Heads up: Explore Scientific Ultra Light Dobsonian 305mm

[jetstream]

I think a Glatter tublug would be an asset in collimating this telescope.ES is going to e mail me when these scopes are available over here

[earth titan]

I think a Glatter tublug would be an asset in collimating this telescope.ES is going to e mail me when these scopes are available over here

I was thinking the same. Either that or a cat eye system but the glatter is my preferred option.

[jetstream]

I have the Catseye system-sight tube/separate cheshire and it works great-no auto-collimator though.The Glatter Tublug or other barlowed laser would allow adjustment from the back,not too sure about using those sticks to adjust.Glatter's blug or tublug are geat products-I'm going to get one someday-excellent choice Tom!

[russ.will]

Oh God!

There was me trying to slim down my scopes to just the 5" frac and then this turns up. Damn it!

I had a FlexTube 300p Synscan that I flogged simply because 1) FlexTubes aren't actually that small if the rest of the family wants to be in the car and 2) Because the Goto part of the bargain is on dodgy ground where trade descriptions are concerned.  For all the shortcomings of a 5" aperture, I love my 127L and Exos 2 Goto simply because it has worked as advertised from the box, almost completely unlike every Skywatcher item I've ever owned. 

I do miss the 12" aperture though for those rare extended sessions and knowing that this was developed by Tassilo Bohm, plus the anecdotal comments on JOC mirrors, makes it yet another reason why my Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean is going backward by a few months....

When my cheque for this months writing comes in, I'm going to find it hard not to push the button....

Russell

[Space Dragon]

I had been drooling over the Sumerian Optics dobs and was considering going for one when these appeared. The base Sumerian is over £2000 now and while I'm sure it's worth every penny, I put an order in for an ES.

The now discontinued 10" weighed only around 10kg, was airline friendly and packs down incredibly small. The smallest now is a 12" at around 15kg.

These are perfect if you want to park up and then walk further to a dark spot or indeed take them on a plane but that wouldn't be what I'd be doing.

I think they look fantastic as well and would be tempted to leave mine set up in the house as a work of art.

I did own an 8" Skyliner but didn't get on with it, may have been a bad sample, but thought I'd give the venerable Dob another go and set 12" as a minimum.

You'd think the mirror would be the same as the lightbridge what with the connection between companies but I read on another thread that ES have made these mirrors in house.....we shall see.

Still fancy a Sumerian though. One day maybe.

[earth titan]

The Sumerians are indeed a work of art, but much more expensive. Under UK skies I'm not convinced such improved optics make that much difference on DSOs. Planets yes, but then I have my C9.25 for those.<br />

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My old 12" Lightbridge was great but still not compact and my 16" was too big to move around. I'll put up with slightly less impressive optics (although I'm guessing they will be the same as the lightbridge) for portability and compactness.<br />

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Hopefully only a few weeks to wait now!

[Space Dragon]

For sure you have to question the wisdom of spending large amounts on scopes in this country, especially considering the abysmal performance the weather has put in recently.

I do hope it's not a long term pattern.

[Mike73]

Gotta admit that if you put a Sumerian next to one of these ES dobs with the price tag showing I'd probably go for the ES especially if it was just for DSO's! 

Theres more to Sumerians than good optics though, each one is custom made to the exact specifications of the customer, even the Alt bearings are balanced to what EP's you use but you do pay extra for these refinements. I think its great that you can even compare these ES dobs with Sumerian, they appear to have really closed the gap between stupidly expensive customs and more useable and affordable scopes.

[russ.will]

I'd like to see how SO sets the balance to account for both my Maxvision 16mm SWA and the 40mm SWA? The latter makes the TV Panzerfaust look like a BST Explorer!

Rib tickling aside (I'd never try putting a 40mm EP in an F5 scope, would I ) I've looked long and lovingly at the SO Alkaids for ages, but never quite got to pressing the button on cost grounds. In the case of the ES, it's almost to cheap not to. I've got seriously twitchy 'buy' finger. 

The only thing I don't like about the ES Dob is the Focuser position. I'd rather it were set at 45deg, rather than horizontal and for me, it's on the wrong side. When spending a lot of time on one subject, I prefer to push the scope away, rather than nudge it toward me. I suppose I'll get used to it for the price though and I could probably get a fitter at work to drill me some holes at a 45deg offset to solve the issue.

I think I've already talked myself into one of these, haven't I?

Russell

[earth titan]

I think I've already talked myself into one of these, haven't I?

Russell

Sounds like it... :grin: :grin:

[GuillermoBarrancos]

Is it shipped yet Tom?

As when I had a peek at their website yesterday, it showed green (as in stock).

Tho, I guess with their dodgy website it probably doesn't mean anything lol. /shrug

[Space Dragon]

I'd like to see how SO sets the balance to account for both my Maxvision 16mm SWA and the 40mm SWA? The latter makes the TV Panzerfaust look like a BST Explorer!

Rib tickling aside (I'd never try putting a 40mm EP in an F5 scope, would I ) I've looked long and lovingly at the SO Alkaids for ages, but never quite got to pressing the button on cost grounds. In the case of the ES, it's almost to cheap not to. I've got seriously twitchy 'buy' finger. 

The only thing I don't like about the ES Dob is the Focuser position. I'd rather it were set at 45deg, rather than horizontal and for me, it's on the wrong side. When spending a lot of time on one subject, I prefer to push the scope away, rather than nudge it toward me. I suppose I'll get used to it for the price though and I could probably get a fitter at work to drill me some holes at a 45deg offset to solve the issue.

