Looks like GSO will be releasing their 16" mirrors for ATM'ers

[CoombellKid]

I've have inquired on this before and was told they woudln't
be releasing these mirrors. But they have them listed on their
website, so maybe they are releasing them

http://www.gs-telescope.com/content.asp?id=95

regards,CS sunny days

[rmcpb]

Now that is great news, wonder what they will cost?

[davidpretorius]

hmmmm intersting, thanks for link

[snowyskiesau]

Slightly off topic ...
The GSO website shows a nice alt/az mount .http://www.gs-telescope.com/content.asp?id=97
Anyone know if this is available locally?

[gbeal]

As far as I know these optical sets have been available from Telescope Service in Germany for a while now.

[CoombellKid]

Gary, For interest sake, do you know how much they cost?

regards,CS sunny days

[CoombellKid]

I asked GSO for a one off buy, of one item. They quoted $812.00 delivered to my door. Which I'm guessing is USA$

regards,CS sunny days

[xelasnave]

I think 12 inches are so close in price to the completed unit I would wait to see what a complete 16 inch unit will sell for..wait till after the excitement dies and like the 12inch they will become pretty cheap complete I recon
alex

[CoombellKid]

The Meade LB version apparently will sell around the $2995.00 mark
and the GSO $2495.00

At these prices I'm almost thinking of building a twin 16" bino scope lol



regards,CS sunny days

[norm]

Bintel has the 16" LB fDeluxe for $2995.00 !:)

[gbeal]

By the look of it 1250 Euro. Try http://www.telescope-service.com/ATM/optics.html
Gary

[GrahamL]

Couple of thousand dosn't seem to pricey gary.. not that I have that sort of cash anyway .

That sounds a good price rob , add gst ?,you'd think there mirror kits would have to be fairly close to the price of a new scope ,

[Starkler]

I would expect the Aus price to be cheaper than the european price.
1250 euro is about $2080au, so maybe $1800 or thereabouts :shrug:
Thats if you can get Andrews or someone to import one for you.

[centauri]

Just got an email back from GSO regarding price...
"
Thanks for your mail. The unit cost for the 16" mirror set is $962, door to door service. "

Have just sent another to clarify this is $AU.

If it is then this aint to bad, will keep you informed.

[centauri]

Ok the price shown above is in $US so therfore...

962.00 USD
United States Dollars =1,214.46 AUD
Australia Dollars

[ausastronomer]

"Aint too bad", you are kidding aren't you ? The same thing is costing them the equivalent of nearly $3k in Europe. $AUS 962 for a 16" mirror set delivered to your door. Even if it's $US it's a bloody steal. Remember this also includes the secondary. I gather you haven't purchased too many finished 16" mirrors recently? Keep in mind that these aren't premium mirrors but certainly quite good and most people wouldn't pick a difference except when the scope was fully cooled, expertly collimated and seeing was very good. Remember, with most things astronomical you get what you pay for, but this is certainly a deal to jump at if you plan on building a 16" scope or even 16" binoculars, don't fancy pushing the glass yourself and don't need the absolute best quality optics.

CS-John B

[anj026]

You might want to confirm the price includes GST and customs charges if not then allow an extra 15-20% before you will be allowed to take delivery.

[cristian abarca]

This is pretty good considering I have been quoted $585USD for a 16 inch Pyrex blank.

Regards Cristian

[centauri]

From memory I think they are quoting 1/16 wave, so to me thats pretty good as well,
An extra $200 bucks for duties etc still makes it under $1500 AUD.

Would imagine they woud sell them in the shops here for a pretty penny more than that!

[skies2clear]

So GSO are happy to deal direct with us?

CS

[centauri]

Ok just got an email saying they have stock and preferred payment is T/T.
So I guess that means they will deal with us.

Now I just have to make a decision whether to go for this or my original plan of an ED refractor.

[CoombellKid]

Hmmm, when I first emailed them before I posted this thread, they quoted me
somewhat cheaper than the price you have quoted, US812.00 door to door.

Have them do what Imaginova do, class the shipment as educational. It might
work!

regards,CS

[Satchmo]

Having owned such a mirror ( 16" 50 mm thick plate glass ) I feel I can speak with experience . With a typical lag of 3 or 4 degree C even with a fan between mirror and ambient , and a temp induced figure bend of 1 or 2 waves on a 14kg 45mm thick chunk of glass this size , even a rank beginner will certainly picks the difference against a thinner Pyrex when they try to use anything but low power. The quoted 1/2 wave P-V wavefront ( 1/12wave RMS surface ) is a reasonable aim for the manufacturers for such a thermally unstable chunk of glass. Experience with the smaller Chinese mirrors can be thrown out the window when you talk blanks of this kind of thermal mass. You guys probably need to inject a dash of realism about what is being offered for AUD $1500 :) There are no `free lunches' with optics.

Mark

[mick pinner]

just for comparison Mark what sort of $ figure would you put on a mirror of this size and good quality?

[Satchmo]

Mick

There are many companies doing this sort of mirror from thinner fine annealed Pyrex and you could expect to double that price.

When it comes to building your own 'scope I'm biased towards quality of course, though I understand the attraction of cheap ready made telescope that brings such aperture: just urging realism about the potential problems.

Mark

[mick pinner]

thanks Mark, l was just trying to get it into context from someone in the buisness.

[centauri]

I hear what your saying Mark, and thanks for your input.
It is just a case of you get what you pay for in the end.
Cheers for the insight.

[AstroJunk]

I brought this up in another earlier thread, but didn't have Marks wisdom to draw on ...

1/2 PV isn't very good is it? (ignoring all other factors auch as temp/flex etc). At best that will be ok, but as has already been mentioned - useful for low power only.

I haven't quite got to grips with RMS - I still understand PV better - my mirror making was rather unscientific however!!