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Quark quality control issues...

Notty

By Notty
in Imaging - Solar

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Notty

Notty

Posted
Posted

Hi all, having recently sold my solar setup (PST/TAL100 Stage 1) and now regretting it a bit, I'm considering getting a Quark for my SW ED80-DS.  I've been doing a lot of reading and there seems to be a lot on carious threads and boards which implies there was a bit of pot luck involved in whether you got a unit which really "sang" or had poor quality views and/or other problems.  I was just wondering if anyone who'd recently purchased one had any current feedback on their quality at all?  If it's still a lottery I'll just have to wait till I can afford a Lunt 60DS etc etc! 

On a slightly different note does anyone use the ASI1600MM-cool for any solar imaging?  It's my DSO camera but I've heard it's solar capable albeit if you can get around bad Newton bandings.

Many thanks

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Notty

Notty

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5 minutes ago, John said:

If you have not already done so, it's worth reading the pdf document on this webpage called QuarkNOT.pdf:

http://www.scsastro.co.uk/library.asp

 

Thank John, yes I'd heard about this particular dealer dropping Daystar, but not the detail in that writeup, so thanks for that.  I was wondering if anything had changed since in the 18-24 months since.  I can't believe a manufacturer of even amateur consumer tech like this could survive long with those levels of quality/service.

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xtreemchaos

xtreemchaos

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i got a new one 3 months ago and it works as it should, i did have worrys after reading the bad storys mainly about returning faulty ones and still worry about it a bit now in case the worse happens, the views I'm getting with mine are fantastic, images I'm still getting to grips with mainly on the processing side, ive had some good result. charl.

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John

John

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6 minutes ago, Notty said:

Thank John, yes I'd heard about this particular dealer dropping Daystar, but not the detail in that writeup, so thanks for that.  I was wondering if anything had changed since in the 18-24 months since.  I can't believe a manufacturer of even amateur consumer tech like this could survive long with those levels of quality/service.

It might be worth having a chat to FLO. They were interested in stocking them but held off when the QC issues started to become apparent. They have probably been monitoring the situation with these items.

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Notty

Notty

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7 minutes ago, xtreemchaos said:

i got a new one 3 months ago and it works as it should, i did have worrys after reading the bad storys mainly about returning faulty ones and still worry about it a bit now in case the worse happens, the views I'm getting with mine are fantastic, images I'm still getting to grips with mainly on the processing side, ive had some good result. charl.

Thanks Charl, and I've seen some of your images and I'm very impressed.  Like you say though it's a lot of money to spend and then be looking over your shoulder all the time! 

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xtreemchaos

xtreemchaos

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thanks Notty, i think its worth the worry, a few years ago thay where what only pros could afford, i was lucky a friend sent a faulty one back and got a brand new one sent out and sold it to me because he had got a lunt in the meanwhile so i had a three week trial aswell and saved a bucket load of cash too. charl.

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Davey-T

Davey-T

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Hi Notty, good to see you're getting back into solar.

My Quark was superb for a couple of years then developed a fault, it was returned to Daystar ( they have a 5 year warranty which is a good thing ) it was returned with a different fault and had to go back, this has proved a very long drawn out process, been going on for nearly 5 months now and it still hasn't returned.

Luckily I do have an LS60DS but miss the Quark which is a great piece of kit when it's working.

Dave

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Tony G

Tony G

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11 hours ago, Davey-T said:

Hi Notty, good to see you're getting back into solar.

My Quark was superb for a couple of years then developed a fault, it was returned to Daystar ( they have a 5 year warranty which is a good thing ) it was returned with a different fault and had to go back, this has proved a very long drawn out process, been going on for nearly 5 months now and it still hasn't returned.

Luckily I do have an LS60DS but miss the Quark which is a great piece of kit when it's working.

Dave

Didn't know you had a quark. Sorry to hear all the probs. I chose the 60 route and got a sweet spot issue. I believe said yours doesnt have? Just goes to show it goes both ways..

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Ewan

Ewan

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I may have been lucky in getting, what I think, is a good one John.

