Stolen Items Found - Does Anybody Recognise?

[Grant]

The police have recovered a number of items they suspect were stolen including an NEQ6 mount in a very recognisable, custom black case (photo attached). They have contacted OVL the UK Sky-Watcher distributor who in turn have asked us if we could publicise this.

If you recognise this please get in touch.

Thanks,

Grant

[bottletopburly]

What force /area has this been recovered from grant ?

[Peter Drew]

Hope it belonged to someone on SGL,  Good result!.    🙂

[callisto]

17 minutes ago, Peter Drew said:

Hope it belonged to someone on SGL,  Good result!.    🙂

🤞

[JamesF]

I think I've seen a few people posting photos here over the years of similar but ever so slightly different arrangements for a NEQ6 in the same case, so perhaps there is a reasonable chance that it belongs to an SGL member or ex-member.

James

[Chris]

They must have been gutted having an EQ6 stolen, fingers crossed it makes it way back to them!

[Grant]

2 hours ago, bottletopburly said:

What force /area has this been recovered from grant ?

I think it could've been across a whole range of Southern Counties - I've not been given anything more specific.

[Mick J]

That's a bit of weight, and well looked after, let's hope it's returned to it's owners.

[Nigella Bryant]

Great it's been recovered. Hope it finds it's owner.

[Adam J]

Everyone, this is a prime example of why you need to mark your kit with a UV pen!

[Nigella Bryant]

Just now, Adam J said:

Everyone, this is a prime example of why you need to mark your kit with a UV pen!

Yep, all my kit is marked. 

[AstroTim]

How does UV marking work when you come to sell the item? Can it be removed without causing damage to any paint finishes?

Tim

[Nigella Bryant]

3 minutes ago, AstroTim said:

How does UV marking work when you come to sell the item? Can it be removed without causing damage to any paint finishes?

Tim

No idea, be good to know. Not thinking of selling my kit anytime soon. 

[DaveL59]

12 minutes ago, AstroTim said:

How does UV marking work when you come to sell the item? Can it be removed without causing damage to any paint finishes?

Tim

I guess the simple way perhaps is to draw a line through the old info and get the buyer to mark their info in a different area. Same if you move house and need to re-mark. You'd need a UV light tho to be accurate. Acetone may erode the permanent marker but I've never tested that idea.

[lenscap]

4 hours ago, Grant said:

I think it could've been across a whole range of Southern Counties

But, putting on my Sherlock Holmes hat, the latitude is set at about 54 degrees, which suggests the North of England?  🔍

Edited September 7, 2020 by lenscap

[vlaiv]

9 minutes ago, lenscap said:

But, putting on my Sherlock Holmes hat, the latitude is set at about 54 degrees, which suggests the North of England?

Looks more like 53?

[Nigella Bryant]

16 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

Looks more like 53?

I'd say 53 too. Well spotted. Buxton area, etc. 

Edited September 7, 2020 by Nigella Bryant

[discardedastro]

If it's got the Synscan hand controller (looks like it top right), then worth them powering it up. The last observing location entered will be stored as part of the initialisation sequence - may not be "home", but might get you close, and if you're lucky it's the back garden!

[Adam J]

27 minutes ago, discardedastro said:

If it's got the Synscan hand controller (looks like it top right), then worth them powering it up. The last observing location entered will be stored as part of the initialisation sequence - may not be "home", but might get you close, and if you're lucky it's the back garden!

Yes I was just checking for exactly this I have used EQ mod for so long that I could not remember if it stored them or you have to put them in each time. Apparently it does store them so the coordinates should be in it from the last location it was used at.

7 hours ago, Grant said:

The police have recovered a number of items they suspect were stolen including an NEQ6 mount in a very recognisable, custom black case (photo attached). They have contacted OVL the UK Sky-Watcher distributor who in turn have asked us if we could publicise this.

 

See above Grant, I am shocked SW did not think of this.

Adam

[Grant]

That’s a good thought which for all I know has already been attempted but I will mention it just in case.

To be fair Adam, I didn’t think of this either and should have, having owned an NEQ6 for nearly 15 years!

[JOC]

It's a long time ago (but that doesn't stop stolen gear from being recovered), but I searched in SGL threads for the word 'stolen' and came up with an EQ6 - and a white one here mentioned in the third posting on the thread:

is it a possibility?

Edited September 9, 2020 by JOC

[Nigella Bryant]

22 minutes ago, JOC said:

It's a long time ago (but that doesn't stop stolen gear from being recovered), but I searched in SGL threads for the word 'stolen' and came up with an EQ6 - and a white one here mentioned in the third posting on the thread:

is it a possibility?

Recovered on is a Neq6 whereas the one from Toddmodan is an eq6 so perhaps not.

[JOC]

13 minutes ago, Nigella Bryant said:

Recovered on is a Neq6 whereas the one from Toddmodan is an eq6 so perhaps not.

Oh, well it was just an idea to do a search and see what I could find.  I don't use kit like that so I wouldn't have appreciated the difference.

[Peter Drew]

Thanks for the consideration JOC, this wasn't one of ours.  We had one white EQ6Pro and three black standard EQ6 stolen.  These and all the other instruments remain undiscovered.  ☹️

[Physopto]

On 07/09/2020 at 19:21, AstroTim said:

How does UV marking work when you come to sell the item? Can it be removed without causing damage to any paint finishes?

Tim

A good few years ago I sold a Meade 12" LX200. I had marked it with a UV pen early on. When I went to sell it I tried to remove the marker data. But it was very difficult and would have damaged the paint surface. So it went to the new owner as was. If it was ever stolen and recovered I guess the marks would be still visible and it could be traced and returned. I may still have the buyers details somewhere.

Derek