Jan Sky and Telescope

[steve000 (Steve)]

Can I just say the January version of Sky and Telescope looks like a damn good read! almost every topic sounds interesting..

also has on the 2nd page.. this beast! http://www.bintel.com.au/Telescopes/...oductview.aspx

I have my financial adviser on hold

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

OH my God ! , , Beautiful . I'm looking forward to seeing how these mounts perform , and there little brothers the LX80 comming on line , I know of one IIS'r who has the smaller LX 80 on order , He cant wait , nor can lots of us as they are so sexy .
Hope these perform as well as they look . Typical Meade .
Awsome piece of design .
Brian.

[steve000 (Steve)]

Yea, I hope they perform as well. 40kg limit is quite epic! I like the precision of screw on coutner weights however I like the flexibility of slide on ones. add a camera, not quite enough counterweight, grabe 500g weight bench weight .

Also in this issue Chris got another mention with his Qantas prop plane infront of the moon image.

That LX80 looks good. Either alt az or EQ in a single mount!

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

Bintel had the LX80 's ready for sale about now but it looks like it wont be until early next year Oh well good things come to those that wait ,,
I could not wait so I now have a nice new iEQ45 Ioptron sitting in my lounge , very nice . but the weather is bad ! .
Brian.

[Stardrifter_WA]

Trouble is Brian, our dollar is falling rapidly and if it doesn't go back up, I may be waiting a lot longer than I think I am annoyed that Meade have advertised this mount so far in advance of actual availability and still no word as to when it will be available.

Although I hate the mount, it is back to using my Alt-Az it seems.

Cheers mate

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

I hate the way we all are at the mercy of the money go round speculators , It SUX alright !
Meade should be held to the advertised prices at the time of advertising these here in OZ !, Hard working people like you getting stuffed around agian for a little moire profit .
What are Bintel saying Peter ? will they honor the price ? I hope the do because they have a very good name to up hold here and a bit of negative publicity here at IIS , will hurt more than a few $$$"s profit ,
I am sure .
Good luck mate .
Brian.

[Stardrifter_WA]

All Bintel has been able to tell me is that it will be available in January and that the price is based on AUD being at 1.02. Whether Bintel will wear the difference remains to be seen. I do know Bintel are good, have been dealing with them for a long time now.

So, if the dollar stays down, it will cost more, which will mean I will have to wait a while longer. I had based my budget on the dollar being UUD 1.02. I realise that the dollar is historically high at 0.98 (today's rate), but a budget is a budget.

What I don't know is if the availability of January is in Australia or the US. I suspect it is based on January being the release date in the US, which means we probably won't get it until later.

[renormalised (Carl)]

I wouldn't be too worried about the exchange rate for too long. If the EU goes south, with the way things are in the US, they'll have a hard time not following the Europeans into the wastepaper basket themselves. Their currency will bottom out.

[jenchris (Jennifer)]

We're all caught in the merry go round.
If the distributors (not the retailers) don't bump the price up and they've already ordered, the price must remain the same.
Since the price distributors pay is when they're invoiced. And they're invoiced FOB (free on board) at manufacturers' end. If they've been dispatched in any number at all, they're price locked.

[TheDecepticon]

Mine was in my letter box.

I certainly does look good for sure. I have not had the chance to read it yet, maybe a bit of time may arise on the weekend.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

I hear you Jen , but , the big BUT is that these mounts were advertised at a $ value in September 2011 and if Meade cant supply an advertised product on time it is not our , ( the comsumers) fault , or the retailer here eg . Bintel's either .
We here in Australia have a comsumers guarentee act that is suposed to stop this sort of false advertising , and that is exactly what it is , no IF's or BUT's . Its what it is!
I was that close to handing over my hard earneed $$$'s +GST of course ! GRRR. on one of these in October and listening to Peter over a few weeks here , well it made me think .
Its Bull Dung. . Typical....
Meade again ?
Brian , a happy iOptron iEQ45 owner , now .
Sorry Peter .

Originally Posted by jenchris

We're all caught in the merry go round.
If the distributors (not the retailers) don't bump the price up and they've already ordered, the price must remain the same.
Since the price distributors pay is when they're invoiced. And they're invoiced FOB (free on board) at manufacturers' end. If they've been dispatched in any number at all, they're price locked.

[Stardrifter_WA]

Hi Brian, It isn't an issue with the US price, as that hasn't changed, it is an issue with the exchange rate at the time of shipment. Bintel may wear the change, but I doubt that, after all they are in business and are not a charity....which I think is fair enough.

