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Grrrr.. annoyed. Need help!

Whippy

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Whippy

Whippy

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Oh the joys of buying toys astro equipment...

So I was all set to grab a secondhand ED80, when the next day I get an unexpected rebate from the tax office. This changes things a bit, I could buy a new one now, in one hand and out the other, money found etc etc....

So I ordered a Vixen ED80SF from Ian King. Small problem though. I get an email from him saying he's out of stock and he won't be getting any more in for at least 6 weeks. Oh....

So I'm not keen on the idea of waiting 'at least' 6 weeks (if patience is a virtue, them I'm not at all) so I'm back at square one. An 80mm ED scope for about £400, must have at least a case. Here's the contenders as I see 'em...

Vixen ED80SF. Pros: Virtually the same as a Skywatcher ED80 (apparently a better Crayford) but costs less (no, really!) if you don't need the two eyepieces that come with the SW. Cons: Out of stock at Ian King and as far as I'm aware he's the only retailer in the country that does just the OTA.

WO ZS80II. Pros: Dual speed crayford :wink:, better engineering/optics (only what I've read!). Cons: No finder, but would a 30mm Baader skysurfer fit and do the job?

SW 80ED: I could get one. But I'd rather get the Vixen or the WO...

So, if anyone's got any opinions, or alternatives or better still, knows somewhere that's got the Vixen as an OTA in stock, I'd be happy and thankful to hear it :cool:.

Tony...

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centroid

centroid

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As I understand it, and someone please correct me if I'm wrong, all the ED80s are made by the Synta organisation in China.

The likes of of SW, WO, Celestron etc, etc, have them painted in different colours, and 'stick' there own 'brand name' on them.

Some do have a better quality focuser fitted to them, and I 'heard' that WO supposedly have their Synta ED80 otics 'hand-picked', but I remain to be convinced on that one.

I'm believe that irrespective of whos ED80 to you buy, the optics are going to be the same, give or take a degree of manufacturing tolerance.

I have a SW ED80 (a blue one), albeit I bought it primarily for use as a 'guide scope', but I have used it for 'wide-field', and been very impressed with it. Ok, it hasn't got the shiny black livery of the WO version, but it performs well, and IMO, is excellent value for money.

So, is that money going to 'burn a hole in your pocket', or are your going to wait patiently for six weeks, to get your 'first choice' ? :wink:

Dave

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Whippy

Whippy

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Dave, as my understanding goes (purely through trawling the net, mind) is the Orion, Celestron, SW and the Vixen SF'series are all manufactured by Synta, although Vixen do their on QC before they go out. The WO's (and the Revalation?) are made by a Taiwanese firm that also does the one sold by Astronomica. As the 'net is hardly a beacon of truth, morelike a hive of roumers, I'm not sure. Saying that I'm fairly sure performance-wise there's hardly anything in them. The main reason I ordered a Vixen as it's got all the accessories I need. That said, I'm guessing the 'feet' on the Meade and the Equinox will fit like a dovetail a la the WO (which is being sold with a diagonal) so tube rings and a dovetail aren't needed. But, I'd need a finder and maybe a diagonal depending on which one.

Thing is, there's so many of them and they all have their slight pros and cons (the Meade is the only triplet mind) and there's no clear choice.

Tony.

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John

John

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.... That said, I'm guessing the 'feet' on the Meade and the Equinox will fit like a dovetail a la the WO (which is being sold with a diagonal) so tube rings and a dovetail aren't needed. But, I'd need a finder and maybe a diagonal depending on which one.

I'd check carefully with the dealers about that bit about the "feet" doubling as a dovetail - I had a WO Megrez 90 which had a "foot" but it tapered the wrong way so you had to buy more (and expensive IMHO) WO accessories to fit it to a standard EQ dovetail mount.

I also found getting a finder which fitted well quite difficult. The WO RDF's are very nice but again pretty expensive for what they are.

In the end I was happy to go back to an ED80 - optically just as good and so straightforward to mount and fit accessories to.

John

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Ant

Ant

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I have a Revalation 80 ED, with the dual speed focuser and it's great (so far). The focuser is amazing!

I haven't managed to use it much, but I'm looking forward to clear skies at a time that is convenient :wink:

Ant

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