Altair Astro

[Cjg]

I needed yet another dew heater, and having had my HiTech one fail, looked for another brand, and came across the Dew Zapper range on the Altair Astro website.

A quick tweet to ask them if they were in stock on the afternoon of the 24th, they replied within an hour that they had stocks, so I placed the order, and today the 26th the FedEx van has pulled up with my new Dew Zapper; the real test will come from using it, but the cabling and contact points look substantial and well made.

Delivery was super quick with emails at each stage.

Very pleased.

[Dave_D]

just posted this on their facebook.

"must say that i'm REALLY disappointed with altair... i've sent messages over facebook and messages through your website since last friday, asking for information. not a single response... now, if what would have been over £2000 in purchases is of no interest to you then fine, so be it. as it is, even though i was really wanting to get one of your 10" truss imaging newtonians, because of your shockingly  bad customer service, i'll be taking my money elsewhere."

[Jkulin]

I'm a businessman and always work on the precise of you are only as good as your last order and people will only comment on the bad things about a company and rarely about the positive things, well here's my little tale.

Altair Astro are the main distributors of iOptron Mounts in the UK, so when I wanted to place an order for a CEM-60EC I hunted around and then approached Ian saying that I have found it cheaper elsewhere and what could he do to sweeten the deal, knowing that I wanted extra weights and a Polemaster adapter, Ian agreed a deal that was equal if not better than any elsewhere, so I placed the order on the precise that Ian said it would take 7-10 days to arrive as he was just placing an order that day with iOptron and they had to come in from the US.

10 days passed and Ian was always good at replying to my emails, after a few more days it transpired that my order had been shipped to another dealer in Europe and that Ian had to wait for them to be shipped back to him to correct the order, hardly Ian's fault but nonetheless I did give Ian a bit of grief as I had sold my AZ on the basis of it arriving by now.

Finally after a nearly a month my new mount arrived, less the weights as they were being shipped from another company and didn't arrive until the following day.

Ian has always been attentive to my emails and phone calls and when I called him yesterday to ask if he could send me a couple more leads, without even worrying about payment they arrived this evening and I am still nagging Ian to send me an invoice for the tripod and this latest order.

So on reflection Ian was attentive and always polite to my needs, he was patient when I was annoyed and sent items out on trust to me.

Astronomy is still a cottage industry and one really can't expect the vast stock holdings of some companies, which I think a lot of us forget.

So praise where praise is due, Chapeau to Ian, thank-you for your patience and understanding from a grumpy old man like me.

[Jkulin]

It is rare in life for people to be so kind, so with Ian at Altair Astro knowing that my wife has cancer, it was an absolute delight to receive a package from him and included in the box was a pack of face masks, what an absolute gem of a person. I truly didn't even bother looking at the goodies that had arrived, I was so very touched with his thoughtfulness in these times of the horrid and dangerous virus.

[robhatherton]

I was very pleased with the quick response and good communication with this company. An AZ Gti Mount I ordered was dispatched and received by me within two days. Unfortunately it was faulty (and research here and elsewhere told me it was a known fault with some units) and Ian at Altair Astro said he would have a replacement sent out immediately and the courier could collect the faulty mount at the same time as delivering the replacement. Couldn’t ask for better!

However, despite Ian’s best efforts, Optical Vision, the Skywatcher distributor, seemed to have other ideas and delayed dispatching the new Mount after telling Altair Astro it had already been shipped. I think that was disappointing. In a way I can understand them not wanting to send a new unit before the faulty one was returned but given that I’d already paid and on the phone to Ian it was clear they knew this was an issue with some of their mounts Optical Vision could have provided better service. 
 

So I’m waiting to receive the new mount on Monday.

[astro mick]

Hi.

Just like to say i received exerllent service from Ian at Altair Astro.Always answered my emails requesting further information,often out of hours.

I put my order in for the Starwave 102 Triplet,and Ian had it in stock and dispatched it promptly.

Top marks for Ian and AA.

Mick.

[Jeff Marsden]

Altair Astro Starwave 152 f/5.9 V3 refractor.

The telescope was ordered on Tuesday the 14^th of July 2020 from Altair Astro themselves. Delivery was made on Friday the 17^th of July 2020 by DPD following, from usual experience with this company, an accurate time delivery slot text.

On opening the box and taking the telescope out, I felt a movement from the front of the telescope and my initial reaction was that it was a very slack dew shield that was drooping. Then a clunk was heard and another. I slid the dew shield up the tube for slackness testing and the dew shield came off the end of the telescope tube to reveal no lens; just the threads as in the photograph. On looking in the dew shield there was the separated lens assembly; the cause of the clunking. To access the lens I would presumably have to unscrew the flange on the rear of the dew shield, something I was not prepared to have anything to do with.

