Stolen Equipment

[tphilip]

I'm unsure if this is the appropriate place to post this.

Last week my telescopes, mounts and eyepieces were stolen. They were mainly high end refractors of which one or two may well be unique in Australia. Also a Takahashi Teegul 150 which I think would be one of one.

Eyepieces included Masuyamas, Pentax Orthos, a pair of Takahashi MC Zoom 719s and plenty of other rare eyepieces. A Meade UWA 14mm with the skirt ground off to obtain back focus which I think would be unique.

I don't hold much hope ever getting anything back but I'm wondering if anyone has any advice as to if there are any classifieds sites I should be monitoring. I know ebay, gumtree and cash converters are the places of choice for petty thieves but wonder if anyone knows where people may try to offload high end Takahashi refractors - for example an FC125.

[Merlin66]

Ahhh, mate my heart bleeds for you.
I honestly hope we can help by looking out in the gumtree listings etc.
I ‘d like to think that your insurance would look after you, but in today’s situation I’m not 100% sure.
Take care.

[Rainmaker]

Sorry to hear that.....
Perhaps list the scopes' details here so that anyone seeing them for sale can alert you.

[Stonius]

Oh man, that sucks. I feel for you. Have you got any photos of them? That might help? Or serial numbers? Anything like that? If you don't mind me asking, how was it stolen? From a car? From a yard?

Sorry, that must be heartbreaking for you. I hope it turns up.

Markus

[mura_gadi]

Hello,

So sorry to hear about your gear. Check all your receipts and start seeing if you have any serial numbers available, that will help with registering at the police station.

Try Astro buy and Sell, Greys Online and Trading Post as well. (Greys and cash convertors should check against stolen goods, so, slim chance there)



Steve
All the best and I hope it was covered under the household contents.

[The Mekon]

And that is their problem. They will not be able to offload this equipment easily. Too many in this community are aware of equipment that is available, and will spot this stuff easily. I would post a wanted ad on facebook/gumtree for a FS 125 and try to convey the fact that you will buy this item back at nominal cost with no questions asked. After a few weeks the thieves will know they will never make a dollar from these items.

[tphilip]

Items were stolen from my garage in Adelaide whilst I was away. Looks like druggies as they entirely trashed the house and garage. Stole bikes, musical instruments and other stuff.

Below is a list of items. Eyepieces were all in a dry cabinet and entire cabinet was taken. Most telescopes were in their original Takahashi cardboard boxes. I am trying to get serial numbers and photos off an old computer.

Wouldn't be surprised if most of it has been dumped or trashed already.

Takahashi FS60C
Takahashi FS78
Takahashi FC100 fully multi coated - F on lens ring is coloured orange
Takahashi FSQ106
Vixen VMC200
Takahashi FC125
Takahashi Teegul 100
Takahashi Teegul 150
William Optice FL80mm

Takahashi MC eyepieces 2.8mm, 3.5mm, 5mm, 7.5mm, 10mm (1.25")
Takahashi Ortho eyepieces 2.8mm, 3.5mm, 5mm, 7mm, 10mm, 12mm, 15mm, 25mm (.965")
Two pairs Pentax orthoscopic eyepieces 7mm and 18mm (.965")
Meade UWA14mm with skirt ground off
Pair of Takahashi MC Zoom719 eyepieces
Pair of takahashi MC 40mm orthos
Masuyama eyepieces - 7.5mm, 10mm, 20mm, 25mm, 35mm (1.25")
Takahashi .965", 1.25" and 2" diagonals
William Optics 2" diagonal

Takahashi .965" eyepiece turret

Takahashi EM10 mount
Vixen GP mount

Plus other Meade and Celestron and other items but they would blend in as they aren't very rare of high end.

[AnakChan]

Sorry to hear such bad news. These guys probably don't even know what they have in their hands and likely would try to sell them off at local 2nd hand stores.

I hope you get this resolved soon.

[pmrid]

Facebook/Marketplace is a lively spot for selling stuff..

[Nikolas]

Would help if you told us where you are so we can look out for items being put up for sale

[OneCosmos]

I’m so sorry to read this post. I can’t imagine how I’d feel and makes me more cautious. I hope you the items back and I’ll certainly remain vigilant for any cheap sale items.

