5mm reticle eyepiece to align perfectly. I will end my movements in up and right directions only. If this doesnt work, I will try to learn platesolving. Problem is , in the extremely cold winter, my laptop will not work- battery drains in like 5 mins. I am hoping the first two steps will be sufficient. I also downloaded a new app, polar alignment. This app shows a different hour angle for polaris than the SynscanInit 2.1 app...........unreal! Perhaps this was my issue as well.....

My mount is perfectly level, but no, I wasnt ending my movements to the alignment star in up and right directions

New video on the EQ8-R! Looks like a great mount.

Wow that's crazy expensive.... and I guess the trade option wont work. Thanks for the link. Looks like I am priced out of this market on this one as I am not prepared to go down that low. It appears I can only buy things from people in the UK, as customs, VAT, and excise duty adds too much to the price for trying to sell. Sorry all. Regards

Hello, i have an EQ6 and was just curious how I can go about getting super accurate GOTO alignment. I am having issues finding smaller targets with my 8" mak because my goto is always off. So I have to scan around a lot. Sometimes I find the targets, most times, not sure. I just started using SynscanInit 2.1 along with SS6 pro as a visual reference but I am not sure if the app has helped or not (the hour angle seemed off even though it pinged the right GPS). I did the alignment procedure (both 3 star and 2 star) three times last night and I was still out by approx 2 degs in elevation and 1 deg in AZ. This is seriously cutting into my observing time, and objects like planetary nebula and non common double stars are basically impossible to find for me. Any tips would be most appreciated.

Hmmm -thanks I'll certainly give that a read. Thanks all for your help. Regards:)

If you all pay like 20% Vat in addition to all of these other charges then I agree, it's not worth to buy it if price creeps up super close to new. I didnt realize you would pay VAT. I will likely then only list the scope for sale on astromart and CN. If you do pay VAT at around 20%, then would then consider trade options only for UK residents, and mark the BOL as a gift since it would not be a sale of any kind to eliminate VAT charges, that should work I believe?

It's also worth noting that a couple SGL members actually owned this scope. I did some digging and found that the ventilation holes in the side by corrector and rear plate by primary mirror where professionally added by the previous owner in Italy- along with the new losmandy rail. Regards

Thank you for your inquiry. The price listed is the price I paid for it. Which is technically half price from new. Also note, since it is expensive, I offered various trade options to reduce the price. You guys pay VAT and import fees on preowned stuff? We pay import tax on preowned stuff. And brokerage fees, if you use UPS or fed ex courier. Can you please give me a breakdown that is the total percentage of fees if you will guaranteed pay? I would send this regular post if possible to eliminate brokerage fees. Shipping and PayPal added $500 US to the transaction when shipped to me from italy. Still well short of new pricing. Regards

Hello and cheers from Canada. I am testing the waters here. I have one of these 8" mak cass carbon fiber scopes in very good condition for sale or partial trade. I will consider a 130-150 premium refractor (TEC 140/LZOS 120-130/TSA120 or TOA130/CFF/ Astrophysics or high strehl APM 140-150mm) and/or the following eyepieces: 31mm Nagler, 17mm ES 92 deg, 12mm ES 92 deg, 22mm Nagler, 18.2 delite, 7mm delite, 3.4mm Vixen HR eyepieces towards this. Other refractors I'd be interested in: LS60 PT B1200 or LS80 solar scope . I will also consider a VX10 or VX12 high strehl newtonian tube that has a mirror free from blemishes and is in mechanically perfect working order (no issues with holding collimation/mirror cell/spider/ focuser is square, ect). Alternatively, if you're allowed to export a high spec night vision device (white phosphor perferably), I'd consider that too. It comes with a custom CNC Stainless steel losmandy dovetail to reduce weight with no need for tube rings, Baader clicklock SCT visual back, micrometer precise focuser, paper test report, carbon fibre dew shield. Also can throw in a soft astrozap heated dew shield for it as well, and TS soft carrying case. No marks on it of any kind. Corrector is free of sleeks, outside spotless, a bit of dust on the inside of the corrector but can be cleaned easily. The scope is wrapped in reflectix to enhance performance. Maks don't get better than this, i'd say this is one of a kind. See the attached thread for optical quality. See this detailed thread for pics and video of optical performance. $4150 British pound ($5000 US dollars) before shipping or paypal (4%). I am not in any hurry to get rid of this scope for the price is firm. This is essentially an 8" TEC mak cass with optical quality certificate, comparable to a 7" apo. I have many ratings on the other site across the pond. Expect lots of questions and provide pics from me if you have items for trade - and I'd be happy to answer any questions as well. PM me for serious considerations.

Nice scope! Looking forward to hearing how it performs!

Thanks for the comments and likes all! Planets are perhaps not the best for me either at 53 degrees north. Mars comes back at 2020 though at a high elevation, so thats what I am planning for. Plus, lunar mono and binoviewing, and planetary nebula, small dso's for regular usage. These scope is a rare bird with the optical quality I am looking for. It is a very specific tool, but that's how I view my scopes.- to fill a role with respects to other scopes. I will plan to wrap the OTA in reflectix after measuring some cool down times, and see what works better.