spaceman_spiff

18 minutes ago, steveex2003 said:

Nice problem to have 🙂

Unfortunately, it won't be happening often!

33 minutes ago, Adam J said:

Well the second one (Altair Starwave 80 EDT-R Triplet (£720)) is not available so its all a moot point really. I don't know why they keep it on their site as no one can get hold of one. I tried to get one a year back and no one has them. 

Adam 

Weird..

I'm now flip flopping between the Starwave and the SW Esprit 80. I like the extra accessories of the SW and it's a bit faster as well.  But the Altair scope is a bit lighter and has proper tube rings/may have better QC.

9 hours ago, FaDG said:

Well, I'd say the more expensive one has the ED element in FPL53 Vs Hoya 100, but mostly due to Manual optimization process and provided interferometric test, which should be prove of highest quality. 

Thanks for the reply! The price of the Altair Wave is comparable with the Esprit 80 which is very well regarded. 

Hi all,

I am in the middle of deciding what my next Astro upgrade will be and I came across these two similar scopes on RVO. They appear to have very similar specs but quite different price tags; the Starwave 80 EDT-R being around £720 while the Altair Wave Series 80mm is £1100. 🤨

I assume that the price difference is not just pure profiteering, there must be a difference in the glass...has anyone compared these two scopes/know the details. Is the wave series worth the extra money? I am looking for a decent apo to get many years of enjoyment out of. The scope will be use mainly for AP, I aim to add a mono-camera with a filter wheel for narrowband imaging.

Altair Wave Series 80mm (£1100):

https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/altair-starwave-80-edt-r-triplet-apo-refractor-ota.html

Altair Starwave 80 EDT-R Triplet (£720):

https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/altair-wave-series-80mm-f6-super-ed-triplet-apo-refractor-telescope.html

Thanks guys!

Dan 🙂

Here's a pic from last years Blue Dot...

I'm running a science activity stall there with the British Science Association, no idea what we'll be doing but we had a blast last year making musical instruments out of vegetables!

Dan 

10 minutes ago, Jenn82 said:

No there is a box of different lenses and attachments. I am beginning to think I may have wasted money!! 

I see, hopefully there will be a counterweight bar and weights. Without them, observing will be at best very difficult and at worse dangerous!.

As others have said, problems have been reported with the Jones-Bird telescope. I have tried a friends scope which had similar optics to yours, it was good on the Moon and I could see the Andromeda galaxy.

HTH Dan

Where are the counterweights?

I would like to see a histogram plotted of Post count rank vs. number of members with that rank.

Welcome to SGL. I also got the EQ5 as part of my first telescope. It is a great piece of kit. I could guide a long refractor issue (provided it was properly balanced). 

I would get some practice in setting it all up inside and getting used to how it moves. When you do go outside, take your time, use tellurium or some form of reference and enjoy. SS:->

For all its worth, here's my setup...an Evostar 120 with a ST80 guidescope all on a slightly overloaded but resilient EQ5 mount.