[Renato1]

I really feel for you after seeing that list.
Regards,
Renato

[RB]

Adelaide, mentioned in his second post.

[mswhin63]

Will keep an eye out there. Hope it come back really

[tphilip]

I forgot to list one scope. Guess my mind was trying to protect itself from the loss.

Takahashi FCT100.

The FC125 and FCT100 were my pride and joy and the ones I used most of the time. The FS78 was also a particularly good example. I had reducers for the FCT100 and FC100 plus lots of adapters. I collected all this stuff over many years when I lived in Japan. Considering that the thieves took copper plumbing pipe and taps from the garden and rear of the house I don't think they were very sophisticated. Who knows what they will try to do with all the telescopes and eyepieces.

[Stonius]

Thanks for posting the (heartbreaking ) list. It must have taken a lifetime to accumulate that stuff. As others have said, facebook marketplace is very popular right now and largely unregulated. Maybe gumtree too. Would dodgy pawn shops or cash converters take stuff like this too? Not sure.



I suspect they wouldn't try to sell it on any dedicated astro classifieds because they'd likely get caught.


Good luck. I hope you find it.

[AdamJL]

Ugh, so sorry to hear about this.
Give the police the serial numbers if you can find them. Pawn shops and the like check those against a database the Police have when selling (in NSW at least but I’m sure it’s the same in SA).
Also look at those unregulated places like Gumtree and FB.
Don’t neglect eBay as well.
Best of luck

[casstony]

Check if any neighbours have security systems with cameras pointed towards the street. Even footage from up or down the street a little could be checked for suspicious looking pedestrians or vehicles. One of my neighbours caught thieves that way. Sometimes the thieves are already known to police.

[jahnpahwa]

I will be keeping a keen eye out for all of this.

That is a truly heart-wrenching list of kit to have lost. I'm sorry mate.

[m11]

So sorry for your loss of equipment. :sadeyes:

I hope you can recover the equipment in the same condition you had originally.

It is heartbreaking to have this occur to you and your house. I hope they catch those thieves and insurance can cover some of the loss.

All the best,

[multiweb]

As others indicated it's hard to sell that stuff unnoticed so you're bound to hear about it.

[eiddy]

Mate,
Which end of town are you in.
I'm down south, happy to keep an eye out for you.
Regards
Nick

[Nikolas]

Thjanks Andrew by the time I read it it was posted

[RB]

No worries mate.

:thumbsup:

[tphilip]

Thanks. I am in the inner North East - Payneham. Still trying to locate pictures and serial numbers from an old computer.

[Dave882]

Just saw this pop onto Gumtree posted by cash converters in Adelaide…
Anything that looks familiar?

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/sefton-park/miscellaneous-goods/telescope-takahashi-sky-90-fs78-comes-with-bracket-and-pieces/1279853176?utm_campaign=socialbutto ns&utm_content=ios_VIP&utm_medium=social&utm_source=com.apple.uikit.activity .copytopasteboard

[tphilip]

Yes. Thank you. Those are mine. There is also a Teegul 100 and William Optics Zenithstar 80mm listed at Modbury Cash Converters which are also stolen and are mine. I have phoned the stores and the police and am trying to get them back.

Thanks for keeping an eye and posting this.

Wonder if I'll ever see the FCT100 or FC125 again.

[mura_gadi]

Wow, very nice score, very pleased the thieves were lazy and impatient!.

If they're with cash convertors, you'll just have to wait for police processing, good thing your not in a hurry.

Do you have someone to take collection of them is the other thing to think about?



Steve

[mswhin63]

Excellent find Dave, well done

[multiweb]

You will now. They'l be able to trace back all that stuff. :thumbsup:
Looks like the dumbasses even took a picture of the scope at their location. :lol:

[Dave882]

No worries. Really hope you can retrieve them ok :thumbsup:

[mura_gadi]

Oh, how sweet for location settings on photo's not to be turned off. That's a gps to 1.5mtrs or so.