Also on further inspection I found that the rear focusser flange was not fully tightened on the rear tube threads and I turned the flange approximately 6mm to tighten it.

First contact with Altair Astro was the following Tuesday 21^st July after trying numerous times and leaving an unanswered message the previous day. I explained the problem and that it was not reasonable to expect myself to accept a repair / return of same telescope based on screwing back the lens cell onto the tube. This due to possible damage to the lens elements and collimation. This the man agreed to without hesitation and he said that a (1^st) replacement would be sent out and the agreed date would be a few days later, Friday the 24^th July. The defective scope would be collected at the same time by DPD.

The man said that he was surprised that the lens had become unthreaded during transit as they check the scopes before sending them out. Now you have seen the photograph of the threads and that is a lot of unthreading between Norfolk and West Yorkshire.

So I waited for the delivery on Friday the 24^th of July. Nothing arrived with no text as before by DPD as to the delivery time slot. The following Monday 27^th July I rang Altair Astro again. The same man answered and was 'surprised' at the delivery company not doing their thing and would be contacting DPD to see what had happened. He would also be sending out a (2^nd) replacement but with no delivery date mentioned. I went along with this with some trepidation.

A week later and nothing so I rang them again. A person who sounded awfully like the same person I had spoken to twice before, 'seemed' to have no idea of my issue and I must have talked to another colleague. Ahem. I explained the problem, he checked my order number and said that because the courier had not picked up the telescope, as well as not delivering one don't forget, it had not ticked boxes on their system. Therefore, they had not sent out the second replacement based on this. But I had already told them no courier company had turned up the with the first replacement and collection so they knew that and told me on the phone that they were sending the 2^nd replacement based on this knowledge.

Did they have the courtesy to contact me to say that this replacement delivery would not be taking place because of non collection? No, if I had not have contacted them I would have been waiting and waiting indefinitely it seems.

The man said (again) that a (3^{rd time}) replacement will be sent out, just like before, even though the defective telescope had not been collected and of course therefore would not tick their computer system boxes! Just like before!! A further date of Friday the 7^th August was arranged with the man saying that there might be two DPD vans turning up; one for delivery and one for collection. Hmmm. I saw through that one straight away thinking that a collection might happen with no delivery. How right I was. There was a text from the usual efficient DPD for a collection time slot but none for a delivery slot. On DPD's arrival, I did not let the telescope go.

On Tuesday the 11^th of August I spoke with the same man as previously spoken to who last time claimed he had no idea of the issue. On saying my name and its about a Starwave 152, his straightaway first question was 'Has the telescope been collected' ? Hmm, strange why he asked that question rather than have you received your replacement telescope that you have paid £799 for. No I have not allowed the scope to be collected because the replacement has not been delivered again. That's strange he says, here we go again, it was booked in with the couriers for delivery last Friday. I will get onto them and... Sorry but I have had enough and I want a refund. No problem he says without any resistance. The scope will have to be returned for a refund to be given though. I told him that I was not 100% happy with that situation but that is the way they operate for a refund. So collection was arranged for Tuesday the 18^th of August and a refund back into my account shortly after.

At this point I sent a short email to Altair Astro putting down the collection date and the refund into my account as we had discussed. Any form of trust to take Altair Astro at their word was gone. Something was down in writing at least.

The 18^th of August and no collection nor text from DPD. Altair Astro were contacted late that afternoon and they answered the phone straight away. I expressed my annoyance at the whole saga in plain speak. The usual man said that he would get onto DPD (again) to see what had gone wrong but that he would refund my account there and then. I told him that I would appreciate it, if he did just that. He said he would drop me a line later on to make an arrangement for future collection. Again there was no resistance or gruff attitude from the man but that is not good enough. Delivery, excuse the pun, is what counts.

On Thursday the 20^th August the refund was shown in my account.

This has been a sorry shambles throughout by Altair Astro. During the whole time they have never made a courtesy contact once regarding the successful delivery of a replacement; if one was ever sent out. I have had to 'run after' Altair Astro at every stage and waste numerous days waiting for non deliveries / collection.

As of Saturday the 5^th of September, Altair Astro have still not contacted myself to arrange collection of their telescope.

[Greymouser]

I was a little nervous using these considering recent reviews, which was reinforced after phone calls going unanswered, but the e mail was answered very fast. I ordered the scope on Thursday lunch time, it arrived Friday early afternoon! Can you ask for more? All seems to be in order, just got to test it out when I can avoid the mossies!

I would say highly reccomended.

[Gmx76]

I've used a couple of times and they have been really helpful and prompt with service.  

[AstroTim]

Just posting a short review of my recent experience dealing with Altair Astro. Ian at Altair Astro was very prompt and helpful in responding to my initial questions. Some of the responses being sent late in the evening. He was also very quick to resolve an issue resulting from some damage caused in transit. I would definitely deal with them again.

