Unistella evscope

[TSRobot]

Now that's an analysis that really hits the nail. We'll just have to see how the evscope actually fits into the market. Mobile phone companies never thought txt messages would take off until teenagers showed them how to really use them 

[stash_old]

14 hours ago, Cornelius Varley said:

The presenter makes some interesting comments.

Excellent video containing very good points summarised very well - IMHO dont think there is anything else to say about the product. 

[TSRobot]

I don't think i'll be jumping in first on the Evscope. I'll let others write the reviews first. It's a lot of money for what MIGHT be a gimmick in a cute package. It'll suit some people though, maybe even me. Anyhow you can buy one now it seems at a reduced price to get things rolling. The reduced price looks like being the second hand price too if you pay full price of $2200 so you might not lose out at all. 

[shirva]

On 24/11/2017 at 11:58, stash_old said:

Excellent video containing very good points summarised very well - IMHO dont think there is anything else to say about the product. 

Yip it's a good video and the chap is right,,buy it if you think it's for you,i t has merit's,, that some folk will like ,,but for me it's constrictive to what I want in a set up,,

[Peter Drew]

It already has a potential competitor, the Hiuni Smart Telescope. 

[TSRobot]

1 hour ago, Peter Drew said:

It already has a potential competitor, the Hiuni Smart Telescope. 

And the Stellina smart telescope. A whole bunch of them coming out at the same time it seems. The Hiuni is the cheapest of the lot. Bet they'll be in Argos for Christmas 

[TSRobot]

Oops. Just ordered the Evscope.?

Have to wait till June 2019 tut.

[RobertI]

On 03/12/2018 at 13:52, TSRobot said:

Oops. Just ordered the Evscope.?

Have to wait till June 2019 tut.

Well done! Keep us posted. 

[TSRobot]

Not sure yet about the total cost. $1749 came to £1377 on my card. I think I have to add 20% VAT and maybe 2.5% import duty too when it arrives in the uk. Looking forward to it though. I still got the big C so the good lady never minds what i splash out on now. Not getting a Porsche though ??

[TSRobot]

Latest email from Unistella came a week ago. Sounds like they try hard to get it spot on. 

Unistellar April 7 2019 Update

Dear backers,

Today we want to give you a quick update on our eVscope beta test. But before we do that, we want to say thanks to you all—we’ve been overwhelmed by your support, your willingness to be part of this journey, and your great community spirit. Thank you—it’s really great to have you onboard !
OK … on to the beta test. 

A limited number of our backers will soon receive invitations to join our beta-testing program. We’ve chosen these backers carefully based on a mix of criteria, including expressed interest, equipment, level of expertise, early contributions to the project, and location. Starting this summer, people who agree to participate will receive their eVscopes. We know that some of our backers are not interested in this beta test and prefer to wait for the second series of eVscopes, with deliveries this Fall. 

We’ll ask each beta tester to use their eVscope extensively for about four weeks. By extensively, we mean do as many observations as possible (at least three times a week, preferably more when the weather is clear, and for at least an hour and a half at a time). We also want beta testers to use their eVscopes under different conditions (urban area v. countryside, partially cloudy v. clear nights, and varying wind speeds and moonlight intensities). 

After each observation, our beta testers will be asked to fill out a short form and send their data to us. We’ll use this information to check image quality and hardware durability (optics, battery, structure). We also expect beta testers to share their thoughts, advice, and recommendations about their telescope, its tripod, and its accessories. Finally, we’re asking beta testers to help us search for bugs or malfunctions that we may have missed, and to be patient and understanding with us if and when they occur. 

In return for this help, beta testers will get the very first working eVscopes, thoroughly tested by our team at the factory, along with the opportunity to benefit from a new and revolutionary astronomical experience. In the unlikely event that a major hardware failure is identified on some of these eVscopes, we will of course take care of the entire return-and-repair process.

Once this beta test is complete, we’ll share the results with you, our backers, assess the modifications that might need to be made to the eVscope assembly line and software, and begun manufacturing units for all of you. We are confident that the beta test allowed us to accomplish two goals: finalize the on-site tests of eVscopes and guarantee quality by having the very first eVscopes directly tested by customers for a few weeks.

This is an important phase in the life of your eVscopes and our young company, and we’re glad to share it with you. Again, thanks for your support.

Clear skies to all,

The Unistellar Team

[Buzzard75]

I backed the eVscope during their initial Kickstarter and can not wait to get my hands on it. I told my club several months ago about it and they were all extremely interested and some were contemplating purchasing their own, to which I urged caution. I'm continually getting asked when I expect to get it because they all want to check it out first before they drop a large stack of cash on one. When I went in, it was half what the expected retail was and it was a good deal. At retail price, you could build a similar system that would accomplish the same, but it would not be nearly as compact or portable. As I said in a previous post, is there anything revolutionary here? No, but the form factor is certainly new and somewhat unique. I think devices like this will make EEVA more accessible by taking out a lot of the effort in building your own system. Generally amateur astronomers are going to prefer building their own system, fine tuning each piece and identifying the best components for the job. The general public who just wants to go outside and look at cool stuff in the night sky on the other hand, they want simple and this is about as simple as something like this gets.

I haven't been asked to be in the beta and I'm guessing all those invites have gone out. Had I been asked, I would be torn between wanting to get it early and be a beta tester or waiting to get the second production run with all the kinks worked out. In either case, I'm very excited about being able to share it with everyone in the club, guests at our events, seeing some cool stuff for myself and contributing to the citizen science campaigns.

[TSRobot]

I'm looking forward to it too. Seems like they're working hard. Shame the dispatch dates keep changing to later and later.  Never mind eh. New stuff needs a lot of careful thought ?

