Heads UP - SWED80 Gold tube $499 NEW

[Screwdriverone]

Hi All,

Just found this on special on My Astro Shop HERE (http://www.myastroshop.com.au/products/specials.asp)

I know its not an FPL53 ED glass as is the Black Diamond now, but its a damn fine price for a damn fine scope.

Most Skywatcher ED80 gold tubes are still around for about $699 or more, so this is a steal. Even Andrews has them for $699.

GO GO GO! I hope you havent run out of money yet....

Cheers

Chris

[Screwdriverone]

hmmm, may not have a finder or eyepieces, not sure, make sure you check with them first,

The Andrews one comes with the EP's the finder, rings etc AND the Aluminium case for $699.... hmmmm.

Please check with MAS before whacking down your hard earned if it has no eyepieces or finder etc.

Chris

[Hagar]

The Gold and white version is FPL53 Glass lensed it was the blue version that used FPL51.

[Screwdriverone]

Ahh cool, thanks for the clarification Doug.

Chris

[bmitchell82]

bugger it :) just lashed out on th mount :D

[Screwdriverone]

Buy it anyway Brendan, you know you want to.....

Can you imagine using an ED80 as a guide scope? Decadent!

Go on, I dares ya!

Chris

[bmitchell82]

you don't need to dare me :D if i had the coin ide have already ordered it. you see i have a plan, it took me close on a year to figure it out :) ive only just started implementing the plan.

10" Dob
Eq6
ED 80 of some discription
guide camera
Cannon Eos 350 - 450D

Since my lovely partner has already brought the Eeepc :) theres not much else i need apart from a few adaption plates rings and fiddly bits.!

[wasyoungonce]

Thanks for the heads up Chris...ordered/paid for one today...hope they have some left:doh:

[Screwdriverone]

Groovy WYO,

Hope you enjoy it!

Glad to help.

Chris

[NCRAW]

Im still searching for my first scope, what do u think about this one for a first timer? I dont mind the fact that it doesnt come with EPs and dia cause i want to buy my own. I have an HEQ5Pro mount.

[Screwdriverone]

This would be great on an HEQ5 pro mount, perfect for visual and or astrophotography, for that price it certainly wouldnt be a scope that you would throw away or sell in a hurry.

Sounds like a great idea to me,

Chris

[NCRAW]

Might go for it. Still kicking myself for not getting the ED100 Lloyd was selling. I bought the mount from him but let the scope go. for 250 bucks more i would have got the extra size, the case, finderscope and the rings (heard the diagonal and EPs were crap anyway). Oh well. I suppose i got to think about portability and for 250 bucks i can get myself a nice finderscope, bracket and have some money left on the side

[NCRAW]

oh another question. Which EP/Dia does it take? 2" or 1.25"?

I left a message on their phone to see what else it comes with. If no case and no finder scop and holder then not much diff i suppose from Andrews price.

[chris lewis]

'The Gold and white version is FPL53 Glass lensed it was the blue version that used FPL51.'

All the Synta doublets 80mm and above come with the FPL-53 glass - only the 66 mm versions that have the FPL-51 glass.

[andrew2008]

Had been wondering if the Eeepc's would be enough to do an imaging setup. By time i come to get 1 they should be quite decent:lol:

Congrats on purchase of EQ6 pro. Would be jealous but ordered 1 just before xmas and first box arrived today:D

[bmitchell82]

well i can tell you now its just fine, its nearly as powerful as my desktop. plus it has 3 usb 2 ports, blue tooth and all the other bits that come with a normal pc plus the 10" screen :D no i don't have the basic one hehehe.

[White Rabbit]

I'm typing this from my new EeePC. It rocks, mine has a 1.6 processor and 2 gig of ram. It flies, and the battery lasts about four hours on super performance mode, you can sqeeze about 6 hours on power saving mode.

I have PHD,eqmod, starry night 6 running on it just fine.

Sorry to derail the thread.

[bmitchell82]

bugger it, mine only last for 1 hour tops. doesn't matter which one you use. I thinks im going to have to talk to asus

[wasyoungonce]

My ED80 pro arrived, double boxed, all good.

Now time to play.:thumbsup:

[MrB]

Oh man, I did not want to see this thread....

[Gargoyle_Steve]

I was talking to Steve Massey on the phone the other night to order some small bits - somehow I accidentally ordered the ED80 as well.
;)

Oh well, these things happen. :thumbsup:
Can't wait to mate it up with my new GSO Alt/Az tripod mount!

[Screwdriverone]

Hi Simon & Steve,

Simon: sorry, you must have just bought one hey? DOH

Steve: Yes, its very hard to resist, I have to keep the Credit cards locked in a fire proof, bomb proof, kid proof, wife proof, concrete bunker with retinal scan and Infrared thermal sensors in a mildy radioactive zone in order to stop myself from buying one.

