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Transporting telescope to pakistan.. :(

AweSIM

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AweSIM

AweSIM

Posted
Posted

hi all..

i live in pakistan.. and since quite some time have been trying to raise cash for skywatcher 150p + neq6 pro.. i almost have enough cash for that now.. only one thing..

i emailed FLO and asked if they ship to pakistan and how safe is it? cuz ive heard many times before of mishandled shipping and optics getting damaged, etc.. they replied flatly.. NO.. WE DONT SHIP TO PAKISTAN..

now what? i have a friend in oslo norway and another one in preston uk.. they're coming to pakistan soon.. i was thinking of purchasing the items and having them delivered to one of these peoples' homes.. then when coming back, they can bring the telescope along.. but a couple of questions..

i know the safest way is to handcarry.. as opposed to baggage.. would the friend need to hand carry the telescope? theres a weight and size limit to how much can be hand carried. the telescope mount would definitely not be hand carried since it is almost [7.5kg (tripod) + 16.0kg (mount) + 5.1kg (counter-weights)].. but im suspecting that even the OTA might not be allowed to be hand carried due to its size.. my question is that transporting the telescope via baggage.. is it safe? would the guy need to deliver any special instructions to the airport staff? would he need to take special precautions regarding packaging etc? please guide me..

- [not related but still bugging me] whats the difference between:

- skywatcher 200P

- skywatcher 200P DS

regards..

asim sohail..

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Doug

Doug

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Hi Asim

First off IMHO all this is to big for hand luggage it must go in the cargo hold

New scopes are packed well from First Light Optics and if you let them know that it is going to be transported on a plane i'm shore they could assist you with some more protection around the packages also it will cost you at least £60.00 or more

and will have to be pre-arranged with the airline. I would think due to the weight,

Please let us all know how you get on

Doug

Essex

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foundaplanet

foundaplanet

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Hello Awesim.........:D

The ds means that the scope has a dual speed focuser which helps you to get fine focus on the object..

Sadly I can not help after that but I wish you the best of luck in getting yourself a telescope and I also hope you will keep us posted on how you get on with the project..

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banner001

banner001

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also if you find that you have to physically take the scope on a plane, i would try and remove as many of the optics as possible. if the tube gets a dent you can hammer that out afterwards, but if your optics gets damaged you are screwed.

as a minimum you would want to remove the large primary mirror and carry that as hand luggage, i would also try and remove the secondary mirror and focuser, but you have to be very careful not to touch any of the mirrored parts, and everything will need to be securely packaged.

as others have said inform the airline, its a long cylindrical metal object with things sticking out of it, going in the hold...ill not insult your intelligence by telling you what their first thoughts would be as to its contents.

and the absolute last thing you want is a controlled demolition of your new pride and joy :D

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AweSIM

AweSIM

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wow.. thanx for all the replies people.. im so in love with this forum.. :D

@acey.. thanx for the link.. im starting to explore it right now.. i hope it gets me somewhere.. unlike the UK and the US, astronomy is literally unheard of in PK.. but i guess thats changing now.. :p

@orion_the_hunter.. thnx for the link.. im having a hard time with the site due to it being in german.. :(.. but trying to determine the shipping costs to pakistan.. ill keep you posted how it goes..

@doug.. yes thats what i thought.. one friend is stationed in oslo norway.. the other in UK.. depending on whos coming back at what time.. im thinking of having the goods delivered to that person's residence.. give him instructions to add more protection to the package.. and contact the airport authorities for guidance on how to transport fragile cargo.. i will keep you posted on this too.. :o

@foundaplanet and @rogerthedodger.. thnx for the info.. so im guessing that the DS is more of a luxury than a neccessity.. ;)

@banner001.. brother i understand what youre saying.. but since the people whod actually be bringing the scope home dont know the details of a telescope.. having them even unwrap the scope themselves is an invitation to disaster.. :p

a while back in april.. i started posting here to get ideas for the telescope that i should buy.. i didnt have enough cash to get anything beyond 600 pounds.. now im getting a bank loan that ill pay off over a year.. and ive decided to get SkyWatcher 200P + NEQ6 Pro Synscan.. what do you guys think of it? what filters and accessories might be useful with it? and should i settle for 150P or 200P.. my friend is due to come in mid july.. when the scope arrives.. ill give a review too.. my first.. :)

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Orion_the_Hunter

Orion_the_Hunter

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@orion_the_hunter.. thnx for the link.. im having a hard time with the site due to it being in german.. :D.. but trying to determine the shipping costs to pakistan.. ill keep you posted how it goes..

If you click on the British flag at the top right of the website it makes it all in English.

