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Impatience or Poor Service?


brympton

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£700 pounds for a complete 8" package isnt realistic

You've got to be kidding me? £700 is quite a lot of money for a 8" Newt, you don't expect anything to have been skimped for that amount of money. As I've said before if they can't make it mechanically sound for £700 then they should just put the price up! Personally I'm not sure its a money issue at all, it just seems like poor QC/ sloppy engineering rather than anything that more money would put right.

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Hi - I nearly bought an OO scope last year, but decided against it at the last moment. Glad I did - the whole package has got to be right to get the best out of the optics. A scope is more than just a mirror and the whole combo has to work together.

I think it is difficult to beat the overall Skywatcher package for value and quality.

Ed

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It is, but it would be nice to see a British package that gives them some competition. I sincerley hope that OO take the constructive criticism on board and act to correct the problems. If they do, then I will certainly consider them when it comes time to upgrade.

The scopes in their adverts are certainly something to drool over!

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I am amazed a company has been able to sell so many badly finished products for so long. I am equally astonished that so many astronomers have been willing to put up with the poor quality products supplied. I would love to be able to buy British produced telescopes and accessories, but the Chinese appear to have worked out what astronomers want, well priced quallity products, well packaged! If a British company cannot even work out how to clean and package over £700 worth of equipment it really does not deserve our custom.

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Yeah, there seems to be many people who think and agree that orion optics mirrors are great. My experience of thier optics are also very favourable.

It would be a fantastic opportunity to design a fresh new line of OTA`s to accomodate OO mirrors..

We could discard the OO trend of using corn beef tins and start a fresh! And even introduce a scheme where, if for instance, a customer orders a europa, we could incorporate that model name on the product. Likewise the SPX etc etc ....

John

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As OO supply high quality optics, why not just buy the optics and then source the other components from other sources, then you will have your own customised scope, bypassing the allegedly poor mechanical side.

I think this tread has rattled on for long enough now, all avenues have been explored and opinions voiced, OO have responded and offered a solution upon which Brympton has made his decision. Let us wait and see what develops.

Archie

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Naz, IMHO the fact you can get better alternatives elsewhere doesn't really give OO carte blanche to sell, and charge for, sub standard tubes/ focusers/ vanes etc with their mirrors, Having said that I agree that this thread has probably achieved all its going to achieve until Brympton and Orion have resloved this issue.

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I would agree that this thread has probably run it's course and if all goes well I should be able to post a favourable equipment review...

However,

Call me a cynic if you like but with all these offers to do everything, what if OO turn round and ask for extra money? I hope I am wrong but the thought has crossed my mind :smiley:

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Sorry to add more to this Gaz but it seems if you were to buy the mirrors on there own they cost the same if not more than the Ota price, so in a way you are buying two mirrors and the other bits are a bonus...I suppose? Maybe it is just best to view OO as a project purchase outlet.

Sorry, Enough said I agree..............

John

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Sorry to add more to this Gaz but it seems if you were to buy the mirrors on there own they cost the same if not more than the Ota price, so in a way you are buying two mirrors and the other bits are a bonus...I suppose? Maybe it is just best to view OO as a project purchase outlet.

John

Hi John,

I looked at this option before ordering and the 200mm f/4.5 Ultra Grade mirror set was £500.

Regards

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No worries John but I really don't see a 8"Newt costing £700 as being a project. If OO can't deliver the mechanical side of the deal then they should just sell optics IMHO.

Please feel free to continue discussing the issue guys but, until Brympton and OO have sorted this out, I'm not sure theres much more to say that hasn't already been said?

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Yeah You are right there.

I couldn`t help comment as this time last year i was a newb who was after my second scope and ordered from OO on the strength of their mirror rep. I ended up paying £800 for a 10" Europa OTA which in no way resembled the advertised product. I was so dissapointed I nearly cried!!!