[SIDO]

Like the idea of purchasing a single self contained unit and think this is another great alternative for those seeking an easy lightweight novice friendly package...

For me though the field of view is a none starter and as I have had an eye on Unistellar for some three years now as they push the directive further and further out the existing astonomy camera technology excells at an ever increasing rate...Someone puts a small LCD screen on a mini computer attatched to an astronomy camera with livestacking that can be plugged into any scope and their lead here may be lost, at 90+Qe a tracking mount won't even be needed just small remote sensors for altitude and azimuth for simple push to capability...

Smaller better faster, my chief engineers words when we replaced electro mechanical timers with digital logic controllers 30 years ago...The trend continues...

Best of Luck Everyone, Unistellar too ?

[shirva]

Thanks for the update guy's,, real pity it's taking so long to get to beta testing,, you would have thought that a prototype would have been tested by a impartial astronomer and recommended any modifications before sending out a batch to be tested,, I would be a bit worried if it were me buying it especially with the cost involved.

I hope they deliver better than what was advertised and you can get some usage before dark night's start creeping in.

 

[John]

10 hours ago, shirva said:

Thanks for the update guy's,, real pity it's taking so long to get to beta testing,, you would have thought that a prototype would have been tested by a impartial astronomer and recommended any modifications before sending out a batch to be tested,, I would be a bit worried if it were me buying it especially with the cost involved.

I hope they deliver better than what was advertised and you can get some usage before dark night's start creeping in.

 

I agree - I would like to see this scope tested by experienced astronomers with no financial or other interest in the product. My guess is that it might be good at some things but very average at others but you will need experienced observers to put it through it's paces on a wide range of targets including targets that really push it's performance capability.

Comparisons with conventional equipment of similiar aperture would be good as "yardsticks" as well.

 

 

[Buzzard75]

My understanding is they had multiple prototypes in this last round that were being tested by team members and others in the field, all providing input on the final design. That in addition to their lab testing helped define the final configuration and components. It's also my understanding that what goes out next month for the beta will be the final configuration. The only thing that will be different between those that go out in June and those that go out in September will be the software that they're shipped with and the app, which can be and will be updated. If there's something wrong with it, mechanically speaking, it will be corrected. I think they're really planning on using the beta as more of a test of their software and control and less about the design of the telescope. Seems they've got that pretty much nailed down and won't be changing it.

I'm really looking forward to getting mine and sharing with everyone.

[AngryDonkey]

I've recently been asked about this scope and went back over the available info to form an opinion. What struck me most is that the current retail price is now 3000 euros (+ shipping). Even at the earlier pricing it struck me as a bit expensive for what you get. I do understand the attraction of being able to see some cool sights with little or no astro/computer knowledge required and if money is less of a concern then maybe it's a good solution.

I just feel for anyone trying to get into astronomy this would not be such a good first step. For 3000 euros you could get some really good kit...

[Buzzard75]

5 hours ago, AngryDonkey said:

I've recently been asked about this scope and went back over the available info to form an opinion. What struck me most is that the current retail price is now 3000 euros (+ shipping). Even at the earlier pricing it struck me as a bit expensive for what you get. I do understand the attraction of being able to see some cool sights with little or no astro/computer knowledge required and if money is less of a concern then maybe it's a good solution.

I just feel for anyone trying to get into astronomy this would not be such a good first step. For 3000 euros you could get some really good kit...

Understandable. For that price, it is a bit expensive. As I've said, I got in early on the Kickstarter and am so thankful that I did. I got it for less than half what they're asking now and it was a good deal then. For 3000, you could certainly put together a great setup that would be more capable. This does have a few extra bells and whistles that aren't standard, but what that is worth depends on the individual. I would hope that in the future, equipment like this would come down in price so that it is more accessible to people.

[AngryDonkey]

2 hours ago, Buzzard75 said:

I would hope that in the future, equipment like this would come down in price so that it is more accessible to people.

Very much agree!

[shirva]

Now in to mid July ,, any news on the beta testing,,,,

[Buzzard75]

2 hours ago, shirva said:

Now in to mid July ,, any news on the beta testing,,,,

They don't say specifically, but sounds like August now. The last update said they just passed the electromagnetic compatibility certification, which was probably their biggest concern and gave them issues earlier. Meanwhile they are moving forward with production and have a couple more trial runs of moldings to manufacture and inspect. I would say it's still a few weeks off at least, but we're getting closer.

[AngryDonkey]

If my recent kickstarter projects are anything to go by then it will probably be 2020 😂

[Buzzard75]

They just published an update to the backers. The first unit from their production line testing has been finished and assembled and needs to undergo quality testing of its own I would imagine. They know they have a few modifications to make and final packaging to complete. It should probably only be a few more weeks before they start mass production of the first units for backer beta testing. It's definitely getting closer!

[Ruud]

Hi,

I just visited the Unistellar kikstarter page. There was an update on September 10, 2019, but I can't read it. Is it good news? I'm mainly curious about how the beta testing went.

[Buzzard75]

On 25/09/2019 at 18:25, Ruud said:

Hi,

I just visited the Unistellar kikstarter page. There was an update on September 10, 2019, but I can't read it. Is it good news? I'm mainly curious about how the beta testing went.

Beta units are shipping or about to start shipping and final surveys to confirm addresses and things of that nature went out. They were waiting on European certification for the battery and finally received the letter. Beta test is expected to run through October and non-beta backers are expected to start receiving units in December through February. No word on non-Europe or US backers as certification is very different for each region and country and they're still trying to work out a lot of those details.