More info on the EQ7.

[robz (Robert)]

An EQ8 ????............................... ..............skipping an entire model sequence eh??????.......................B.S. !!!!!!!!

Oh, ...I get it.............Skywatcher couldn't pronounce ''REVEN''..........so they skipped a model and went straight to ''REIGHT''

[RickS (Rick)]

8 is a lucky number in Chinese culture, so maybe the EQ8 has a better chance.

[RobF (Rob)]

Well if there is some issue with the EQ7 design as it stands better it stopped and sorted out than tossed out on the community as is.....

[mill (Martin)]

Originally Posted by RickS

8 is a lucky number in Chinese culture, so maybe the EQ8 has a better chance.

8, and the mount has to be RED
Now that would make a top mount

[brightstar]

Hey Robz,
If you think I am being untruthful, just ring Bintel and ask them. The Ad. in the new AS & T was prepared some 3 months ago, not yesterday. Good ole Lee will not know as he does not get information direct from Skywatcher.

Ron
Sirius Optics

[robz (Robert)]

Originally Posted by brightstar

Hey Robz,
If you think I am being untruthful, just ring Bintel and ask them. The Ad. in the new AS & T was prepared some 3 months ago, not yesterday. Good ole Lee will not know as he does not get information direct from Skywatcher.

Ron
Sirius Optics

Just having some fun Ron...

I have actually seen what looks like the prototype advertised on other sites in the U.S on the net(and EXPENSIVE in some pre-order details)..............so who knows

What I'm hoping is that this whole EQ7 thing is real and not just a fake, pretty show exhibit to compete with other manufacturer's products?
I doubt that this is the case, but at present there seems to be no evidence what so ever that the ''EQ7''is an actual commercial item awaiting release............the more we look in to it, the more dead ends we come up with

So they have ''terminated production'' of the EQ7 say Tasco???............maybe they found that the mount could handle 100kg payloads instead of 45kg and went back to the drawing board!!!!

As to the EQ8.............???................ ..have no idea what game they're up to here????..............AND.......... what will it cost?
I don't see a bargain in my crystal ball at the moment

[brightstar]

Hi Robz,
No offence taken. There was some criticism of the proto type EQ7 at Photokina this year in that the leads etc all hung off the mount instead of being internal. I suspect that Skywatcher has listened and gone back to the drawing board.
They produced a catalogue of all new prodcuts being released next year and it showed that the EQ7 was slated for release. Tasco obtained the information because they are the official distributor of Skywatcher products in Oz and passed the email to their official Skywatcher dealers. Bintel, Oz Scopes etc would have received the same email.

Ron
Sirius Optics

[robz (Robert)]

Thanks for the clarification Ron
So the mount DOES exist in some form or another it seems?............hmmm.........very interesting!

Well, I may as well buy my Paramount tomorrow..........can't wait that long................in my dreams............

[keni (Ken)]

I have just seen an announcement on the Sirius store's web site.
"Skywatcher announces that production of the EQ7 has been terminated and a new EQ8 is in design"

No doubt there will be further info soon.

Ken>

[snowyskiesau]

Wonder what will happen to the prototypes of the EQ7?

[mill (Martin)]

I wouldn't mind taking a prototype off their hands and play with it a little.
I wouldn't mind the wires on the ouside

[TerminallyTired (Jason)]

It's probably not a problem with the design of the mount or the materials used. More likely they have decided not to tool up for production because the GFC has greatly reduced the manufacturing base in China.

Hence they have shelved the product. Why waste money outfitting a factory to run production when by the time you've got units out in the market they are obsolete. Costs are skyrocketing in China at the moment.

Better to concentrate on developing a more up to date unit that can be implemented more quickly as the manufacturing sector recovers.

Sorry to disappoint all you conspiracy theorists, but its most likely something as boring as a bean counters spreadsheet spitting our red numbers that has led to the withdrawal.

L8r

TT

[robz (Robert)]

Hmmmmm?............makes we wonder to what extent the EQ8 is going to be an improvement over the EQ6?.
It will of course be much more expensive and claim to be able to carry a 24 inch R.C !!!

I doubt we're in for a TITAN or PARAMOUNT,LOSMANDY like, cheap clone

Anyhow, who cares..............it's just a work of fiction at the moment..............now,........... . where's my scope????

[Steffen]

Maybe they're just superstitious about the numbers. Didn't they skip the EQ4 as well and called it EQ3-2? EQ8 is just going to be soooo much more lucky than EQ7

Cheers
Steffen.

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Originally Posted by Steffen

Maybe they're just superstitious about the numbers. Didn't they skip the EQ4 as well and called it EQ3-2? EQ8 is just going to be soooo much more lucky than EQ7

Cheers
Steffen.

Yep, Skywatcher/Synta totally skipped the EQ4 nomenclature.
Other companies used it though because it isn't a copyrighted name as it was never used.

[robz (Robert)]

Originally Posted by Steffen

Maybe they're just superstitious about the numbers. Didn't they skip the EQ4 as well and called it EQ3-2? EQ8 is just going to be soooo much more lucky than EQ7

Cheers
Steffen.

Yeah, .................hope their luck extends to finally making one of these number 8 ''German equation molecule'' (g.e.m.) or something like that
I think they use them with 8 lucky scopes tied together with rubber bands (seen something similar on another thread here)

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Why there is no Skywatcher EQ4:

Unlucky Chinese Numbers
Four
Main article: Tetraphobia

Number 4 (四; accounting 肆; pinyin sì) is considered an unlucky number in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese cultures because it is nearly homophonous to the word "death" (死 pinyin sǐ). Due to that, many numbered product lines skip the "4": e.g. Nokia cell phones (there is no series beginning with a 4),[5] Palm[citation needed] PDAs, Canon PowerShot G's series (after G3 goes G5), etc. In East Asia, some buildings do not have a 4th floor.

Why there may be no EQ7:

Seven

Seven is considered spiritist or ghostly. The seventh month of the Chinese calendar is also called the "Ghost Month". See Ghost Festival for more detail. During July , the gates of hell are said to be open so ghosts and spirits are permitted to visit the living realm.

But there may be an EQ8:

Eight

The word for "eight" (八 Pinyin: bā) sounds similar to the word which means "prosper" or "wealth" (发 – short for "发财", Pinyin: fā). In regional dialects the words for "eight" and "fortune" are also similar, e.g. Cantonese "baat3" and "faat3".

There is also a visual resemblance between two digits, "88", and 囍, the "shuāng xĭ" ('double joy'), a popular decorative design composed of two stylized characters 喜 ("xĭ" meaning 'joy' or 'happiness').

The number 8 is viewed as such an auspicious number that even being assigned a number with several eights is considered very lucky.

[TerminallyTired (Jason)]

Surely if this was the case, then they would have called it an EQ8 from the word go [<> weiqi ].

L8r

TT

[robz (Robert)]

Thanks Ken!.........................yeah.. ....................what you said.......

Oh, they'll be lucky allright..................make a crap load of dough on the forever coming elusive EQ8 that when it finally surfaces in 2012, everyone will want one because it will be the ''in thing'' to get,regardless of cost(which could be very high).

I'll be buying 8 units as anything less is bad luck

[Zaps]

Originally Posted by Jason

Sorry to disappoint all you conspiracy theorists, but its most likely something as boring as a bean counters spreadsheet spitting our red numbers that has led to the withdrawal.

That gets my vote.