I have an item that is being held in Sydney Customs pending me submitting a B709A import form. USPS tells me this info. Australia Post says it is still in Tacoma, USA...
Yeah, may be Aus Post can't send if onward from the Tacoma drop box without pre-clearance. I have received UPS calls for clearance payment when the item was still inbound in the sky. Pre-clearance speeds it through Customs I believe.
Ok, some news. I am told by TNT that the two packages were separated coming out of Liege Euro Hub. One package is in Melbourne now and it weighs 5kg. That is probably something small or several things that are small.
The other package whereabouts is known I am told and currently in Liege, either today onto Dubai and then onto Australia or tomorrow onto Singapore and then Australia the next day. In any event the perceived delivery on Wednesday is not going to happen. However, with any luck it will arrive sometime later this week.
So, all items are now in Melbourne, customs paid (though I was not given a satisfactory explanation for the "other charges of $185"). They also decided to charge me a visa card surcharge of $17 dollars.
Then I am told they are going to put it on a truck for Adelaide instead of fly it here which I paid for in the original shipment. When pressed about delivery, they said it might be delivered to my home on Friday or it might not. It might be Monday. Nothing like speeding up things after nearly losing part of the shipment. I wonder what the boxes look like now.
Here's a tip, never use TNT to delivery anything. The several experiences I have had with this firm have all been the same. Poor service and care factor zero.
I used to import a lot from The Netherlands, which means you don't get a choice TNT or not - every single item was always delayed, mishandled or simply went in a circle.
I now buy the same item from a guy in Norway, and no issues whatsoever.
The packing is very good generally. The main scope box was double boxed with lots of bubble wrap every where. I noted though that the soft circle foam around the scope had moved in transport and come adrift with the scope rest against the side of the inside box. Fortunately there was no damage.
The finish of the scope looks generally very good though there is some minor blemishes to various areas.
The Wynne corrector is huge and heavy.
The dew shield fits very snugly to the front of the scope and will be a valuable asset to the imaging system.
Overall so far I like what I see. I'll report back once I do some field testing in the coming weeks.
Good to hear the scope is finally delivered without any damage. The packaging looks very light though for an item of this value. Not wrong that corrector looks heavy.
Nice photos of the OTA. I always liked how they brace the focuser with extra tube rings. Is it also bolted through the CF tube or just on the side rings?
Nice scope Paul. I see on their website that they provide a number of nice options, like internal heater wiring, mirror enhancement, various focuser options, etc. What extras, if any, did you add to the basic scope?
Good to hear the scope is finally delivered without any damage. The packaging looks very light though for an item of this value. Not wrong that corrector looks heavy.
Nice photos of the OTA. I always liked how they brace the focuser with extra tube rings. Is it also bolted through the CF tube or just on the side rings?
Hi Marc, the focuser board is bolted all the way through to the support structure inside the tube as well as the rings. The rings just add a bit more stability.
Quote:
Originally Posted by glend
Nice scope Paul. I see on their website that they provide a number of nice options, like internal heater wiring, mirror enhancement, various focuser options, etc. What extras, if any, did you add to the basic scope?
Hi Glen. The options I got were, the Atlas kit, the supporting rings to the focuser board, the extra figuring of the mirror, Wynne
-QSI adapter and dew shield.
I was missing a 2"EP adapter which is supposed to have been shipped last night. So that might get here end next week.
Hi Marc, the focuser board is bolted all the way through to the support structure inside the tube as well as the rings. The rings just add a bit more stability.
Does the bottom dovetail run all the length of the scope, so I assume those two support tube rings are also bolted to it?
Congrats on the new scope Paul. I’d be a tad concerned with that test data, the plan view seems to show some astigmatism (my Alluna data was symmetrical) but likely it is so slight it simply won’t show in real world data...and nice to see them certifying the optics in any event.
The corrector sounds impressive! I hope the system serves you well for many years to come
P.S.
Test data numbers were impossible to read on my phone, but looking at then now on a real screen, the numbers are top-shelf. Good one
Last edited by Peter Ward; 29-06-2018 at 02:07 PM.
Does the bottom dovetail run all the length of the scope, so I assume those two support tube rings are also bolted to it?
No the dove tail does not run all the way along, I have used one I had lying around here. I don't think that will matter much.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter Ward
Congrats on the new scope Paul. I’d be a tad concerned with that test data, the plan view seems to show some astigmatism (my Alluna data was symmetrical) but likely it is so slight it simply won’t show in real world data...and nice to see them certifying the optics in any event.
The corrector sounds impressive! I hope the system serves you well for many years to come
P.S.
Test data numbers were impossible to read on my phone, but looking at then now on a real screen, the numbers are top-shelf. Good one
I am always sceptical until I can get a star test done. Data on a piece of paper is easily fabricated, and I have seen similar numbers like this before so don't know what to think at this stage. I paid for the top of the range figure so I guess I will have to wait and see. The corrector is an impressive beast. You should see the size of the secondary on this thing too. 110mm secondary is a huge secondary. The GSO one is 80mm by comparison.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LewisM
Fingers crossed its a good one!
Does this mean Skeletor is going to be sold?
Yeah fingers crossed. Skeletor? If you mean the GSO f4, no I won't be selling it. I am going to rework the scope by building a better secondary cage with new spider and that should make it the second beast in my observatories. I will be looking for another PME though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by billdan
Looks beautiful Paul,the carbon fibre sets it off, I bet you can't wait to set it up.
By the way, Why does the mirror have a hole in it?
Cheers
Bill
No hole. I think that is the simulation of the secondary in place when testing is done.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LewisM
Wouldn't that be the obstruction caused by the secondary?
Otherwise, they sent him a report from an ODK
No ODK report, at least the serial numbers match on the side of the primary to the report.