Hole in the market?

[steve wiz]

Hi,

I'm relatively new to Astronomy, I currently own a Heritage 130P.

It's a great scope but I'm looking to upgrade and like the idea of the 'Push to' system. I also like the Goto set up but understand it eats batteries and an additional  cost for a Powertank adds to the cost, hence liking the great idea of Push to.

After MUCH research I discovered what I think ticks all the boxes for me. The Orion Intelliscope 6i, then I find out no one stocks this wonderful piece of kit in the UK! 

I then discover Orion USA have a distributer in Europe, Holland or Germany I think. Truth is, I'm not keen on buying from another country what with Covid and the horrendous delivery times AND possible damage in transit leading to costly returns, Its also available on Amazon UK but I prefer to spent that kind of money with a actual telescope shop, this way I could get after market support and more piece of mind.

Why don't Sywatcher make Push to's?  Do any other Brands make these, I personally think its a wonderful idea. I'm not great with Aps and maps, probably a bit lazy but thats just me.

If, there are no other companies that sell Push to Dobs, surely thats a huge hole in the market?

Edited November 6, 2020 by steve wiz

[steve k]

Maybe consider a self fit encoder system.. these have good reviews..

https://www.365astronomy.com/astro-devices-encoder-kit-for-skywatcher-dobsonians-6-16.html

[johninderby]

The Omegon brand does some push to dobs and also sell the system on it’s own.  System uses a smartphone.

https://www.astroshop.eu/goto-kits/omegon-push-go-standalone-encoder-system/p,55768

 

Edited November 6, 2020 by johninderby

[MrFreeze]

Orion's UK site is https://uk.telescope.com/ priced in pounds sterling (they also have https://eu.telescope.com/. priced in euro). Although their warehouse is as you suspected in the Netherlands, their speed of delivery rivals many UK firms. If your order is in stock you will have it in 2 days. I have bought both of my Maksutovs from them and speak as a very satisfied customer. Customer service is based in US, but available 24/7 via webchat. I have used it when my last order went horribly wrong due to my bank classing it as a scam, and found the service excellent. I wouldn't have any hesitation in buying from them. Yes it wouldn't be that easy to physically take it back to the warehouse yourself, but unless a UK supplier was very close the same applies - I wouldn't dream of returning anything myself except maybe Tring astro who are only just down the road.

David

[Carbon Brush]

Don't worry about buying from europe. The well known suppliers (like those listed in earlier posts) know what they are doing. They use reputable carriers, not the 'drop it and run' people. The scope manufacturers pack to survive shipping.
Take a look at the 'supplier reviews' thread on SGL for some assurance.
At work I regularly receive high value fragile packages from europe without problem. Barnsley, Basingstoke, Barcelona and Berlin are just names on maps. The parcel survival rate is the same.
Parcel damage tends to be done in the local depots or vans rather than trunking runs. So it doesn't matter if the journey is 20 miles or 2000 miles.
 

HTH, David.

[Cosmic Geoff]

Whether one prefers 'push to' or GoTo is a matter for the individual.  One advantage of a GoTo mount is that it will track, while a 'push to' in common with a manual mount will not.  If one looks inside a GoTo mount one may find that the motors are small and the motion encoder looks very simple, and in fact in manufacturing terms and retail pricing the 'push to' appears to have no cost advantage.

[Shimrod]

2 hours ago, MrFreeze said:

Orion's UK site is https://uk.telescope.com/ priced in pounds sterling (they also have https://eu.telescope.com/. priced in euro). Although their warehouse is as you suspected in the Netherlands, their speed of delivery rivals many UK firms. If your order is in stock you will have it in 2 days. I have bought both of my Maksutovs from them and speak as a very satisfied customer. Customer service is based in US, but available 24/7 via webchat. I have used it when my last order went horribly wrong due to my bank classing it as a scam, and found the service excellent. I wouldn't have any hesitation in buying from them. Yes it wouldn't be that easy to physically take it back to the warehouse yourself, but unless a UK supplier was very close the same applies - I wouldn't dream of returning anything myself except maybe Tring astro who are only just down the road.

David

And 11.55% cashback available if you use topcashback

[markse68]

It’s a real shame Celestron haven’t released starsense explorer as a bolt on kit yet!