Steve

[multiweb]

And he has a paper trail in this public forum indexed in Google and archived. What could possibly go wrong for the crims? :lol:

[N1]

Great development, well done

[AdamJL]

A great first result :) Hope you get the rest back quickly!!

[taminga16]

Great news, I had a job in Bendigo (Vic) yesterday and spent 15 mins at Cash Converters as a precaution.
Greg.

[AstralTraveller]

I forwarded this news to friends who don't follow IIS and also to my local astro club. I assume others have done similar.

It's great that some gear has been recovered, hopefully in good condition and let's hope there will be more. We'll be waiting to hear any news.

I'm not trying to make light of things, but the item was marked 'sold' before I saw it and so I didn't see what price they had on it. I'm assuming it was ridiculously low.

[raymo]

$1495.
raymo

[tphilip]

I will post a more complete list sometime. There were rare items which are likely to be the only ones in Australia. For example there is a Takahashi Newton Teegul-100 listed at Cash Converters Modbury. How many Teegul-100s are there in Australia? How many from the Tokyo Newton Telescope club?

https://www.cashconverters.com.au/shop/outdoor-sports/camping-travel/binoculars-telescopes/telescope/043700329602

I think the Masuyama eyepieces are rare enough to be hard to hide if sold. A 30mm in box was actually shown in a listing at Cash Converters for a different scope but the ad has now been pulled.

Also Takahashi Zoom 719 eyepieces aren't very common and two were stolen.

Thanks to everyone for keeping your eyes open. If you spot something please PM me as that way I immediately get an email.

Unfortunately being overseas makes it very difficult to communicate with the police as they want me to attend in person.

[tphilip]

I did not expect to be away from the house for so long but then covid happened. An alarm is being installed this week to prevent a return and further trashing of the place. I have a steel box bolted to the floor - it was well hidden and not found and contained much more valuable, more portable and easier to sell items than telescopes. Time, an angle grinder and 2m crowbar will defeat most steel boxes. Dogs are not currently an option - maybe when I get back.

In case anyone is reading along - the safes have now been removed and relocated. There are now motion sensors, cctv and remote call to security centre which will dispatch a police patrol. Sure this is like shutting the gate after the horse has bolted - but the last thing I need is more damage and headaches whilst I am still overseas.

[wasyoungonce]

What annoys me is cash converters obviously knew they were hot items. Yet didn’t ring police

Truly a circle of scum and leaches.

Hope you get them back they are your babies that you have obviously saved coveted loved and looked after. You must feel gutted.

[tphilip]

This seems to have gone off topic - is there a drug legalisation thread where pro/cons of decriminalisation can be discussed?

Anyway I have found serial numbers for a lot of the equipment so I will be following any future sales of Takahashi equipment closely. It is worthwhile checking the provenance before purchasing.

The following mounts were also stolen:-

Vixen Sphinx with starbook
Takahashi EM10b
Takahashi EM10 Temma2 Jr
Takahashi FC-M tripod
Vixen SP mount with tripod
Vixen SP single access drive controller
Vixen HAL110 tripod
Vixen SS2KPC controller and MT4 motors
2 x spare Vixen MT4 motors

[xelasnave]

My intention was no more than to make any additional post that would see this thread again on top of the general chat so as to offer the opportunity for more people to notice it and thereby hopefully increase the number of folk keeping a look out...simple enough...if you think about it.
Alex

[tphilip]

Getting stolen property back from Cash Conveters takes a lot of time. First you have to locate the property. Then you have to book a police patrol to attend the Cash Converters. You have to meet the police there with proof of ownership and the police report. They then determine if the property should be seized and if so will seize it and return it to the owner.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to where online I should look? I have been looking at gumtree, ebay, cash converters, adpost, amazon marketplace.

I have emailed the various Adelaide telescope shops and the astronomical society but heard crickets. Any contacts worth approaching would be much appreciated.

[Wilsil]

Hope you get your gear back.

[rbronca]

Sorry to here about your loss. I had previously sent an email within ASSA, flagging this thread. People are keeping an eye out. Hope you have more good news soon.

