Skywatcher = Tasco??

[WestAusChris]

I was just breaking apart my box that my 6" dob came in and noticed Tasco written on the side, did some googling and noticed Skywatcher is made by Tasco.

Alot of people on this forum seem to recommend Skywatcher Dobs but most also say stay away from Tasco telelscopes or do people mean stay away from the small Tasco scopes??:confused2:

[NorthernLight]

Hi Chris,

Tasco is the main importer of Sky Watcher products in AU but they do not make them. The SW gear is made in China as SW is part of Synta-the biggest astro gear maker worldwide. They also own Celestron.
The telescopes that are branded with the name Tasco are the small, cheapisch department store telescopes. Those are basically toys. they are small in aperture, have no multicoated lenses (if they are actually glass not plastic) and ride on slim, shaky mounts.
Tasco is an Australian company whose founder recently died.
Hope that helps a bit.

Cheers

[MikeyB]

Tasco (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasco) isn't an Australian company, although their Australian distributor may well be.

Although most of their modern gear is aimed at the budget end of the market, some is of mid-range quality and some of their older gear that was sourced from reputable Japanese OEM's is quite well-regarded.

[Rob_K]

Yep, their Tasco-branded small reflectors are the same as all the other 'brands' of entry level scopes - Celestron, SW etc. Mine's perfectly satisfactory. But their little plastic scopes are also on a par with all the other little plastic scopes! :lol: So rest easy, and hope you enjoy your new scope! :thumbsup:

Cheers -

[WestAusChris]

Hi All

Thanks everyone for clearing that up for me.

Learn something new everyday :)