Good luck Brympton, Hope you get what you wanted after all

John

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I would agree that this thread has probably run it's course and if all goes well I should be able to post a favourable equipment review...

However,

Call me a cynic if you like but with all these offers to do everything, what if OO turn round and ask for extra money? I hope I am wrong but the thought has crossed my mind :smiley:

Perhaps you would be as well getting that FOC statement from them, in writing of course.

I am sure they would not expect any payment for remedial work, but best be safe. FOC, or a full refund.

Ron.

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Yes Ron I think you are right, very remiss of me not to have done this already...another email sent...

Hi John,

I have a slight concern that you may wish to apply additional charges. Can

you please confirm before commencing work that this is not the case. I would

not wish to proceed if this was the intention.

Regards

Mark

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Maybe I should get my pencil out! I have to say that the 12" OO I was using at Kelling was wicked, rustic but wicked. No idea which mirror cell it had but despite being bounced from central France to Norfolk the collimation was still spot on.

I have to make an OTA for a 10" mirror set I have here and will be going for the "organic" look, actually I am looking forward to it but it will involve much work in design/prototyping and so on. I have the mirror set already and were I to want to do things to a price I would use a tube and off-the-shelf bits and pieces. The mirror set was maybe £150, no cell or spider and to be honest, likely nowhere near the quality of an OO set. My point though is that, were I to do this with available parts I would still have trouble getting it done in total for under £600. For that I would get a (prepared, i.e. drilled/painted ) tube, cell, spider, rings, focuser and dust caps.

For my project though I already have the CNC machines and can therefore afford to be a little more adventurous - but to get to my main point, when this 10" project is finished and ignoring the initial cost of the mirros, I will be looking at maybe £800 - £1000 minimum for the work on everything except the mirrors (OK, not what I will have paid but what I would likely have to charge out for the work). In this context, the OO price for a working scope is a good one in my opinion. Yes, maybe not what you expected but let's be honest - the OO reputation is there for all to see and maybe some of the blame must rest on a lack of initial research here. OO sell scopes that work, at and to a price, and it is up to the buyer to decide if that is what they want. I admit that things here are not as they should be with part substitutions and so on but OO are rectifying this - have even explained why the changes were made.

Arthur

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Hi Arthur,

The 12" OO mirror set is as you say 'wicked'. I think the model you were using must have had the 9 point mirror cell. The standard 3 point cell i had couldn't hold collimation while standing still. I found myself recollimating 3-4 times a night with that cell. I had spoken to OO on the phone and they suggested i upgraded to the 9 point cell to cure the problem. Others at my local club confirmed the 9 point cell was a vast improvement and did indeed hold collimation well.

Anyhow, looks like this thread is drawing to a good conclusion.

Russ

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If OO come up with the goods isn’t that good news for everyone? There appears to be two trains of thought here, those who believe that the OTA is acceptable and those that don’t. I think the argument that “I could not do it for the price” is rather naive especially when comparing manufacturing costs against retail costs. As a retail customer in Arthur’s situation would he not be better off buying a complete SW OTA for less than £400. :scratch:

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Are you calling me naive then? I was simply pointing out that the OO scopes are made to a price. Simple. Arthur is *not* a retail customer in this instance either but was simply quoting the cost of a "made to measure" OTA assembly for a supplied mirror. I can do this right now because, as I said, I am in the process of doing one for myself and so have thought some on the subject recently. The figures mentioned for the "off the shelf" parts would indeed be retail, but then you are buying the scope from OO retail so the figures are valid.

I do not want an SW OTA, I would buy one if I did. I want a bespoke one - so I have to put up with the cost of such a beastie.

Arthur

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Arthur,

No offence meant and I'm not calling anyone anything just expressing an opinion as you have. You were (again in my opinion) comparing what it would cost you against what it would cost OO. I mentioned the SW, not to be provocative, only in reply to your comment that you would not achieve the same quality as OO.

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