Unboxing New Scope - Partially

[AweSIM]

hi all.. people here may remember me here a month or so ago.. frantically looking for a telescope to purchase.. well heres a timeline of whats actually happened..

- thought of buying meade etx or celestron astromaster eqmd or something similar..

- expectations: not a starter kit but a full-blown kit that will last ten years or so.. astrophotography.. dsos not planets.. budget around $500..

- joined SGL and started posting like crazy.. =)..

- revised budget to $1000.. then to $1500..

- decided upon SkyWatcher Explorer 200pds and NEQ6 SynScanPro + some accessories..

- decided to ship in parts.. friend from norway coming to pakistan would bring the scope plus a few accessories.. rest would follow when budget allows..

- ordered the first batch at Teleskop Express.. monitored the shipment to Norway..

- finally, a few days ago.. my friend reached lahore, pakistan..

to my horror.. i came to know that airport customs had detained my telescope cuz it was a banned item in pakistan.. ive been told that there might be duty that id need to pay to get it released.. since the last friday ive been going to the airport everyday for this purpose.. still no word though.. but im hopeful ill get it released.. im just worried about any damage that may result to the scope.. =(..

anyways.. the rest of the items were hand carried and made it safely back.. last night i unboxed them.. =D..

- baader solar film..

- 28mm stock EP..

- nikon m48 adapter..

- chesire collimation tool..

- finder scope and its mount..

first the -ve points..

- i received one solar film when i had ordered, and have been charged for two.. i plan to report it to Teleskop Express once im in possession of the telescope box too, and have verified that there isnt a solar film in there too, which i doubt..

- the solar film was packaged in a clear plastic bag.. with a flap with adhesive glue thats used to seal the bag.. in unpacking the film, due to static, the film stuck to the adhesive.. it took time to peel it off but i think its damaged the film slightly.. moral.. beware of static + adhesive + delicate films.. but more importantly.. shouldnt baadar have done something better than that? i mean the fim is sealed inside a plastic bag which is packaged inside a thick card sleeve which ensures it doesnt bend.. surely they couldve done better for the plastic sleeve.. and im not just saying that to blame my stupidity on them.. =(..

- the nikon m48 adapter didnt seem to fit the focusser assembly (i think)..

now the +ves..

- Teleskop Express' service (except the missing film) rocked!.. their salesmen listened to my every stupid argument and question and answered over and over again.. they gave me the best prices i could find.. if they were selling an item for EUR xxx.. and the same item was available for USD yyy.. such that USD yyy was actually cheaper when converted to EUR.. i just needed to provide them with a link to USD yyy.. and theyd give me a revised quote that literally shut me up.. =)..

- UPS delivery was awesome.. i was assigned a tracker.. and from here in pakistan i could monitor the packages as they travelled from germany to norway.. with multiple updates per day.. status updates like "could not deliver, address not found, acquiring updated information". etc.. really great..

- the 28mm stock EP is HUGE!!!.. i mean its GIGANTIC.. it barely fits in my hand.. i knew 2" EPs were larger than 1.25" ones.. but the pictures you see online dont give you a feel of how big these things are.. and now that ive seen one live.. it totally justifies these EPs high costs.. on the downside.. i think i can expect low quality from the stock 28mm EP as i could identify only a single element in it..

- the finderscope totally rocked!!!.. heck it was bigger than my first (and only scope).. =).. and such a beautiful finish.. sparkly black.. i can imagine what the scope will look like when i finally lay my hands upon it.. i spent the night fiddling with it.. i learnt to focus it.. it wasnt intuitive.. you loosen a ring first.. then screw in or out the objective element portion.. then tighten it back.. too hard to do with one hand.. (the other holding the scope itself while looking thru it).. but then again.. finderscopes are meant to be mounted.. not held in hands like a pirates' telescope or something.. =).. it did appear to have some chromatic abberation and coma but i think it mustve been my imagination.. the only major problem with it.. it requires looking straight thru it.. i mean if your eye is off the axis by even a slight amount, it shows you a dark patch near the opposite side (kidney bean effect i think).. but it still rocked!.. i kept looking at stars above.. and it showed me a hell lot more stars than i could see.. the moon wasnt up so i couldnt observe it.. but vega, cygnus, ursa major.. light pollution in my area is so bad that i couldnt see the entire constellations with the naked eye.. only the brightest stars.. the finderscope showed me a lot more.. and i quickly got used to seeing inverted..

all-in-all.. this isnt a complete review.. obviously cuz i DONT have the OTA itself.. but its still a milestone in my miserable life.. i just hope my scope comes to me in one piece..

anyways.. some pictures.. and please do correct me where ive assumed wrongly.. do tell me which thing is supposed to go where.. specifically..

- is the item that i think is the focuser assembly, really that, or not?

- how is the m48 nikon adapter supposed to connect?

- the unknown cheshire.. what is it really? and what is the difference between the two cheshires?

my best regards to all whove helped me reach this milestone..

asim sohail

pakistan..

[foundaplanet]

Hello AweSIM

I'm not suprised you are feeling miserable. So close yet so far away huh.! That must be so annoying.

I hope that you manage to get this sorted and that your scope gets to you undamaged.

You say that telescopes were banned?

Hope you have better luck with the mount and I hope you will still be needing it.

Good Luck

Col

[Deneb]

Asim, you know better what the pakistani customs are like, I think they might be worried that your not going to use the ota tube for a rocket tube.. You Knew of the Risk when you were importing the stuff into Pakistan what rubbish the Customs would give.

Due to the Fight against terrorism in Pakistan anything pertaining to dimensions resembling a Fuselage of some sort will be automatically banned... Do I blame them - not really !

I can't really comment on the accessories which TS has sent you, as their service for bits & bobs is usually pretty good.

Nadeem.

[AweSIM]

@foundaplanet.. thanks bro.. yea ill be needing the mount.. im pretty sure id get this sorted out.. i hope nothing wrong happens to the OTA though.. its not in my hands right now.. and my hands are safe.. =(..

@nadeem.. brother i know pakistani customs.. the ota went from germany to oslo to dubai to doha.. no problems.. and just a few miles from my home.. so close.. yet so far away.. do i blame them? definitely.. here people who have the power to get things done.. get things done.. law is for the likes of us.. there goes a saying.. locks are for the people who live in the house.. the crooks who wanna get in.. get in.. =)..

regarding the service.. im still pretty content.. after all it was a long journey.. at this point.. i just care about the ota and its stock parts.. =)

thanks guys.. =).. will surely update what happens next.. =)

awesim.. =)

[AweSIM]

ps.. can someone please answer the questions at the end of the first post?

[RikM]

The focusser part is the 2" extension for the focusser. The 1.25" will be with the scope.

The T-ring attaches to a thread at the base of the 1.25" focusser adaptor (that you haven't recieved yet).

Both of those 'cheshires' look a little bit different from what I have. I have a SkyWatcher one and it looks generally the same as the longer one you have, except as you pointed out, the crosshairs on mine (wires more like) are not bent. The long body is to use as a sight tube for centering the secondary under the focusser. I've never seen the shorter type before so can't comment really.