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Stellarvue SV102 ED

Eclipse

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Mark at Beaufort

Mark at Beaufort

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I have not used the Stellarvue SV102 ED but I did buy the Astro Tech 102mm f7 ED refractor about 2 weeks ago from SCS Astro. The quality of the scope is excellent and using Hyperion eyepieces the views of Mercury, Saturn and the Moon were very good without any CA. Have been able to view many faint DSOs some being better than the view through my Nexstar 5" SCT. The Astro Tech is cheaper than the Stellarvue and I preferred the tube rings arrangements for balancing the scope on my new SkyTee alt/az mount.

Mark

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cygnusx1

cygnusx1

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Or how about the William Optics version for £783 inc delivery from Ian King. Includes rings, dovetail, case and their 7-22.5MM Zoom. A diagonal is shown on the pic. No mention of that in the text tho.

http://www.iankingimaging.com/show_products.php?category=64

A choice of two colours also.

Cheers,

Andy.

Why not go for the William Optics Megrez 110 F5.9 APO, for an extra £70!! :shocked:

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Eclipse

Eclipse

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Thanks guys, I am well aware of all the options - I have been giving this an awful lot of thought. It will be the most expensive thing I have ever bought that is not a house or a car.

I had hoped for some owner comments.

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Whippy

Whippy

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I think you'll find that most of the membership here are from the UK & Ireland where Stellarvue have very limited distribution. You may be better off posting something on a forum that's American based. From what I've read, most Stellarvue products seem to be pretty good quality.

Tony..

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Roy

Roy

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I've heard only good things about Stellarvue scopes, I'm sure Eddie who is an sgl member has had one, try posting on UKAI there are a couple of lads on there who have also owned one.

Sorry I can't be of more help.

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Eclipse

Eclipse

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I think you'll find that most of the membership here are from the UK & Ireland where Stellarvue have very limited distribution. .

Tony..

Thanks Tony - I am British also - am going ahead and buying the SV from Altair Astro in Norwich. I have posted a similar thread on Cloudy Nights - nobody has a bad thing to say about Stellarvue it seems. Also had a good review in Sky at Night mag recently.

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Eddie

Eddie

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Yes I have had a stellarvue scope Roy, it was a SV-4 and they are superb scopes, better than the WO stuff. I don't know much about the one this one though. It seems to be getting good reviews and is one hell of a price for a stellarvue! Considering that it comes with a feathertouch focuser its one hell of a bargain.

You could import them direct from somewhere like http://www.optcorp.com to take advantage of the dollar pound situation

Eddie

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coliea

coliea

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I am British also - am going ahead and buying the SV from Altair Astro in Norwich.

I've just done the same. I called Ian at Altair and ordered one on Monday - it'll be my first scope. I had originally ordered a Burgess Optical 91mm Triplet but got messed around by Burgess something shocking. While I was waiting I joined the Stellarvue, Tele Vue and William Optics Yahoo groups to get a feel for their users' opinions. Both TV and WO make great telescopes and I considered a few of those, but I kept ending up back at the SV102ED2. One of the (many) things I like about Stellarvue as a company is that (IMO) they avoid the politics, spin and buzz words that seem so prevelant with some manufacturers and honestly label the SV102 as an ED scope and not an APO. What exactly is FPL-53 Flourite? :shocked:

But I digress...this thread is about the SV102ED so I thought I'd leave you with this from Stellarvue boss Vic Maris. I posted a question on the SV forum asking if they made the scope in Stardust Blue. Vic emailed me personally the same day to expain the reason they didn't. He also posted a more detailed response to the forum... here it is (sorry it's a bit long but I think it's informative):

"The concept of the SV102ED is to offer a very high quality 102mm ED

telescope with Zygo tested optics, at a price that is 1/2 that of

previous 102ED telescopes. I am talking about previous American

102ED telescopes, like our 102BV, not the imports.

Now making a telescope in two colors adds to the cost. This extra

cost means that if we offered both colors our sales price would be

higher. Rememeber, we are not merely importing and reselling, we are

offering telescopes assembled here using more USA parts than any

other f-7 102ED telescope and taking the time to individually test

each optic, bench testing each ota when it is finished, and star

testing as the third check. This already makes our telescope much

more expensive to make. Also, offering multiple colors has drawbacks:

1. Our dealers will have to stock twice as many telescopes. They do

not want to do that.