Had mine almost a couple of years now with not a fault, fingers crossed, touch wood etc etc, hard to tell it is a good one I guess without imaging or viewing using a bad one for me. Everyones capture / processing is different so not all images , views will tell the same story.

That being said I can say mine heats / cools as it should, had no marks at either end, seems to be on band on the centreline or +1 on the tuner (still not made my mind up :icon_biggrin:), catches proms & surface with ease. Like I said maybe I was lucky.

That SCAstro pdf is new to me & I also know of another disgruntled distributor who doesn't deal with Daystar now but I had to speak to both parties to get the truth as to why, it turned out the distributor was taking the Quarks apart, checking the whole unit then sending them back as faulty, Jen had enough of this so dropped them. They took offense to this is started posting all kinds of stuff about the Quarks, really surprised me. I was emailed by this company to tell me Jen (Daystar) was using one of my images to help 'sell' the Quarks & was I aware of this, I was, I explained I am more than happy (at the moment) with mine & I wasn't getting involved but felt this dealers behaviour was a little childish tbh. They were posting on various forums & painting Daystar in a very bad light but not telling the whole story, maybe I should have posted the FB messages I received from both sides to put the 'proper' truth out there but didn't.

With some cameras yes you can suffer Newton rings, with my DMK""618 I didn't ever get them but the res was only 640 x 480, with the Grasshopper 3 IMX174 I did but the resolution is 1920 x 1200 so maybe that plays a part as well.

When capturing at full res I could see the NR's as they were quite wide, using Region of Interest at 640 x 480 I couldn't see any which made me think I was capturing 'in between' each NR band if you understand me & which was why I couldn't see them, a tilt eliminator resolved all of that anyway.

The Quarks are not cheap nor are they expensive for what you are getting, a way into solar imaging with results which can be better than dedicated solar scopes, you makes your choice et etc.

Choose wisely & atb

Ewan

 

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Grotemobile

Grotemobile

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On ‎13‎/‎05‎/‎2017 at 14:54, John said:

If you have not already done so, it's worth reading the pdf document on this webpage called QuarkNOT.pdf:

http://www.scsastro.co.uk/library.asp

 

Thanks for that . I nearly bought one to use with my 4" refractor.

Seems pot luck if U get one that  works properly. :happy9:   

 

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Moonshane

Moonshane

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I looked through one on the end of an APM 152mm f8 the other day and the views were very spectacular. Whilst the seeing was poor I could see that the detail would have been there given better conditions. When you get a good one that works, and continues to work (I wasn't aware this was also an issue) then they do seem superb value if you want high power views. Personally, I am not so impressed I am tempted to move from my PST stage 2. I can get anything from full disk views at 53x to high power views at 170x with my binoviewers and the standard 5mm blocking filter (I realise this seems impossible but it's true). OK not as good views as a Daystar in a top larger scope when on form but I don't have the money or the time to take a risk on QC. To me, wasting even £50 on postage is not acceptable.

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Notty

Notty

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Well thanks all for the input everyone. Certainly seems still to be a bit of risk involved in thus product, and I don't think I'd enjoy it knowing it could degrade at any moment even if it worked on arrival (even if I were able to tell it was working properly!) On balance I've decided to hold off until I can afford a decent leap from my PST stage 1, which I've decided is a Lunt 60DS. Unfortunately this may be never!

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Notty

Notty

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15 minutes ago, Moonshane said:

If imaging that might be a decent jump but I'd doubt it would be visually from a PST mod. One way to jump would be a larger donor but of course that's got it's own issues! :icon_eek:

Yes I'm all about imaging... I don't think I can remember how to attach an eyepiece nowadays!  I've no longer got the PST so can't upgrade it :-(

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Davey-T

Davey-T

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As Shane said all solar filters have a finite life span, if you read the small print on manufacturers sites they state 5 years after which you can return for refurbishment at your expense.

The time span appears to be arbitrary, so it may be more dependant on solar exposure time than the passing of time in which case mine may last for 20 years :grin:

Dave

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Davey-T

Davey-T

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16 minutes ago, Moonshane said:

to be fair, that's four years more than most normal scope manufacturers give.

But then "normal" scopes don't suddenly stop working after 5 years :grin:

Dave

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