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Are Home Observatory UK still in business ?


Graham Beamson

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54 minutes ago, Keith Dutton said:

Stuart

I have an older Rasberry Pi lying round some where - never used it, or done any coding.

I also have never used Linux.

Your setup makes good sense.

You have got me thinking now!

Well if you go down this route, and need any help, let me know…I am also a moderator on the INdI forum, so know my way around the software….and no coding experience is at all needed….👍🏼

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@Keith Dutton I see what you are saying, and yes there could be a tendency for the panel to crash down into the outside wall if it slipped out of your hands whilst releasing the catches from the inside.  Maybe the simple answer is some form of locking system like a pair of padlocks ?? 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have had to chase Gareth up again, its nearly 2 weeks beyond when He said He would contact me. Ive had enough of this, if my obs isn't installed by end of July Im going to begin deposit recovery.

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Hi Every one.

Just an update on HOUK.

Gareth has now finshed the observatory - we just have to do a bit of our own wiring and mount the scope.

The build is quite simply, STUNNING.

He travelled down to the Wirral on 4 occasions, each trip taking 3 1/2 hours each way, and spent all of the day till 5pm.

He is trying to get other people to employ and work with him, but nobody seems to want to do hard work?

I suspect he is now on to his next inline build?

I personaly belive that he will eventually get round to seeing everyone who has employed hime to do the work - it really is just patience in my own view!

We waited since last August and decided to wait because there are not many people in this country that do this type of work - if any?

I have included a link to our New website, and please dont yet be critical of it as it is a new venture and learning experince to us - it will get better.

It is easier to do this rather than uploading images etc.

www.larkhillobservatory.com

Regards

Keith Dutton

 

 

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I agree if you are prepared for the financial outlay and long lead time you will get a superb observatory at the end of it.

It’s quite sad to hear that he cannot find anybody to employ that shares his work ethic.

Good luck Keith with the website, great to see you have one in the making, which is more than can be said for me.👍

Steve

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Nice build.  So everyone is happy after all.  Hope you can find a way to get te roof-movement to have a slow start and stop. It might keep the wooden construction a bit more intact for a longer period. 

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I was saying to Tomato yesterday how some companies I deal with on a regular basis and are rated as exceptional suppliers have begun to struggle to maintain their high standards. It seems that all come through in the end , it just takes time.

 

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Hi I am delighted to say after what appears to be forever my Observatory is 95 percent complete, Gareth has done a excellent job, as Keith has said he has travelled over to the Wirral at least four times to complete the job, and what a job it has actially turned out to be.

The standard of work is pure craftmanship   and Gareths work is second to none. We have still to install the electrics which we can complete ourselves. As Keith has allready  mentioned we have a website under construction which can be found at www. larkhillobservatory.com were you will find updates of the buid  on the last page.

I am more than happy with Gareths work who is struggling at the moment to find new recriuts  to help him. I am sure everyone appriciates how hard it is to find workers with the skill set to complete such craftsmanship , this country in recent years have failed to increase the  training and education in the skill set required.

I hope everyone who has placed a order with Gareth give him a little more time to get around to complete the orders, he is working  extremeley  hard to complete orders too the best of his ability.

I do wish  everyone  best of wishes and clear and dark Skys 

Stay safe,Take care,

Regards Gerard

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I have been waiting since July last year..............  I'm sure if it ever arrives it will be good but his communication is non existent.

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1 hour ago, SDN said:

I have been waiting since July last year..............  I'm sure if it ever arrives it will be good but his communication is non existent.

You are more patient than I am.... 

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Such a shame that UKHO are struggling. The did a fantastic job on my obsy and warm room in 2018 despite awful weather and a personal tragedy on their side.
 

Good luck with your engagement with them, fingers crossed it is all resolved satisfactorily. 

 

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Hello KY Cygni. Did you send your notice before action to their address in Roundham?   I placed an order in April this year had a chat with Nathan who suggested a potential install date in about 5 months so went ahead and paid the deposit. 

I have sent a few emails in the last 3 weeks or so and tried almost every day to telephone them but  it was never answered and no reply to emails. I was starting to worry that they had gone out of business too but now, reading this thread see that Nathan is no longer with them and they have yet to start work on Observatories ordered last year, so little chance of mine being installed anytime soon.

 

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I'm seeing two issues here:
One is a small company overwhelmed with orders, and
Two, a company which doesn't know how to communicate.

Both these can be resolved but I'm not sure from what I've read the business acumen is there. Shame as the product appears to be well received.

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3 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

I'm seeing two issues here:
One is a small company overwhelmed with orders, and
Two, a company which doesn't know how to communicate.

Both these can be resolved but I'm not sure from what I've read the business acumen is there. Shame as the product appears to be well received.

 

Michael, I think you hit the nail on the head.  It may well be that Gareth is an excellent craftsman and engineer, but lacks the skills to manage the business, at least in its current situation.   As I've already mentioned, a lot of people would be sympathetic to the issues HOUK are facing if they were kept in the loop, and if Graham doesn't have the time to update his customers then it can't be that hard in this present climate to find someone how is seeking work who could simply handle the customer services  aspect and answer the phone, or reply to e-mails on Grahams behalf.  

