Starlight Xpress

[anthony]

I have a SXV H9 and guide head problem (years and years of flawless service so far). I emailed Terry Platt this afternoon. He got back to me with a potential solution in less than an hour and on a Sunday to boot.

I think that this level of customer support is just fantastic and wanted to share my experience.

Anthony

[harry page]

Hi

I just thought I would report on the amazing support I got from SX last weekend

On thursday night I broke the cable connector on the back of my Loadstar and After contacting them I sent it off for repair on friday and recieved it back fully working on Tuesday , Now thats what I call service

Harry

[Fay]

When my SX M7 camera was plugged into the power brick, the light went off. I tried plugging into a battery via the orange connector/cigarette cable and also via invertoer into 12amp ca battery. Same results. The brick was very hot & the metal adaptor at the end of the camera cable was also very hot.

Sent a mail to Terry platt, & could not believe he answered straight away.

He gave me a couple of things to try out, one which involded taking the back off the camera & unplugging the white connector to see if the brick light came on in this mode. It did come on but was flickering as I moved the cable about.

It was so good of Terry to help me out, especially on a sunday. I will be sending the camera back plate off to Starlight Xpress, as Terry thinks that the round connector, on the back, may have an internal short.

Excellent service, thanks

Fay

[dmahon]

I recently enquired about the specs of the H16 CCD, with a view to upgrading my H9 - I was told I might want to wait a fortnight until after the show when a new CCD would be announced.

I have now ordered the new H694 (from FLO). I have also ordered, and taken receipt of (also from FLO) a lodestar, an OAG and a filterwheel.

I enquired about an M48 fitting for the filterwheel/OAG to connect it directly to a Skywatcher flattener/reducer, and was told that they made them - unfortunately none of the distributors, including FLO, list it. So I was asked for my address - and an M48 ring arrived a few days later.

Although not a retailer as such, thumbs up to Starlight Xpress.

[Steve 1962]

A year or so ago I bought a second hand SX USB filter wheel from someone on the old SGL Buy and Sell section. The kit turned up in beautiful condition and has provided stirling service since then.

However, one evening last week when I powered the obsy up, the wheel was completely dead - nothing, bereft of life it rested in peace, it had gone to meet its maker (sorry John Cleese!).

So, at 2am I emailed SX support and went to bed.

When I got up to go to work, there was a response email from Terry Platt with some very helpful suggestions about leads and hubs etc. none of which worked, so when I rang him, he told me to put it in the post, which I did.

Three days later DHL arrived back with a perfectly functioning wheel...no covering note, bill or anything. So I rang SX and was told that the wheel had needed a new circuit board because the USB chip had failed..and that there would be no charge! ...for a three year old wheel which had been bought second hand!!!

Now that, in my book, is exceptional customer care.

Well done and thanks SX - keep up the great work.

Steve

[Astroscot2]

My almost 8 year old Loadstar began to throw a wobbly and would drop connection whie guiding. Spoke with Terry at SX who asked me to send it to them to be looked at. A few weeks later its back in my hands and working like new. The thought  of spending 100s for a new one would not have been an option.  I was not charged for the fix and considering the age of the camera i thought it had come to the end of its life.  Great service from SX and im greatful to them all.

 

Thanks Mark

[RayD]

Maybe not a supplier technically as I don't think they supply equipment direct, but I thought a mention about the superb customer service on technical support was valid.

Terry Platt is a really helpful guy, answering emails resolving my issue with a SX USB filer wheel at 8 in the evening.  Terry has personally helped twice now and I couldn't praise him and SX enough.

 

[andyboy1970]

Had to post due to the fantastic support offered by Starlight Xpress.

I bought a secondhand camera which would only be recognised by some of my computers however not my imaging laptop running Windows 7.

Followed some advice from an old thread on SGL and managed to wipe the camera firmware so it wouldn't work on any computer......

Contacted Starlight Xpress and Terry Platt tried fixing the issue using remote control of my laptop, this was unsuccessful and Terry asked me to send him the camera.

Received the camera back today and oh yes it works with my laptop now.

Considering this is a secondhand camera the service offered and given by Terry was fantastic.

Future upgrade will be another Starlight Xpress camera.

[spillage]

I would just like to commend Terry on excellent service. I damaged the pcb board on my old filter wheel and contacted SX hoping to be able to purchase one. Terry got back to me very quickly offering to get me a price. I emailed him a few days later to see if he had managed to price one up for me and was offered a free board because of his delay in responding.

Now that is great customer service well above and beyond what I was expecting.

I will definitely be looking towards Starlight Xpress kit when mine needs replacing.

[dannybgoode]

I believe in praise when praise is due so I thought I’d share my recent experience with Starlight Xpress. 
 

I bought one of their filter wheels second hand and over time the USB socket has become loose to the point where I was losing whole nights due to it losing connection. I could perhaps have risked repairing it myself but equally could have made it worse so felt it better to see of SX could help.

I dropped an email to them on a Saturday morning and received a reply straightaway letting me know how to get an RMA number etc and by Tuesday it was in the post to them for assessment.

The wheel has got to be a good few years old so of course I wasn’t expecting a free repair or anything and was delighted that they would fix it for a modest £50 including RM special delivery back to me. 
 

Within a week it was back in my hands, fully repaired and working complete with the latest firmware etc. I know their kit is quite expensive but the fact that they can repair even their older gear for sensible prices I think demonstrates it is value for money. 
 

All in all a painless experience and I am likely to stick with them if/when I look to upgrade my camera. 

[dannybgoode]

Quick update on my SX experience and another shout out to them.  The USB socket failed again and Terry suspected the tracks had maybe been too damaged to repair properly.  A quick email back and forth and with RMA number in hand sent it back to them and a week later it has been returned to me with the whole board changed for a new one and no further charges.

Can't say fairer than that.  I know their kit is on the more expensive end of things but they certainly stand behind their products