All telescopes out of stock...

[Shaun_Astro]

I've been looking for a new frac recently and I see every single one is out of stock on flo, what's going on? Has manufacturing stopped or everyone gone scope crazy? 

[Jiggy 67]

COVID has reduced everything to a trickle 

[sputniksteve]

How are stock levels at other stockists?

[billhinge]

I bought several bits of stuff from Germany (inc APM)  over the last few months, generally a week or two wait. I generally shop around for price (and I'm buying as much as poss before Brexit proper - who knows what imported scopes will be come Jan - maybe US  stuff cheaper, EU  stuff more expensive?)

I'm sure APM will have stuff in stock being  a  manufacturer but perhaps not  cheap

[JamesF]

I recall Steve (from FLO) posted a while back saying that supplies are very unreliable.  As an example I think he said that they'd been waiting for one shipment to fulfil a number of orders for the Skywatcher ED80 and when it arrived there was only one ED80 with the shipment, to share between all of the UK vendors.  It all sounds like a bit of a nightmare really.

James

[randomic]

I've had a lot of luck recently with https://www.widescreen-centre.co.uk/ for stuff which has been out of stock everywhere else. Feedback for the retailer on this site hasn't been perfect but I've had absolutely no issues with them so far. They've always been super helpful and quick to respond to any questions/stock-checks.

[Victor Boesen]

I'm experience much the same! I think it's a mix between low stock and supply from the sources and an increase in demand! I remember FLO mentioning their sales were very surprising in the middle of these times, and I'm also experiencing an increase in interest in this hobby locally where I live.

[Victor Boesen]

4 minutes ago, randomic said:

I've had a lot of luck recently with https://www.widescreen-centre.co.uk/ for stuff which has been out of stock everywhere else. Feedback for the retailer on this site hasn't been perfect but I've had absolutely no issues with them so far. They've always been super helpful and quick to respond to any questions/stock-checks.

Hi! Any way of checking their stock on their website, or is it required to contact them through E-mail?

[randomic]

4 minutes ago, Victor Boesen said:

Hi! Any way of checking their stock on their website, or is it required to contact them through E-mail?

I don't think they keep live stock updates on the website. I've found they respond pretty quickly after I shoot them an email 🙂

[Jiggy 67]

Having been in the market myself recently I think it’s the same wherever you look. It’s a case of putting your order in and being patient. I’ve paid for a SW 100ED DS Pro but the earliest I can expect for delivery is December and I’m not particularly confident of that. It’s not the vendor‘s fault, they can only supply what they can get their hands on........”stuff” is gonna be pretty thin on the ground for some time to come 😢

[johninderby]

Skywatcher scopes are easier to find in stock at German dealers but a lot more than the UK price. 

As an example.

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p2488_EVOSTAR-100-ED---100-900mm-ED-APO-with-Case---Acessories.html

[Jiggy 67]

5 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Skywatcher scopes are easier to find in stock at German dealers but a lot more than the UK price. 

As an example.

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p2488_EVOSTAR-100-ED---100-900mm-ED-APO-with-Case---Acessories.html

Hmmm....thankfully I’m in no rush so I can afford to be patient but I feel for those who want to get into the hobby but can’t because the equipment just isn’t available or they have to pay more......it will have a knock on effect on the second hand market as well, good for sellers, not so good for buyers 

[Louis D]

As Mike at Astronomics (Cloudy Nights sponsor) recently said in his mailing list as pertains to constrained product supply:

Due to unexpected demand in astronomy products from a stay at home pandemic, rocket launches, and a very bright comet all manufacturers are stuck in an awkward position that nobody could have predicted.  We appreciate your interest and your understanding in the matter as we are filling orders as fast as products can come in.  Astronomy is a hobby about patience, so please have a little with us currently.  Thank you. 

[andrew s]

Some of the SGLers on here with obscene  numbers of scopes need to release them onto the market to buffer the shortage. 👀 Yes you/we know who you are. 😜

Man up and de stock your forum needs you.

Regards Andrew. 