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AweSIM

AweSIM

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@orion_the_hunter.. (face palm).. =D

@riklaunim and @david.. i looked at skywatchers dealers list and saw india on it a while ago.. but gave up on it.. the indian dealer outlet doesnt have a lot of variety available.. for instance i couldnt find SkyWatcher Explorer 200P OTA over there.. and as you pointed out.. there may be issues importing between india and pakistan.. ive emailed them however.. if i get a positive reply.. that might be the ideal solution.. thanks for the help here.. :D

one quick question.. is there a good difference between HEQ5 Pro SynScan and NEQ6 Pro SynScan? i intend to use the OTA and mount for a long time and upgrading isnt an option for me.. so the device i pick will stay with me for a very long time to come.. i intend to use the setup for visual and photographic purposes.. i had selected SkyWatcher Explorer 200P + NEQ6 Pro SynScan.. but ive seen impressive astrophotographs taken with even EQ3.. [http://www.skywatcher-india.com/image_gallary_deepsky.htm].. everywhere on this forum.. ive heard people saying that HEQ5 is the bare minimum for astrophotography.. what do you people think? is 200P + NEQ6 Pro SynScan a decent setup? or an overkill?

thanks.. :p

asim

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  • 5 years later...
AweSIM

AweSIM

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On 07/05/2011 at 19:45, banner001 said:

as others have said inform the airline, its a long cylindrical metal object with things sticking out of it, going in the hold...ill not insult your intelligence by telling you what their first thoughts would be as to its contents.

and the absolute last thing you want is a controlled demolition of your new pride and joy :D

I was visiting this thread again and I'd like to thank all the ppl who replied to me here. I am immensely grateful to you guys for your guidance and advice. I am now a proud owner of the kit linked in my signature, thanks to you guys. And oh, @banner001's post made me laugh once again. =)

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Putaendo Patrick

Putaendo Patrick

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Nice set up, congratulations! Did you get TS to ship the lot? How did it all work out!?

I always find it amazing that so many countries have such little tradition in amateur astronomy. Chile has some of the top state-of-the-art international observatories in the world, but astronomy is an uncommon and expensive hobby among Chileans themselves.

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AweSIM

AweSIM

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Hi Patrick,

I managed to have the scope shipped to Oslo to a friend who was coming back. The OTA got confiscated in the customs and I had to go visit the airport authorities every day for a month to get it released after paying almost 33% duty. I had to show them images of the scope on the internet and of beautiful DSOs to make them believe that it wasn't an RPG or sniper or something like that =P

For the mount, a friend of mine had gone to Amsterdam for company work with a colleague of his. I had the mount shipped to them. They were shocked of its size and weight when it got delivered to their hotel. They stripped off all packaging and stuffed the mount head and tripod in their suitcases (which got ripped by the time they landed in PK). They ran out of space in their suitcases and handcarried the counterweights in their backpacks. Poor folks. They put on a calm face while trying to carry the counter weights to keep the airport authorities from inspecting their hand carry for weight limit breaches. =P

I had to treat them out when they finally landed. They told me they felt like drug smugglers or spies. =P

I have been using the scope for almost 6 years now. Though there have been stretches of months when I haven't been able to use the scope due to work/family commitments. But every 3 or 6 months, I jump right back into this hobby. It's been more than 20 years since I fell in love with this hobby at the age of 10. =)

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LukeSkywatcher

LukeSkywatcher

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Not that it matters now, but most airlines (well, the ones i travel on) dont need/ask prior knowledge of big,heavy,bulky stuff that is going to go in the cargo hold. They all have a desk in the airport that when you check-in, if you have over-sized goods such as sports equipment, you can check it in right there and then. Yes you do pay extra )quite a bit really). 

I know this to be fact because i am a wheelchair user and went down this route before. I was told i didnt need to tell them (airline) prior to my check-in, that i am in a wheelchair. They simply see a wheelchair in the same way they see a child's buggy and load it into the cargo hold last........so it can be taken out first and given back to me. They essentially see the wheelchair as part of me, an extension of my body (my words......not theirs). I dont pay any extra for the wheelchair. A certain airline USED to charge for wheelchairs but this was found to be unlawful and discriminating and have since stopped charging extra (10 euros).

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  • 2 weeks later...
JOC

JOC

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Glad you got it sorted - the other option that occurred to me was (assuming you were prepared to the risk of its loss and cover shipping and import costs) was get it shipped to your friends (where-ever they were) and then get them to commission a delivery company that would ship it out to you - my scope arrived in VERY substantial boxes from FLO.  In the UK, providing you pay them enough, groups like FedEx and TNT will collect any size of parcel from your door and take them anywhere in the world.  I find it hard to believe that it would not have been possible to find a shipping company willing to go to Pakistan.  i.e. was it just that FLO were not willing to take the shipping risk to Pakistan or that a courier literally couldn't be found?

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