FLO

Fantastic 😀 You've no idea how nice it is to hear this, after spending today hearing only about delays. Was it DPD or DHL?

That is a hard one to answer because it will depend on the package size/weight and on whether Royal Mail industrial actions have been successful. Either way, RM will have a lot of catching up to do. So probably a courier is best. For UK deliveries we mostly use DPD but can also dispatch via DHL if requested. HTH, Steve

Apparently, my comment was ambiguous ☺️ I didn't mean We, at FLO. I meant We, the country. FLO is an accredited Real Living Wage employer. Our wages this year were increased in line with inflation. Steve

Some have asked - why didn't we simply switch off the Royal Mail delivery options on our website. We considered this but, first, we tried proactively upgrading orders with Royal Mail delivery, to delivery via Courier. It did not go well! 😟 We quickly learned many customers live in areas where couriers struggle to provide good service. They choose and prefer Royal Mail because they know their local postie will find them. There can be no doubt UK Royal Mail service is exceptionally good, when they are not on strike. Indeed it wasn't that long ago when they were correctly recognised as 'essential' workers. If you are a postie reading this, we wish you well. If you are a customer affected by delays, we thank you again for your patience and understanding.

This situation does of course affect 'all' retailers. Not only FLO.

The situation regarding deliveries this month is dire! Deliveries via Royal Mail are significantly delayed by industrial action and their tracking system is not up-to-date. To escape this, people are choosing delivery via courier. So couriers are now also overwhelmed. Over three months ago, we began posting updates here at SGL and advising customers on our website and during the Checkout process of likely delays. We are expecting the situation to worsen so are pulling all the stops out at our warehouse! All hands are on deck, booking in stock and then dispatching it as fast as humanly possible. So, if you need a telescope or accessory before Christmas, please order this week. Thank you for your patience and understanding during these extraordinary times. HTH, Steve & everyone at FLO ☕ 🔭

FWIW I do understand and support your right to strike. Nurses, teachers and rail workers too. You deserve better. We deserve better. I wish I could say more, but I might already have overstepped SGL's no-politics rule. Steve

IOptron dominates the centre-balanced mount market and their CEM60 / CEM70 has been especially popular. So we are not surprised to see Sky-Watcher release this competing product. The CQ350 PRO is Sky-Watcher's first centre-balanced mount. It will be interesting to watch its progress. Never a dull moment 🙂

This new mount has the same hole patterns as the EQ8 mount so can be used with an Astro Essentials pier mounting plate. Astro Essentials Pulsar Pier Adaptor for EQ8/CQ350/CEM120/MyT Mounts

The new Sky-Watcher CQ350 PRO Astronomy Mount is now in the UK 🙂

That's all for tonight. I don't think other UK retailers have added this new mount to their website yet but I am sure they will before end of tomorrow. We will then compare prices 😇 Currently, all three items are available so can be dispatched in 2-4x working days. Steve

Sky-Watcher Polar Alignment Scope for CQ350 PRO

Tripod 2.75" for Sky-Watcher CQ350 PRO

Sky-Watcher has released a new belt-driven equatorial astronomy mount with a centre-balanced design and a claimed 35kg payload for astrophotography, excluding counterweights. Sky-Watcher CQ350 PRO Astronomy Mount This new mount is compatible with the EQ8 tripod but they have also released a new tripod. (Will add tripod to website soon).

You are not alone. For most of today, we have been advising customers caught up in the delays. Deliveries via courier are delayed too (couriers are overwhelmed because many online shoppers now choose them as an alternative to Royal Mail). Delays at this time of year are not unusual but, this month, this year, is exceptional. Almost all deliveries are delayed! The situation is made worse, at least for us, because Royal Mail is not updating its system when packages are collected from our warehouse. So, if you have chosen a Royal Mail tracked service and, when you track it, you see the info screen below, it is NOT true. Your delivery has already left our warehouse. It is en route but RM has not updated its system. HTH, Steve

Tomorrow's Saturday so it will be Monday 🙂

I have written product descriptions for both but they were written in haste so will check again Monday (it's 5.45 Friday - my eyes are starting to glaze!) 🙂 Starfield Gear80 80mm f/6 Triplet Starfield Gear115 115EDT f/7 Triplet Enjoy your weekend, Steve

Regarding weights, I'll need to ask one of my colleagues in the warehouse to open and weigh one of each. I'll do that tomorrow and then update our page if necessary. HTH, Steve

I was wrong. There are two versions available. One with FPL51, or equivalent, and another with FPL53, or equivalent. The Starfield version is the latter so I have added 'equivalent to FPL53' to the product description. (We will replace the full description with our own soon). Still looking ...

Looking at the same website, their price for the 80mm is $1,330. At today's currency exchange rate (incl import Duty & tax) that is equivalent to £1,353. So our £1,349 price is 'bang on the money' 🙂 Still looking ...

The spiel is a little ambitious. It is not a new telescope. But it is a long-established design that has performed very well over the years. A lot of SGL owners own one, in one form or another. When launched (years ago, before Starfield!) I recall there were some issues with pinching when used in sub-zero temperatures, but that was solved long ago with an updated cell. We will write our own content soon. Still looking ...

That was the other retailer. We don't have spec's for the ED glass so are not identifying it on our product page. We are confident the optics are same as others sold under various brands. We suspect it is FPL51 or equivalent. I was wrong, it is 'equivalent to FPL53'. We agree 🙂 Still looking ...

That's an easy fix. At today's currency exchange rate (incl import Duty & tax) that is equivalent to £2,167. I have reset our price to £2,098 🙂 Still looking ...

Starfield isn't a FLO brand, so we have only photos and information from our supplier. I will investigate 🙂 Steve

The manufacturer has provided schematics. We have coloured the optics blue for clarity.