2. Stardust blue is more costly to produce and match.

3. The market varies. More than 95% of Europeans want their telescope

made with white tubes, whereas in the USA it is 50/50. So I have to

anticipate how many we will sell overseas versus domestically. This

creates some issues. For example, with the declining dollar our

sales to Europe both direct and through dealers has increased. This

means we have been selling lots more Stardust White telescopes. We

had made an equal number of SW and SB tubes for the SV80S, based on

previous history. But when Europe ordered so many in SW, we ran out

of that color of tube. Now we have only 20 of these lenses left in

existence and only Stardust Blue tubes left in stock.

So you can see, adding a second color costs money and that cost must

be passed along. Since price is a big factor with the 102ED, I would

rather ensure that our telescopes are the best they can be both

optically and mechanically than offer sexy tube color choices for

the same price and offset this extra expense by cutting corners. We

do not cut corners. So in this regard, I am proud we only offer one

color for the 102ED.

I hope this outlines my rationale.

Vic Maris"

Just one final disclaimer - I have no association with Stellarvue (I don't even own a scope...yet), I have just found their customer service and response to queries to be excellent. The Yahoo Group is also one of the better I've joined – along with SGL of course :cat:

Best

Col

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coliea

coliea

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Eclipse, just had word from the guys in the Post Room here at work that it has been delivered. Asked them to put it somewhere safe until quittin' time. It's my first scope so I've also ordered a Baader 8-24 zoom to get me started. I then plan to get 3 or 4 TV eyepieces as and when the budget allows and leave it at that... yeah, right :shocked:

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Eclipse

Eclipse

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coliea, I am envious, mine is coming here to Spain. Friday is about the earliest I can expect to see it. My weather forecast is fine for Friday and Sunday, though.

I must say you have a pretty up-market first scope. My first was a Lidl Skylux, which I still have.

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coliea

coliea

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I must say you have a pretty up-market first scope. My first was a Lidl Skylux, which I still have.

Well I thought I'd get a keeper from the outset. In the long run it'll probably work out cheaper than continually buying and selling.

It was delivered on the same day as the European Cup Final though and I only had time to give it a quick once over to check everything was in order before the footie. Now I know why Stellarvue kit has the reputation it does; the SV102ED oozes quality. I don't think you'll be disappointed. Mine is #0143 and I'm looking forward to setting it up on the UniStar tomorrow night....after I've recovered from that penalty shoot-out.

Col

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Eclipse

Eclipse

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Hi coliea

Friday evening 18:50, mine has just arrived. I have been drinking all day with a mate and am drunk as a skunk, so will not open it until tomorrow - it would be so unbelievably awful if I dropped it. Package looks in good external shape though.

Have you had a first light through yours yet??

Regards

Eclipse

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coliea

coliea

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Hi coliea

Friday evening 18:50, mine has just arrived. I have been drinking all day with a mate and am drunk as a skunk, so will not open it until tomorrow - it would be so unbelievably awful if I dropped it. Package looks in good external shape though.

Have you had a first light through yours yet??

Regards

Eclipse

Nah mate... completely overcast and doesn't look good for the weekend either :shocked: I reckon you'll see first light before I do. Still, I set it up on the mount this evening and had a quick look through it with the Hyperion 8-24 zoom that arrived today just to check if I could see any CA at the 8mm end. Focused on a TV aerial two streets away against a cloudy sky an could not see any purple fringing - none. Not very scientific I know, and as a noob I have no frame of reference except for long focal length photographic lenses, but I had to have a look.

One thing I did note though - Larry was right... the UA UniStar Deluxe was made for this scope. Heck, I think I've even had a brainwave... if I flip the UniStar's 3" jaw so that the tightening screw is on the bottom I reckon I can attach a Wixey digital angle guage to the top of the jaw which should give me the mount's altitude. Feel free to shoot me down guys if I'm talking nonsense - you'll save me 25 quid :cat:

Col

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