RVO Doublets- any good?

[Swoop1]

The time has come to start dreaming about new shiny.

I will be looking for a refractor for use as a travel scope and an AP scope.

Has anyone got any experience of the RVO range of doublets and if so, what do you think?

Thanks,

Matt

[teoria_del_big_bang]

I have no experience of these scopes but having visited RVO they have a very professional setup so would expect good things of quipment they put their names to.

Steve

[david_taurus83]

If its the Horizon ones with FPL53 then they'll be good. Practically same as Altair, TS etc all made in China after all.

[Carbon Brush]

Sorry. I don't think association with a name helps.
Are Celestron scopes any good? Would that be a £50 firstscope or a £14K astrograph?

RVO have presumably done some deal with one or more optical manufacturers who make equipment for others.
Look at the scope hardware for hints of who else might use the same manufacturer.
Whether they badge the rejects, or specify better glass than the 'name' we cannot say.

HTH, David.

[Skyline]

Kunming Optics cater for a wide range of astronomy suppliers, one being Altair. Who knows who the manufacturer might be for RVO!

Have you considered an Skywatcher Evolux?

[teoria_del_big_bang]

1 hour ago, Carbon Brush said:

Sorry. I don't think association with a name helps.
Are Celestron scopes any good? Would that be a £50 firstscope or a £14K astrograph?

RVO have presumably done some deal with one or more optical manufacturers who make equipment for others.
Look at the scope hardware for hints of who else might use the same manufacturer.
Whether they badge the rejects, or specify better glass than the 'name' we cannot say.

HTH, David.

All I was saying is that I have had a lot of dealings with RVO and been to their establishment and am very inpressed with them and the setup there, so personally I would trust them.
All I know about Celestron is it is based in Amarica and owned by Taiwanese so have no idea what their morals are.
As I said I could not comment on the scopes but was giving my comments on the company that is selling them under theoir name and was saying I would recomend the company.

I don't really see how  you can compare RVO to Celestron anyway.

Steve

Edited June 16, 2022 by teoria_del_big_bang

[Carbon Brush]

Sorry Steve. No offence intended.

What I'm saying is that just because any retailer puts their badge on a product it is not necessarily better or worse than others.

I used to regard RVO as a good place to visit and providing good advice. Often calling in when passing, leaving with a book, or eyepiece, etc.
Later experiences with personal visits have meant I haven't been back to the shop for a few years.
This means I won't comment on their level of service or professionalism. It is not a retailer review thread.

With any scope I might think about buying there are three things that come to mind.

First. Is there a proper specification? Not just FL, dia and focusser type.
The gaps in specifications can make a £99 Skywatcher achro sound similar to a £999 Vixen or Tak.

Second is the brand. Does it have a good history? Ideally model or range specific.

Third are user reviews. Someone pointing me to genuine user reviews.
Alternatively user experiences written in a less formal way.

Hopefully someone will come along with reports on the RVO scope family to help the OP.
 

 

 

[Shimrod]

2 hours ago, Swoop1 said:

The time has come to start dreaming about new shiny.

I will be looking for a refractor for use as a travel scope and an AP scope.

Has anyone got any experience of the RVO range of doublets and if so, what do you think?

Thanks,

Matt

There's a couple of reviews on the Sky at Night magazine website: RVO Scope reviews

[newbie alert]

2 hours ago, Carbon Brush said:

What I'm saying is that just because any retailer puts their badge on a product it is not necessarily better or worse than others.

It's not just the badge.. sure lots of scopes are made in the same factory but are made to different specs... Remember the sharpstar and the radian 61, essentially the same scope but different looks/ bling, TS have the same scope but in a different format. Flo run the stellarmira/ Lyra, many say that there's similarities to gso... Even televue have run ranges similar to Altair, explore scientific and Meade.. if you look at Richie Chretien, Altair, Orion ( US) TS all look very familiar to GSO...

But getting back on the subject there's a video on u tube regarding Rvo and their setup.. very impressive,not many have a proper clean room and a Zygo interferometer to test the optics...

[teoria_del_big_bang]

3 hours ago, Carbon Brush said:

Sorry Steve. No offence intended.

What I'm saying is that just because any retailer puts their badge on a product it is not necessarily better or worse than others.

 

No worries, perhaps I did originally feel a bit taken aback , and points taken and your right so no problem, we don't fall out on this forum 🙂 

And also yes you are also right in this is only my experience and from what I have seen, there are always other views and experiences.

Steve

Edited June 16, 2022 by teoria_del_big_bang

[Highburymark]

Widescreen are also doing their own range of scopes now. 
Good luck to all of them. I must say I wasn’t taken with the branding/fonts/design used for the RVO and WC refractors, but that’s of little importance really if they perform well, and if selling their own scopes can keep UK retailers in profit then it’s a welcome development.