But I am glad someone else did! Enjoy!

Cheers

Chris

[MrB]

Nah not yet, seriously thinking about it, weighting it up against things like rent, power, food....
How long can one live on 2-minute noodles?

[Screwdriverone]

Ahh yes, the age old problem, as I mentioned in one of my other posts, if the wife DIDNT keep the credit cards locked up, we would all be eating Takahashi cardboard for dinner!

As for this deal, I have had a rethink and considering the fact that Andrews has the SWED80pro gold tube for $699 and it comes with finderscope ($100) 5 and 20mm LET eyepieces ($100 total) and the Skywatcher Aluminium case for it all ($100), it seems that the Andrews price is $100 cheaper than if you bought the equivalent from MAS. I 'spose that if you just needed a guidescope OTA and nothing for the visual component or perhaps a widefield camera scope, then all you need is the dovetail and rings, but still, I like the fact that you get the whole shebang for $699.

Just my opinion, all I need now is another serving of Skywatcher burritos in cardboard. mmmmmmm tasty!

Cheers

Chris

[MrB]

From the ad:
Outstanding Sky-Watcher ED80 optical tube with tube rings and mounting dovetail bar.

[Gargoyle_Steve]

Mine arrived yesterday, yes it includes the dovetail bar, and rings, and a decent sized (read: usable) finderscope. I reckon this is a great package indeed!

I didn't feel I needed anymore ep's to be honest, so I was happy to have "saved money" there. The focuser will accommodate 1.25" and 2" ep's, and from a quick test obs session in between the clouds last night I can confirm that it is a crisp and pleasant to use focuser as well. It's a single speed unit, so don't expect a 10:1 fine focus knob, but then when I was actually using it I didn't feel it was "lacking" either as focus was crisp and easy to obtain!

[renormalised]

Takahashi cardboard is nice....just add a bit of fish and soy sauce, a pinch of brown sugar and a few vegies:P:D

I like the burritos with either a salsa or chilli con carne:P:D

[Screwdriverone]

Yes, it does sound a little asian meal special number 42 doesnt it? Deep fried Takahashi or Takahashi in Black Bean sauce....

Damn, now I am hungry, better go to the drive thru Telescope Shop for an Astro Meal...

Cheers

Chris

[wasyoungonce]

Andrews is also now offering the same no frills ED80 Pro for $479.

http://www.andrewscom.com.au/site-section-10.htm

It's war I say:whistle:

[Screwdriverone]

Hee hee, its always been war WYO,

Andrews just always wins, thats all....

:lol:

Cheers

Chris

[MrB]

Sweet, that might buy me a little time... as of today I'm up for a new washing machine... there goes ~$500 :(

[Gargoyle_Steve]

I'm a BIG fan of Andrew's products and their pricing policies (ie max value to the buyer), but in this case they are not offering quite the same package for $479. Their website specifically points out that they definitely do not include the finder scope and mount, the myAstroShop package definitely does for the $20 more. It's a 8(?)x50mm unit in matching gold tube / white mount which looks VERY sweet on the scope indeed!

[wasyoungonce]

Good pickup..I completely missed that. I reasoned that the units were being imported in boxes that they would be a standard unit with standard inclusions...thus would have the finder.

It pays to be very observant...pardon the pun;)

I quite like the finder as well.

[desler]

Would a gso brand finder/holder fit to the ED80?

Darren

[wasyoungonce]

As long as the holder has has the dovetail base to fit this (https://www.bintelshop.com.au/Images/Stock/7882X.jpg), it should do.

[wasyoungonce]

Sadly....My Astro Shop no longer has these OTAs on "special sale".:(

I think they went like Hot cakes...or cold beers..:D

[Gargoyle_Steve]

Yes the GSO finder does fit. While aiming the scope at M42 when it was closer to the zenith I swapped out the Skywatcher finder and slotted in my GSO Right Angle version instead - it was an exact fit.

It's a shame myAstroShop is apparently now out of these, but either of the packages at Andrew's Comms is still very good value, you could get the $479 version and a GSO finder from them to suit.

[Screwdriverone]

Moot point now, but I think I remember the MAS special didnt specifically state it had a finder? Steve pointed out that the finder WAS included so perhaps that is why Andrews missed it in their package?

Anyhow, I know that from Andrews Website it states, "we will not be knowingly undersold on Skywatcher products" so you could point out that you would like the Pro finderscope, but I dont know how much water this will hold considering that MAS is no longer offering the SWED80 at $499 anymore.

Still, it seems like the heads up was a success, I am glad that people snapped up the bargains...

Cheers

Chris