[tphilip]

Thank you for doing that. I used to be a member of ASSA and tried to grind and polish a 6" Newtonian at a ASSA class at Marryatville High School when I was in my teens. Polished but never completed. I think my lack of owning a telecope growing up helped contribute to my propensity to hoard them. Obviously I had way too much equipment as you can see from the list of gear which was stolen.

I do wonder what has happened to the large dry cabinet which was full of Masuyamas, Naglers, Takahashi LEs, Pentax orthos, Takahashi orthos, Takahashi erfles, Takahashi reducers and extenders, adapters, etc, etc.

[xelasnave]

Philip
It is a terrible loss but dont let it take more than is gone.
Content yourself that you once had these items. Now if you had a flash sports car and wrote it off would that be different.
You have to now look at the good things around you be brave and move forward to even a brighter future.
Alex

[tphilip]

So Cash Converters paid $50 for a Sky90 and FS78. Like all the other expensive stuff they fence they just pretend they didn't know it was stolen. And the platitudes of Cash Converters and the police that there are rigorous checks in place ring hollow. There is no oversight and they sell stolen goods with complete impunity*.

I have serial numbers for all the expensive stuff. I imagine that sometime in the future I will stumble across some of it and I will take action and it will end up being seized.

(*meant to type impunity rather than immunity)

[multiweb]

If I buy stolen goods even if I don't know they are stolen then the rightful owner can take them back and it's my loss. That is the law. Why would cash converters be any different? Do they have a legal framework that sets them aside of the law?

[N1]

I don't think I'll ever set foot in one of their branches again.

Best of luck recovering what's yours.

[AnakChan]

It looks like you've made some progress in locating some of the stuff. That is good. Esp if you have matching serial numbers, it may give more credibility to the other stuff CC bought that you may not have serial numbers for.

[Hans Tucker]

Cash Converters claim that goods can't be accepted to any of their stores without full identification. So what identification was presented in this sale .. and are the Police perusing this .. if not will Cash Converters show you the so called ID they accepted for this buy. If fake ID was used then if Cash Converters were serious about stamping this out then they would flag the ID across all their stores. I gather no in store surveillance footage of the date and time when the stolen goods were received .. maybe a image of the low life perp.

[tphilip]

Unfortunately I am not privy to police investigations. I do know that the police obtained the details of the sellers at the two Cash Converters stores, I also know that they identified some of the fingerprints left behind at the scene of the theft. Whether or not they have followed up or done anything with any of this information they won't say and aren't forthcoming at all.

Trying to find items at Cash Converters is very difficult - unless they advertise it on their website or gumtree or other sites then you'd have to visit every store to find anything and you'd have to do it on a regular basis. Yes once you have located items and have proof of ownership and have reported the items as stolen and have a police report then the police will help seize the items and return them. But it isn't simple and I'd be very surprised if many of the stolen items which pass through their stores are ever identified. And of course this doesn't include all the pawn brokers and other shady places were people try to offload hot items for cash.

[mental4astro]

Suspicious listing on Gumtree. Not saying it has anything to do with the OP's equipment because it is also in SA, but rather than start a new thread I thought just tag on to this one.

The phrasing of the listing, the lack of details and the appearance of the scope that looks like its been left to knock about in the back of a truck all point to something not being right. I have never seen a scope look so knocked about:

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/angaston/other-electronics-computers/celestron-nexstar-6-se-telescope/1280514149

I hope I am wrong about the listing, but it just smells off.

Alex.

[tphilip]

Not one of mine. But that listing is very dodgy. Maybe it should say "OR SWAP FOR SOMETHING LESS HOT PLZZ". Brand new user called Graeme and yet it says call Damien. The images of the guys hands and where he lives don't instill much confidence. I wouldn't want to meet up with the guy while carrying any cash in my wallet. No meta data on the webp images to see where it actually is. Thanks for keeping an eye out and posting here. Feel free to make an offer on it!! Caveat Emptor. Also on Facebook marketplace:- https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/4274857489230805

[mental4astro]

I sent the seller of that 6SE a carefully worded couple of questions the day the ad appeared to feret out his knowledge of the scope - my message has been gone unanswered.

Yep, really stinks now.