I called Bintel today and they have no idea when the LX80 mount is going to be available. Apparently, they haven't even started shipping in the US yet. This is probably why we haven't seen any reviews yet.

I still find it very annoying that they can advertise a product months in advance of it actually being available. It almost smacks of them wanting to see what the demand is before they manufacture it.

Although I am keen to get one, it will depend on the final price. Unfortunately I can't wear too much of an increase, considering that I will have freight on top. For the first time in decades, things are tight.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

I hear you Peter , It the way of this money oriented world we live in is going , As you know I own a nice SV Aplanat and ED 80 and thru the yahoo groups I am hearing that the price of Ed glass especially FPL53 has gone thru the roof at least by 2x .
Its hurting people that have placed orders for the 80-152mm apo's .
The word is that China is now , having cornered the market ( being a world leader ) are imposing what ever prices they want for there products , Pricks !
The Russians eg. TBM and TEC are laughing .
The Americans eg. TV and AP are laughing as well .
Food for thaught ?
I wonder if Meade ( all meade is made in china now ) are playing the same game ?
Would not suprise me . as we here in OZ supply a large majority of there raw materials at low prices ?
GREED Peter .
Just a thought .
Brian.

[Stardrifter_WA]

Yeah Brian, China is going to hold the world to ransom, as they now pretty much control rare earth manufacture. so, we can expect to see massive increases. Although, I don't know if any rare earth's are used in the manufacture of exotic glass.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

The NT has the majority of rare earth mineral deposits in the world , , Funny you should mention this Peter , and the east coast of the north island of NZ has some as well , I used to work with an old rare earth prospector in a place named Te Teko , and yes it is used in glass manifacture , it allows FPL53 Ed to be as refractive as true Flourite but 4x stronger , eg its easier to figure and polish without the fragility and 50% + breakages that Flourite occures . , I can imagine the curse's heard in a Japinese Vixen and TAK. optics lab before the advent of FPL51 and FPL53 .
Thanks for the rememberance there Pete .
Cool .
Brian.

[casstony]

Regarding the LX80, better late with the bugs ironed out than a pile of crap here on time.

Regarding the exchange rate, continued strength in the aussie dollar is dependent on the northern hemisphere economies not falling over - if they collapse, we collapse, and the US dollar becomes the default safe haven by virtue of being the best of a bad bunch. imho

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

you are right Tony , but to adversise a mount for sale ( eg our hard earned $$$$'s to be spent here ) before its R&D is done is ,,, well? what ? ,,,, ???
I can think of a few words .
Brian.

[Stardrifter_WA]

Originally Posted by casstony

Regarding the LX80, better late with the bugs ironed out than a pile of crap here on time.

Regarding the exchange rate, continued strength in the aussie dollar is dependent on the northern hemisphere economies not falling over - if they collapse, we collapse, and the US dollar becomes the default safe haven by virtue of being the best of a bad bunch. imho

True that Tony. That is why I have been looking for reviews, but that isn't possible because they haven't even released it in the US. But I will want to see a review first anyway. Besides, I can't really see Meade bringing out a crappy mount, even at the price. No doubt it is made in China and we are seeing some really good stuff come out of China in recent times. My ED80 is a great example, the best value (optically) scope that I have ever purchased.

This mount would still have to be better than the mount I already have for my 80ED. It is a well made Alt-Az mount, but I just don't like it.

As for our currency, unfortunately, I think the world is going to hell in a hand basket in a real rush, so we will see some really tough times ahead. BUT, I sure hope I am proven wrong!

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

Hey Tony you want to buy a SVOTCH .
same , deal as Meade , give me the money , and I vill gif you a rolex .
You taka 1000 "?
Treat us like fools ,,,
Brian.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

snakes on a telescope !! ./...Looking for lizzards . Merry christmas . ho ho ho . Bro
Brian.

Originally Posted by brian nordstrom

The NT has the majority of rare earth mineral deposits in the world , , Funny you should mention this Peter , and the east coast of the north island of NZ has some as well , I used to work with an old rare earth prospector in a place named Te Teko , and yes it is used in glass manifacture , it allows FPL53 Ed to be as refractive as true Flourite but 4x stronger , eg its easier to figure and polish without the fragility and 50% + breakages that Flourite occures . , I can imagine the curse's heard in a Japinese Vixen and TAK. optics lab before the advent of FPL51 and FPL53 .
Thanks for the rememberance there Pete .
Cool .
Brian.