I think I've already talked myself into one of these, haven't I?

Russell

I'd prefer the focuser on the other side, if only to use my dominant right eye with a red dot finder, not a problem with a Raci but still, that's more weight to balance.

I'm not trying to talk you into or out of buying one though...:-)

[Space Dragon]

Is it shipped yet Tom?

As when I had a peek at their website yesterday, it showed green (as in stock).

Tho, I guess with their dodgy website it probably doesn't mean anything lol. /shrug

I had a mail from Tassilo at ES saying first couple of weeks in March, he said they're checking them all over before shipping anything which is fair enough.

May turn up sooner though.......

[GuillermoBarrancos]

It still contradicts their website, showing it in stock now and ready for shipping!

[earth titan]

It still contradicts their website, showing it in stock now and ready for shipping!

Which is deeply frustrating. Allegedly nothing under law to stop them doing it though. The only time it's not allowed, is when they have no intent to supply. Not all, but many companies, do just this.

[GuillermoBarrancos]

Which is deeply frustrating. Allegedly nothing under law to stop them doing it though. The only time it's not allowed, is when they have no intent to supply. Not all, but many companies, do just this.

And since they do this on purpose, it instantly rases a red flag for me. I will never buy anything from them.

I can't stand companies involving these kind of bad practices. And as such, I will never support these kind of companies with my Money.

[earth titan]

And since they do this on purpose, it instantly rases a red flag for me. I will never buy anything from them.

I can't stand companies involving these kind of bad practices. And as such, I will never support these kind of companies with my Money.

Not good I agree. Pretty much endemic on the web though. I recently ordered an item from a well known UK retailer who specialises in online sales, and the item ordered was shown as in stock. Turns out it's going to be 3 weeks.

[GuillermoBarrancos]

Not good I agree. Pretty much endemic on the web though. I recently ordered an item from a well known UK retailer who specialises in online sales, and the item ordered was shown as in stock. Turns out it's going to be 3 weeks.

Luckily there are still online shops (like Teleskop Express for example) that do show correct stock levels and don't feel the need to lie to their customers, just to make a quick buck. /shrug

I just can't stand those kind of practices. Couple that with their abysmal support and I can't justify supporting them with my Money. Just smells like total missmanagement and not having their act together.

A real shame, as they do seem to have good quality Products. Utter shame it's being ruined like this.

[SnakeyJ]

Good stock control and management of customer expectations is certainly important and separates the good from bad e-tailers.    However, in this case I think initially ES were pretty open about it being new product with a 3 week lead time.    Not so bad if you know this from the outset and the manufacturer/e-tailer communicate well.    Definitely bad practice if they claim stock, take your money and then advise you of the delay after the fact.

Not such a long wait for a new scope in comparison to AP's 10 year waiting list - though these, of course are works of art and I'm not sure how much they want up front as the deposit

[Peter Drew]

As the upper cage is a separate item wouldn't it be possible for the user to assemble it to the truss in whichever orientation was preferred for the eyepiece position? 

[Moonshane]

I should think so Peter but you might have to re-site the finder board

[earth titan]

I thought the same. Will be having a look when it arrives as I'm guessing it is only pop riveted on.

[russ.will]

Luckily there are still online shops (like Teleskop Express for example) that do show correct stock levels and don't feel the need to lie to their customers, just to make a quick buck. /shrug

I just can't stand those kind of practices. Couple that with their abysmal support and I can't justify supporting them with my Money. Just smells like total missmanagement and not having their act together.

A real shame, as they do seem to have good quality Products. Utter shame it's being ruined like this.

That seems a little harsh. People are wont to forget that on the other side of the webshop window are actual real people you can deal with. I know this, as I am the UK Sales & Technical support for a Norwegian E-tailer and we will chat, do a deal and check the accuracy of stock every time someone asks.

We, like ES Europe are going through the pains of re-integrating our inventory with a new international importation, warehousing & shipping agent, who believe me, do not redesign town sized international warehousing and stock control facilities to integrate with every different webshop out there - It is a nightmare trying to reflect real time stock levels, although we took the alternative route of not showing stock levels until we're happy it will work. Even then, we're not daft enough to think it can be 100% accurate.

Every time I have wanted something from ES, I ping Tassilo an email and his responses have always been very quick and accurate, even if it is not always the answer you want. For instance, my email last night was replied to at 8:30am this morning and my response to that half an hour later, was answered within 15 minutes.

For those that want to know:

The first shipment of Dobs sold out immediately. The second arrived at Rotterdam on Thursday and as, at this stage they are checking every individual Dob, they are quoting a shipping date of 10/03/14 to give them enough time to include getting the stock out of customs.

By simply sending them an email, I have eliminated disappointment and also achieved the offer of a small but useful discount on the package as there is a second item I wanted. That alone makes it worth the effort, as if owning one of the most interesting products or recent years wasn't enough.

Russell

[earth titan]

By simply sending them an email, I have eliminated disappointment and also achieved the offer of a small but useful discount on the package as there is a second item I wanted. That alone makes it worth the effort, as if owning one of the most interesting products or recent years wasn't enough.

Russell

Do I detect a purchase?

[russ.will]

Nearly. I need to shift a few items and wait for a payment or two to come in for some work. At that point, it may be hard to stop me!

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