I just received an email from Hubble Optics in the States that describes a new range of ultralight Dobsonian hardware for a mirror of your own choice and supply.
Cheap I reckon - the 13kg 14" is US$1,095 (which today is AU$1,027) plus $191 to ship via air to Australia. Even the 20" is around US$1,395 (which today is AU$1,308). The 12" is US$995. Pretty good any way you look at it.
Get blown away in the first wind here!
Someone get to work on a steel beam contraption!
There's noting for the wind to pick up on. I reckon if the whole thing is stiff enough once assembled and bolted it could work. Great idea for storage.
I am interested in the 16" but they have not put any shipping costs to Australia,and when I went to try and contact them the only thing I could get is their Ebay page with no contact details
I am interested in the 16" but they have not put any shipping costs to Australia,and when I went to try and contact them the only thing I could get is their Ebay page with no contact details
I am interested in the 16" but they have not put any shipping costs to Australia,and when I went to try and contact them the only thing I could get is their Ebay page with no contact details
Yes, Ken pointed out Ron - it's a little further down the page. A very comprehensive list.
After I received their email, I emailed them back to say hi. They responded a few minutes later.
Thanks bothIt wasn't there before when I checked that's why I complained
I checked as number of times before I tried to contact them
I tried to click on their email link and got nothing only their Ebay page so something was blocking it.
Cheers
Thanks Chris.
Looks very interesting. Right in line with what i wanted to build myself. Price isn't too bad either. Interesting... quick google didnt come up with reviews. Has anyone read anything about these?
I wonder how their "2 Stage" set up performs. Looks like more of a serrurier truss. I wonder how small that would pack up to.
Gah! The easiest way to lose customers...poorly designed websites!
Didn't you mention you wanted to get back into visual obs Chris? LOL you can be the guinea pig for us...
Maybe one day Jack... but visual just doesn't do it for me these days. Give the the binos I was going to build and it'd probably be a different story. C'est la vie.
Needless to say if you want a Nagler 31mm , an 8 X 50 finder a Telrad and heater units plus a shroud the balance may be a problem and it would probably be very difficult to fit a Servocat. This scope is going to suit someone who likes their scope very spartan and I'm sure those people are out there.
I thought balance might be an issue. But given that they offer finderscopes as an option, I'm sure they would have taken it's mass into consideratio. The bearings look quite big so that would help too...
Also given that it's byo mirror, you would be adding extra mass to the base than if you were to use their own lightweight mirror.
I hope they've figured out a way to mount an Argo Navis and Servocat. I think they would lose many potential customers with out it.
Looks very interesting Chris.
Warning to others though - I got hit with a bundle of trojans while browsing the linked website, so maybe it is not just poorly designed. Plus their email link would not let me notify them of the problem. Clearly there is no reflection on Chris, and it could have been a coincidence, but be careful - this has the hallmarks of a social engineering drive-by attack. Regards Ray
Last edited by Shiraz; 21-05-2011 at 09:02 PM.
Reason: clarify
I hope they've figured out a way to mount an Argo Navis and Servocat. I think they would lose many potential customers with out it.
I 'm sure with some inventiveness you'd get an Argo on it but not a Servocat. Given that its essentially a flex rocker box the base ring looks very flimsy and would be hard to drive. By the time a scope is fit to fit a Servocat its probably going to look more like an SDM
The 16" to 20" mirrors are not really lightweight by comparison with standard solid mirrors - the 20mm thick back and front plates alone weight as much as a 1.6" solid mirror , and then you've got loads of 15mm thick buttons in between.
Looks very interesting Chris.
Warning to others though - I got hit with a bundle of trojans while browsing the linked website, so maybe it is not just poorly designed. Plus their email link would not let me notify them of the problem. Clearly there is no reflection on Chris, and it could have been a coincidence, but be careful - this has the hallmarks of a social engineering drive-by attack. Regards Ray
Ray - I've just been sent an email by the owner, Tong, who sounds surprised about your experience. I trust that you wouldn't have used the terms that you have without reason - that would be assasination. He's just sent me back this is response to your post (again - I'm just the messenger and have no affiliation with Hubble Optics). I agree that his email address link needs to be more than a gif graphic that isn't mapped to to a mailto: URL.
Quote:
Hi Chris
Thank you so much for posting the message for us in the forum. I was appalled by a user suggesting that our site is not safe, or is distributing any kind of malicious file. Our site is host by yahoo in US, and you can see the Norton safety report on our site. Please note we have two domains, www.hubbleoptics.com and www.hubble-optics.com, while www.hubble-optics is our primary domain. Yahoo simply forwards www.hubbleoptics.com to www.hubble-optics.com:
Hi Chris. Thanks for the feedback. I did not consider that Hubble Optics was deliberately distributing any dangerous software, but I was definitely subjected to an agressive attack while I was browsing there and spent some hours cleaning up the mess. I considered that I had a duty of care to do something about it. I tried to contact the website owner, but there was no mail link (which was worrying) - posting a warning seemed to be the only remaining option, although I was reticent to do so. Since Hubble Optics has provided an assurance that their site is clean, I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and try again. Regards Ray
Last edited by Shiraz; 24-05-2011 at 02:21 PM.
Reason: clarity
but they have not put any shipping costs to Australia,and when I went to try and contact them the only thing I could get is their Ebay page with no contact details 
It wasn't there before when I checked that's why I complained 