Tim

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

Looking at less costly ED refractors, the Altair Astro Starwave Ascent 102ED looked promising listed at £460 inc. VAT. Incredibly cheap these days but out of stock. I requested an in stock notification and surprisingly a few days later an email was received.

The telescope was now listed at £495 but still as far as I'm aware, by far the lowest available price for its class.

The item was ordered and delivered in perfect condition the next day.

A seamless transaction with no extra communication needed. Thanks Altair.

 

[callisto]

Just like to say thanks to Ian for the super fast delivery of my 2" Ha Filter....e-mailed him at 2:23pm yesterday, he replied at 2:25pm, was despatched immediately and have just received it this morning at 10:50am....Now that's great service 👏

 

Mark

[astro mick]

Ordered a scope from AA yesterday morning.Arrived this morning.

Exerllent service from Altair Astro.

[PembrokeSteve]

Hi,

Would like to praise Altair Astro (UK) for their recent excellent service.

I had been pondering on getting the TS Optics Photoline 115 f/7 Triplet Refractor for the last 3 years.  However getting hold of this scope from a UK dealer did not seem possible, until I noticed that AltairAstro.com had it, and a few other TS Refractors on their website.  The price looked  good to me at £1,198.00 inc VAT and only an extra £7.20 for delivery.
So I contacted Altair Astro via Messenger on 4th February to ask was it in stock.  They gave me a prompt reply that it was out of stock, however, if I placed my order with them, then they would obtain it for me in approx 7 to 10 days.
Anyway I placed my order the following day 5th February.  I then received my 115 Triplet safe and sound on 15th February. The scope was delivered by Fedex, and I am pleased to say it arrived in perfect condition.  Who ever packed the scope, did a superb job indeed.

It is a can be very worrying experience ordering a telescope, and paying out a lot of money etc. But all I can say is Altair Astro were excellent in their communications with me and provided me with an excellent service.

Regards,

Steve
 

 

[jacko61]

I've been looking at 150mm Refractors for a while and had settled on either the APM 152 1200 APO  or the Altair Astro 150 EDF. On Spec, there didn't seem to be much to choose between them so, as the Altair was £100 cheaper I contacted Ian at Altair Astro last Wednesday to see if the 150EDF was in stock. I received an email within a couple of hours to say it was and also to advise on stock of the Reducer I wanted and advice on whether or not a ZWO EAF motor would fit.  As it happened, I was working late Wednesday so while I was online I placed my order (around 10pm).  I was very surprised to receive a huge box on Friday afternoon - I'd expected it to arrive after the weekend but Ian must have packed it and had it on a van by Thursday lunchtime.  The parcel also contained a nice Altair beanie and a pack of Haribo Star mix - a really thoughtful gesture.  Unfortunately, the scope had been fitted with a vixen plate rather than the Losmandy I ordered so I emailed and left Ian a message straightaway - around 3pm Friday when most folk are thinking of packing up for the day . Needless to say, Ian got the replacement plate in the post and it arrived today (with another pack of starmix!).  I count this as first class service and will happily continue to buy from Altair astro as long as they stock what I'm after.

Graeme

[astro mick]

A quick word on my recent order from Altair Astro "Exerllent).Emails answered promptly,and very quick delivery.Top marks to AA.

[W0nderste]

I paid a visit to Altair Astro today, wow what a great store.  So much eye-candy I barely escaped alive!!

anyhoo, the reason for posting was i took my Altair 70EDT which had a problem with the fine focus knob.  
I wasn't sure if it just needed an adjustment or a repair.  Ian took into the workshop for a quick look.  It came back 10 minutes later with an entire new focuser fitted.  Amazing service and very friendly owner.

Many thanks to Ian at Altair.  I love the scope and I also love the service 

[Stu1smartcookie]

Just a quick shout out to sing the praises of Altair Astro , Norwich . 

I ordered a small refractor which they duly delivered 24 hrs later . The box was completely sealed , but , when i opened it one of the screws on the 2" to 1 1/4" reducer had completely sheard off . 

There were a couple more minor issues with the scope so i contacted Ian by email (8;30 pm) . Ian responded that very evening and after a brief to and fro of emails we agreed to talk the next day , which we did and it was agreed that the OTA would be replaced ond the original picked up by the same courier . 

I am now the happy owner of a perfect little frac . But , just as important , i am also delighted by the service at Altair Astro. Once again they have speedily rectified something that wasn't their fault , with NO fuss , NO  argument and with curtesy . 

Sure the product is paramount , but the service is a close second . 

Stu

[Stu1smartcookie]

A shout out to Altair Astro , Norwich , for their service . I ordered a scope , but had a change of mind . I emailed Ian who went above and beyond to provide me with what i consider a great alternative of similar cost . No "ifs or buts " , just great service , and i received the replacement scope the next day ! . Many thanks to all at Altair Astro .