Saxon 80-100mm ed

[beren]

Looks like finally the 80ed and 100ed orion clones are finally here, on page11 of ASaT under the AZT splendor advert is a couple of pics of the Saxon variants .Dont know the prices yet , be interesting to see if Andrews will carry them as well , i wonder if they could be cheaper then the Orion brand.

[rumples riot]

Too late got my Orion, now to get the counter balance right.

[Starkler]

I'm very interested to know also

[ving]

wouldnt mind one either... hmm....

[ballaratdragons]

Yes we know, you want us to buy you one!

Sorry, spent all my money on the 12" dobber.

[ving]

awww! meanie! :P

[seeker372011]

had a quick look as soon as I got home..looks identical.

maybe its worth asking Lee Andrews now if he can quote a price...

I'll email saxon and ask for a price anyway tomorrow

[Starkler]

Ask for specs too !
Just to check it IS the same thing.

[rumples riot]

Must admit that I have now seen the ad for the Saxon in the latest edition of S&T and it does look exactly like the Orion. I am pretty sure that the same company makes them. Some specs would be useful though.

[silvinator]

I'm very intereseted in this refractor too seeing as I was about to buy one last year. Lucky I didn't since the orion one is on special now at bintel. Maybe Lee could let you borrow one for a quick review Mike? That is, if he has these saxon ones in stock. We need to find out the specs as the ad doesn't say much.

[iceman]

I'll certainly be keen to try one out for review, I don't think he stocks Saxon gear though. Would need to get in touch with a Saxon supplier.

[ving]

I certainly didnt see any saxon gear when i was last n there... but i might have missed something.

[ballaratdragons]

Look Out! Ving and Tony are at WAR!

If they are a reasonable price it would be interesting to Piggy-back one on the 12" (when it gets here!)

Probably the 80. Need a good quality scope for my boys attached to the dobber. Not gonna waste money on a Dicky Smith El-crappo-scope.

[silvinator]

yeah that's what I'm looking to get a small refractor for, as a piggy back scope for guiding me astrophotos (sadly, the lxd55 mount can't be autoguided! :( ) I'd be looking at the 100mm though cuz isn't the rule of thumb something like half the aperture for a guidescope? It would also be a great grab and go scope.
don't AO stock saxon stuff? i can't remember. If anyone knows of a sydney dealer for saxon stuff, i wouldn't mind popping in for a peek.

[[1ponders]]

I thought it was half the focal length Silvie, now I am confused.

If it is half the focal length and I could jimmy up the focal length with a barlow, I might be tempted. Hafta sell the 102eq though to pay for it. Its got the right focal length but its just too damn heavy, for a guidescope I think.

[silvinator]

well, that's why I asked the question, i couldn't remember either :( it happens as you get older i suppose...so which is it??? somebody???
of course, half the focal length of my scope would mean a cheaper guidescope YAY!!

[[1ponders]]

Silvie you were saying that the LX55 can't be autoguided. Isn't there a add on hub that can be attached to the 55 so you can autoguide. Or is that just the LX75?

[silvinator]

it's probably the lxd75, believe me, i've researched into this thing before...unless things have changed now and there is a product out now that can autoguide it. There is no port however on the mount itself to accept such a device as far as I'm aware. :(

[[1ponders]]

My mistake, the external hub attachment if for the LX90 and is only for Reticle, focuser and CCD attachment.

[ballaratdragons]

Silvie,

The formula for a refractor is: Half the length of the radius of aperture multiplied by the focal length of the radius of circumfrence, only if the f/ratio is less than 8 or greater than the diameter of the eyepiece variance. Then add the length of travel of the focuser to that of the diameter of the aperture and there you have it.

Now, a reflector is a different story. You have to double the aperture size, add the radius of the bolt in the EQ mount and use a spectrometer to check the colour of the tube. Once done, just halve it.

Glad to be of assistance.

:atom: :einstein:

[Starkler]

The Orion 80ED has a crayford focuser, watch for that in the saxon version !

[seeker372011]

some details and pictures are available at the saxon website:

http://www.saxon.com.au/

click on the "new" tab and scroll down.

I emailed asking for prices but have no response yet.

I had wondered why Bintels' prices had come down by over $100 dollars


Silvie:
if this is indeed a faithful Orion clone, using this as a guide scope would be a bit insulting

I gather this is the poor mans apo and has been used to get some sensational images

[Starkler]

I would personally pay an extra $100 for the name on the side.
You know, resale value and all :shrug:

[silvinator]

rotflmao!!! Ken you crack me up as always :lol2:

thanks for that seeker. Rest assured that my intended use for an apo refractor (orion or saxon, haha or both) is mainly as a second, more portable scope with which I could attempt some serious astrophotography with, and less strenuous observing with, as well as using it as a guidescope. I didn't mean to downgrade this refractor :D
Yeah the price drop certainly makes sense now. Hope you get a response soon, my other half decided he would let me buy an apo of my choice at the end of the year! Woo-hoo!!!! :cool:

[Starkler]

Here is an excellent and comprehesive review (http://www.cloudynights.com/lab/telescopes/ed80f.pdf) of the 80 ED.

