A grumble for Easter

[Helen]

Managed some visual solar and some gardening earlier  Been out, now back, thinking about some solar imaging  and maybe clear for later too  Glorious spring day - no grumbles

Helen

[Earl]

its so tempting to buy a scope and get going, when half the time you know you are making do and will need to tinker and faff to get it to perform.... maybe. its false economy, trust me i have many of thoses t-shirts.

I have 2 filter purchases to make due to this still, and will be getting a focuser too, just waiting on emails for that.

[Tim]

Here's a service I have found useful when deciding who to buy equipment from.

https://www.creditfocus.co.uk

Credit checking

"Credit scores, provided by Experian, help you make an informed decision on whether or not to trade with a customer or supplier"

Wow, If I didn't know me, I would have to moderate myself for spam!

[Ant]

Here's a service I have found useful when deciding who to buy equipment from.

https://www.creditfocus.co.uk

Credit checking

"Credit scores, provided by Experian, help you make an informed decision on whether or not to trade with a customer or supplier"

Wow, If I didn't know me, I would have to moderate myself for spam!

Thanks Tim, could be quite a useful tool. Nice to check these things before spending what could be a substantial sum of money.

Especially timely in light of Astronomia, sadly, going under today,

Cheers

Ant

[Tim]

It was a surprise to me how many "big names" in the astro business are flying by the seat of their pants. As some of the purchases we make can be several thousand pounds for an individual item, it is reassuring to see dealers with a bit of substance behind them, a few staff, in case something goes amiss, and not just some fly-by-night operating out of their back room, holding no stock, and able to disappear into the ether with no more trace than a Will o' the Wisp.

I got caught out once when a furniture retailer went under and I had put a hefty deposit on an item, paid by cheque. Never got it back, should have paid on a credit card.

Sad to hear about Astronomia, what happened there?

[DRT]

Good luck to anyone caught up in the mess.

[badhex]

I'm always amazed and somewhat annoyed that it's not seemingly possible to get parts very easily for the cheaper motor kits and handsets (I know they aren't great to start with but offer a basic alternative to expensive goto/autostar etc kits for those can't afford them). We all know of so many stories of handsets rendered completely useless due to an accidental power conundrum (12v instead of 6v anyone?) caused by saving a few pence on a power safety/regulator circuit - yet you just can't get the handsets on their own unless you're lucky on astroboot or similar. So, it's usually a new full kit at full price.

On another note to the Mods, not sure if this is feasible but maybe we could have a couple of locked threads somewhere with common causes and fixes of these issues like the power cables and the bendy bolts?