Simon: sorry, you must have just bought one hey? DOH
Steve: Yes, its very hard to resist, I have to keep the Credit cards locked in a fire proof, bomb proof, kid proof, wife proof, concrete bunker with retinal scan and Infrared thermal sensors in a mildy radioactive zone in order to stop myself from buying one.
Ahh yes, the age old problem, as I mentioned in one of my other posts, if the wife DIDNT keep the credit cards locked up, we would all be eating Takahashi cardboard for dinner!
As for this deal, I have had a rethink and considering the fact that Andrews has the SWED80pro gold tube for $699 and it comes with finderscope ($100) 5 and 20mm LET eyepieces ($100 total) and the Skywatcher Aluminium case for it all ($100), it seems that the Andrews price is $100 cheaper than if you bought the equivalent from MAS. I 'spose that if you just needed a guidescope OTA and nothing for the visual component or perhaps a widefield camera scope, then all you need is the dovetail and rings, but still, I like the fact that you get the whole shebang for $699.
Just my opinion, all I need now is another serving of Skywatcher burritos in cardboard. mmmmmmm tasty!
Mine arrived yesterday, yes it includes the dovetail bar, and rings, and a decent sized (read: usable) finderscope. I reckon this is a great package indeed!
I didn't feel I needed anymore ep's to be honest, so I was happy to have "saved money" there. The focuser will accommodate 1.25" and 2" ep's, and from a quick test obs session in between the clouds last night I can confirm that it is a crisp and pleasant to use focuser as well. It's a single speed unit, so don't expect a 10:1 fine focus knob, but then when I was actually using it I didn't feel it was "lacking" either as focus was crisp and easy to obtain!
Ahh yes, the age old problem, as I mentioned in one of my other posts, if the wife DIDNT keep the credit cards locked up, we would all be eating Takahashi cardboard for dinner!
Just my opinion, all I need now is another serving of Skywatcher burritos in cardboard. mmmmmmm tasty!
Cheers
Chris
Takahashi cardboard is nice....just add a bit of fish and soy sauce, a pinch of brown sugar and a few vegies
I like the burritos with either a salsa or chilli con carne
I'm a BIG fan of Andrew's products and their pricing policies (ie max value to the buyer), but in this case they are not offering quite the same package for $479. Their website specifically points out that they definitely do not include the finder scope and mount, the myAstroShop package definitely does for the $20 more. It's a 8(?)x50mm unit in matching gold tube / white mount which looks VERY sweet on the scope indeed!
Last edited by Gargoyle_Steve; 22-01-2009 at 10:23 AM.
Their website specifically points out that they definitely do not include the finder scope and mount, the myAstroShop package definitely does for the $20 more. It's a 8(?)x50mm unit in matching gold tube / white mount which looks VERY sweet on the scope indeed!
Good pickup..I completely missed that. I reasoned that the units were being imported in boxes that they would be a standard unit with standard inclusions...thus would have the finder.
Yes the GSO finder does fit. While aiming the scope at M42 when it was closer to the zenith I swapped out the Skywatcher finder and slotted in my GSO Right Angle version instead - it was an exact fit.
It's a shame myAstroShop is apparently now out of these, but either of the packages at Andrew's Comms is still very good value, you could get the $479 version and a GSO finder from them to suit.
Moot point now, but I think I remember the MAS special didnt specifically state it had a finder? Steve pointed out that the finder WAS included so perhaps that is why Andrews missed it in their package?
Anyhow, I know that from Andrews Website it states, "we will not be knowingly undersold on Skywatcher products" so you could point out that you would like the Pro finderscope, but I dont know how much water this will hold considering that MAS is no longer offering the SWED80 at $499 anymore.
Still, it seems like the heads up was a success, I am glad that people snapped up the bargains...