Edited October 5, 2020 by andrew s

[jetstream]

The way things are going I think I'll keep love and cherish my six telescopes

Edit- oops 7 scopes👍

Edited October 5, 2020 by jetstream
more scopes

[DaveL59]

6 minutes ago, jetstream said:

The way things are going I think I'll keep love and cherish my six telescopes

Edit- oops 7 scopes👍

snap! 😉 

[jetstream]

And... lol!

I might build a few truss dobs, well see.

[JeremyS]

1 hour ago, andrew s said:

Some of the SGLers on here with obscene  numbers of scopes need to release them onto the market to buffer the shortage. 👀 Yes you/we know who you are. 😜

Man up and de stock you forum needs you.

Regards Andrew. 

I’ve no idea who he is talking about 

🤔

[Louis D]

I was thinking renting telescopes might not be such a bad business proposition if the fees are setup properly.

[JamesF]

27 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

I’ve no idea who he is talking about 

🤔

Nor me.  I barely have enough for a different one each month, and that hardly seems excessive.

James

[Ships and Stars]

Going slightly off-topic (but not entirely) would it be possible to live stream video footage/stacked images from a telescope? I assume there's some fancy astro EEVA camera (Atik/ZWO etc) that's up to the task. The idea being those that don't have a scope can view the feed online from home...

Would be interesting to stream some footage from the 20" dob if that's possible with an alt az goto mount.

 

[Victor Boesen]

5 minutes ago, Ships and Stars said:

Going slightly off-topic (but not entirely) would it be possible to live stream video footage/stacked images from a telescope? I assume there's some fancy astro EEVA camera (Atik/ZWO etc) that's up to the task. The idea being those that don't have a scope can view the feed online from home...

Would be interesting to stream some footage from the 20" dob if that's possible with an alt az goto mount.

 

That would definitely be possible! I would love to do something like this if I had a permanent setup and observatory. This could be done on youtube, twitch, facebook, mixer, and the list goes on. I would imagine setting it up wouldn't be too difficult either. OBS is a very versatile software for this, and you can make it record certain windows like firecap, APT and etc.

[randomic]

8 minutes ago, Ships and Stars said:

Going slightly off-topic (but not entirely) would it be possible to live stream video footage/stacked images from a telescope? I assume there's some fancy astro EEVA camera (Atik/ZWO etc) that's up to the task. The idea being those that don't have a scope can view the feed online from home...

Would be interesting to stream some footage from the 20" dob if that's possible with an alt az goto mount.

 

That would be awesome. You could pretty easily use something like OBS

[Ships and Stars]

15 minutes ago, Victor Boesen said:

That would definitely be possible! I would love to do something like this if I had a permanent setup and observatory. This could be done on youtube, twitch, facebook, mixer, and the list goes on. I would imagine setting it up wouldn't be too difficult either. OBS is a very versatile software for this, and you can make it record certain windows like firecap, APT and etc.

 

15 minutes ago, randomic said:

That would be awesome. You could pretty easily use something like OBS

Thank you both, I'll have a look at OBS and dig around online on how to do this. The main problem is I don't have an observatory, at home would be possible if I set my laptop up in the van next to the scope like an outdoor computer room.

If I was at a dark sky site with 4G+ data, wonder if that would have the speed to stream video? I've two leisure batteries and a couple of li-ion power banks so plenty of off-grid juice to run things.

I'll start a new thread tomorrow and ask which camera would be a good choice for this application....

PS back on topic, the supply chain is stop/start in many retail areas. Kayaks/paddle boards quickly sold out this summer and many retailers are struggling to restock it seems, even now.

Edited October 5, 2020 by Ships and Stars

[Louis D]

17 hours ago, Ships and Stars said:

Kayaks/paddle boards quickly sold out this summer and many retailers are struggling to restock it seems, even now.

Same with bicycles and bicycle parts.  Tires and tubes in particular are nigh on impossible to find even today.  My grown kids refurbished a couple of 25 year old mountain bikes the wife and I hadn't ridden together in decades.  Used bikes have become a hot commodity on Facebook Marketplace.  My son bought a road bike that turned out to have too large a frame for him, so he sold it on to my 6' 4" future son-in-law for what he paid for it.  For a while during the summer, area bike shops had a 3 week backlog of work, so you had to be patient while they refurbished your bike.