There is also another issue that could have an impact on either the customer or the business.  With orders placed a year ago still yet to be completed (or started) the cost of materials has escalated in that time, so either HOUK have to then revise those orders or absorb the costs, especially as by taking the deposit they have entered into a contract and as such can't increase the agreed price.  Now it could be that absorbing that increase makes for a loss, which is not good for the business.  The only way forward would be for HOUK to take stock, recruit staff  (even if it were for a 6 month contract just so the backlog of orders could be caught up on) and get the cash coming in.

It does sadden me when you hear of people having to give notice of court action to recover money.  Not only for the stress that process can have, but also for the company, who, by reading Keith's posts, is doing  what they can to keep things afloat and in the end produce a quality product and to the customers satisfaction.  I can see things form both sides of the fence.  Heck, if I was nearer I would volunteer a few hours a day to help out by phoning a few customers for him..... 

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Andrew 

Yes I sent it to the Roundham address but I also emailed it over in case he is incapable of opening letters as well.

I think the time for sympathy is well past, enough people have stressed to this man the need for keeping customers in the loop but he doggedly persists in ignoring them, its not like he can have that many to keep updated. I and I expect others have offered to labour for him and even then he just blanks.

I personally would rather build my own rough around the edges obs and get on with actual imaging than wait on a pretty shed at some unspecified time in the future.

 

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My irrelevant considerations on this subject.

There is a small (2-3 man company as I understand it) who are trying to build products to order.

they produce good quality output - I have not see any negative comments regards delivered product.

As reputation precedes them, they are receiving more and more orders.

in the past 12+ months there has been impact on supply if materials.

My view is that , basically, the company is in the position of completing orders, or, spending all their time responding to demands for updates - which extends production time lines.

I also agree that the business should consider additional personnel to respond to queries.

However, as material costs rise, their budget for addition staff reduces significantly.

Would it be reasonable in this day and age that those with orders, who are based locally, can provide customer support FOC? 

 

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1 hour ago, iapa said:

My irrelevant considerations on this subject.

There is a small (2-3 man company as I understand it) who are trying to build products to order.

they produce good quality output - I have not see any negative comments regards delivered product.

As reputation precedes them, they are receiving more and more orders.

in the past 12+ months there has been impact on supply if materials.

My view is that , basically, the company is in the position of completing orders, or, spending all their time responding to demands for updates - which extends production time lines.

I also agree that the business should consider additional personnel to respond to queries.

However, as material costs rise, their budget for addition staff reduces significantly.

Would it be reasonable in this day and age that those with orders, who are based locally, can provide customer support FOC? 

 

At the end of the day this one man band is producing observatories that are way way overpriced for what they are, you are paying more for a service not the building it’s self as they are easy to build for a small fraction of what they charge….

I was quoted £3.5k for a simple 5x5 foot obsy with no floor, as I had a wooden deck already….and a 4 month wait…so I costed the wood, hardwear and roof tiles, to build one of same spec, and it came to £780 to build myself….

As has been said it took four X 350 mile round trips and over six months wait, to do the install of one persons obsy on this thread, this is a joke and should have been done in one visit, this is the issue trying to get too many jobs done at once, and so the cost just goes up and up…the buildings themselves are nothing more than a posh wooden shed, and can be built quite easily, by anyone with a bit of DIY knowledges and ability….why waste time and money….

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Pricing materials alone is not a direct comparison, you have to factor in the labour for making the panels, and the time on site, but I agree the final amount for a 5' x 5' wooden box does seem excessive.

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10 hours ago, malc-c said:

Pricing materials alone is not a direct comparison, you have to factor in the labour for making the panels, and the time on site, but I agree the final amount for a 5' x 5' wooden box does seem excessive.

Yes, this was my point, it was excessive, but I guess he is costing in the several trips he will need to make to do the installation, when it should be done in one trip, unlike some people on here, I asked for delivery only too, so I could build myself, and maybe reduce the cost, but he said he no too that…. ☹️
so I bought a shed, and converted myself for a total of £450, which I showed above in the thread….not a ROR but does the job nicely…👍

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12 minutes ago, SimonIRE said:

Very sad to hear people are threatening court action against HOUK. 

But if people have paid what might be a four figure deposit almost a year ago and HOUK have failed to deliver on time, and won't engage in communications, what else is there t do....

I'm sorry to say that given the points discussed in this thread HOUK have brought it upon themselves.  All it needed was for them to provide regular updates to their customers, and then if it looked like delivery would be so far off the estimated delivery date, to give the customers the option of cancelling the order and get a refund or waiting for the extended delivery date. The fact we have SGL members stating that they haven't had any communication, despite the management of the company been made aware of this thread, would leave those people no alternative but to give notice of intent to recover the deposits via the small claims court.  

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