Once bitten twice shy

[900SL]

On 13/01/2018 at 16:00, derekf said:

No I'm a buyer that expects the things i buy to work as they should.

I had the same experience with a Skywatcher Star adventurer. Pot metal cheap Chinese poor tolerance poorly machined product. Worked after a fashion after a complete strip and rebuild. Vowed never to buy another of their products.

Having said that, there seems to be quite a few happy owners out there. 

[kentnek]

9 hours ago, 900SL said:

I had the same experience with a Skywatcher Star adventurer. Pot metal cheap Chinese poor tolerance poorly machined product. Worked after a fashion after a complete strip and rebuild. Vowed never to buy another of their products.

Having said that, there seems to be quite a few happy owners out there. 

I almost went for the SA 2i as well, but decided against that after reading about the subpar quality of the product, especially the included equatorial wedge base. No doubt, it's cheap for what it is and attracts a large fan base, who comes up with a plethora of mods and maintenance guides to improve the tracker. And if one is willing to spend (considerable) time (and perhaps money) on tinkering and modding it, admirable results can be achieved.

However, I'd prefer to use that time/money on something better right at the beginning, so I can enjoy astrophotography without being frustrated at the equipment.

[apaulo]

very much under engineered by the manufacturer and overpriced by the retailers. Most of the astro gear now looks great but no guts. high prices these days dosnt  guarantee quality.