[rumples riot]

Funny, I thought everyone would ask me what I thought of the Orion 80mm ED, since everyone knows I bought one of these. Guess no one wants to know what I think. If your interested, just let me know.

[[1ponders]]

I wouldn't have thought you'd have any clear skies Paul. What with buying a new scope and all:P These new Saxons have me intrigued so I'll ask.

"Whats the new Orion 80 mm like?"

[rumples riot]

Well at the moment, I have only a limited knowledge of it. Tonight is the first really clear night since getting the scope, but I am meant to go to a gig tonight and jam with a few buddies.

However, having looked through the scope briefly I can say this. The scopes objective is fully coated and is appears surpisingly large for a 80mm. When viewing stars they are totally free of colour fringing and are of a pin point nature, really tak sharp. When I tried it on Saturn I was surprised by the image sharpness. I did not really get the chance to use a barlow to increase image scale. clouds rolled in to spoil the show.

The crayford focusor is very smooth and able to give fine focus. Other than that not much yet to report. I can give a more detailed review when I get the scope pier going. So far worth the seven hundred for the OTA.

[[1ponders]]

I read somewhere that the OTA is actually the one for the 100mm and they have the lense mounted in a cell. Is this right?

[rumples riot]

Does not look like that to me. The objective goes all the way out to the edge of the casing. So I don't think that what you have heard is right. Maybe I am wrong, but from what I am looking at I don't think so.

[[1ponders]]

I've really gotta get a closer look at these two scopes. I've already seen Mark's (mhodson) Celestron 80 ED and I'm definately in the market for something in the 70mm-80mm line.

[beren]

dont forget the Megrezs,worth looking at ...

[[1ponders]]

I've not familiar with that brand Stuart

[rumples riot]

Paul that is the williams Optics 70mm, there is also the Megrez II. Which is supposed to be very good for the price.

[rumples riot]

Here's a shot of the ED80mm straight out of the carton.

[Starkler]

I think I want one.

Just have to work out how to mount it. I have an old version skyview pro EQ head but without legs. Its fairly heavy. Would anyone know if suitable tube rings are available?

Any suggestions on a suitably portable way to mount this scope?
I may even prefer a simple alt-az mount being a dob person.

[[1ponders]]

I definately want one, I think? :P Yes Geoff that's the other issue isn't it. It'd be great to have a scope like this but not real useful if you've got to hold it by hand. How much do you think mounting rings would cost? For both mounting to LX200 and to my EQ3 mount? Anyone got any ideas? PM me if anyone has any links and such. God it sounds like I'm talking myself into one. Paul would you PM me with the price. If I'm going to get murdered I might as well make it worth the price.:D

[rumples riot]

Sorry Geoff for the lateness of this response, the rings are available for this scope part number 7371 from Orion sold through Sirius Optics in Brisbane. Mounting rail is another issue. the one they sent me was too short suitable for an 8". however, looks like bintel are coming to the resuce with a mounting rail they are making and the 2D counter weight set to go with another one. Hope this info hleps with your decision.

Incidently the rings can be just bolted to any refractor based mount also.

[silvinator]

I just got an email from saxon about their new scope. They told me that these new babies are made from the same manufacturer as orion. Pretty vague but it's a start. They didn't give me a price as yet so I don't know whether these will be the same price or less as the orion refractors. But when I find out, anyone interested can just PM me. They are a bit slow on getting back to you though so you have to be patient.

PS: Paul (rumples) I didn't ask about your scope because this was a saxon thread :P :P :P Though it looks like it should be about both since they are from the same manufacturer!

[seeker372011]

I'll say, still waiting for a response to my email of last week asking for a price!

[westsky]

here you go the price for the 80mm is $650.00
and the 100mm $1400.00
http://www.telescopeshed.com.au/

David.

[Starkler]

I think they may be the wholesaler ? Saxon scopes are stocked by many dealers and it will be interesting to see who offers the best deal.

[westsky]

These as far as I know are not the wholesaler, they have been around for a couple of years,selling many makes of chinese scopes,
Last year or before Tasco became the Synta wholesaler they where importing there own Synta scopes and selling cheap I now see there price's have risen because they have to buy through Tasco.
I have never bought off them but a friend has.

Hopefully there will be some dealers offering good price's on these ED scopes.

David.

[mick pinner]

Starkler,

The Saxon ED 80 is the same as the Orion.
I bought my Orion in December last year from Bintel in Sydney ph:0292621344, paid $699.00, it really is a great little scope for the money.
Every eyepiece seems to work well, lunar observing with my Lanthinum 4mm is outstanding, it has a great 2" Crayford style focuser with adjustable tension screw.
My only recommendation would be to buy from a good dealer and generally I have found the guys at Bintel to always be more than helpful, speak to Michael or Don, p.s. if you are going to use the ED as a guide scope you need 135mm mounting rings that you can modify that will give you more than enough adjustment, much cheaper than buying pre made guider rings.
Hope I've been of some help
Mick.

[Starkler]

Ordered an ED80 yesterday from Bintel, and a William Optics 2 inch diagonal today :)

Expect clouds in Melbourne this weekend :P

[DougAdams]

Nooo, Jupiter and the Moon this weekend....

[ballaratdragons]

Thanks Geoff. :(

I'm still waiting to do a star test! 1 clear night is all I ask.