Orion ED80T CF (carbon fibre, triplet apo)

[JethroB76 (Jeff)]

Originally Posted by Craig_L

They mightn't ship here if there is an Australian agent, but TMB doesn't have one.

It was Explore Scientific which AFAIK doesn't have an Aussie agent.

[sejanus (Gavin)]

Try them again they were happy to take my coin - they seem quite a decent company always been prompt and helpful with queries so far

[gbeal]

Yep, mine too, have had a few scopes from them, great to deal with.
Gary

[Visionoz (Bill)]

I have a SW Equinox 80ED and lo and behold the TMB 80SS is like it's twin except for the livery colors - eg the red knurled ring vs silver on the Equinox and the focusing knobs are exactly the same

I understand that the SW was made by Long Pern and it is a very capable refractor indeed

Cheers
Bill

[sejanus (Gavin)]

There are some very interesting long perng refractors on andrews website!

[MrB (Simon)]

Hi Bill,
Does the Equinox have a tripet or a doublet lens?

[Visionoz (Bill)]

Not too sure Simon but I think it must be a doublet - see here for the specs: http://www.skywatchertelescope.net/s...1=1&class2=101

It has FPL-53 Schott glass lenses, same style "rotating ring" for the focuser unit, same L-shaped tripod/GEM mount and definitely the bodyworks is an exact replica - except the TMB claims to be a triplet (and it may well be) with a slight difference in focal length of 504mm instead of 500mm

I know that the SW Equinox was made by Long Pern for Synta because when my OTA slipped off my mount (the dovetail lock screws loosened somehow) and the focuser's knobs and spindle/shaft broke, I tried to get a replacement crayford focuser unit from SW but was told that it's not available as spares because "we did not manufacture this ourselves" and a little birdie informed me of Long Pern and after failing to convince Andrew's to get a replacement for me I called the factory direct and because my order is just one small measly part off a unit, I got knocked back.

Because of this I started a bit of research and noticed that there are lots of OEM-labelled Long Perns available including WO who probably got theirs from there too - check the WO 66mm and look at the 66mm Equinox on SW's site - I believe I read on Andrews website some suggestion that the Long Perns 110mm OTA is "similar" to WOs and they do look alike
BTW the Equinox range is also sold by Orion as their EON range

I can from my experience tell you that the 80mm OTA is tough as nails and very well built - the collimation was still A+OK after the fall!!

Well the mass-production of these "toys" that we play with also allows the manufacturers to sell their wares to those who can order volumes and stick their own brand on them - that's economies of scale for you!

Cheers
Bill

Originally Posted by MrB

Hi Bill,
Does the Equinox have a tripet or a doublet lens?

[sejanus (Gavin)]

Well, scratch my tmb 80mm order. They originally said shipping would be approx $65-$100 usd but came back and unexpectedly said it was $450 usd.

How that is I have no idea as I've had much bigger stuff than an 80mm refractor sent over here for a hell of a lot less than $450.

oh well. might get a tak 60mm for my small scope instead.

[dugnsuz (Doug)]

Originally Posted by sejanus

Well, scratch my tmb 80mm order. They originally said shipping would be approx $65-$100 usd but came back and unexpectedly said it was $450 usd.

How that is I have no idea as I've had much bigger stuff than an 80mm refractor sent over here for a hell of a lot less than $450.

WHAT!!!!!!!??????
That's $525AU! = Madness!

[sejanus (Gavin)]

and optcorp will send a stellarvue 80mm for $171 usd.

go figure!

[MrB (Simon)]

Originally Posted by sejanus

Well, scratch my tmb 80mm order. They originally said shipping would be approx $65-$100 usd but came back and unexpectedly said it was $450 usd.

Hmm, Im going to have to rethink this.
Might have to save a few more pennies and go for a Northgroup 127ED.

[sejanus (Gavin)]

astronomics are trying to see if they can find other ways to send it

out of interest, a freight forwarding place like myus.com can send it for $213

[gbeal]

And I have a had a few BIGGER items like the AT8" IN, for about/under US$200 total.
Gary

[floyd_2 (Dean)]

OPT sent my Stellarvue SV80ED Raptor over for $130US earlier this year via USPS International Express. USPS Priority Mail was even cheaper at $105US.

Dean

[sejanus (Gavin)]

you can get any number of scopes from optcorp for way under 50% of what astronomics said - I don't think it's their fault as such, they are just getting screwed on shipping rates.

heck, even a fsq-106 is $226 to ship and I'm quite sure it is bigger than a tmb 80mm

[zardos123 (Brad)]

a new importer will start bringing in high end carbon fiber scopes in july, they will be call spectrum scopes and use a combo of flp53 and fbm1 glass in the same cell

[MrB (Simon)]

Emma Chissit?
($)

[SuedeinSpace]

If you're still looking to shop online from the United States, you should try www.Viaddress.com.
A few of my friends have been using Viaddress to get products shipped from the United States because most US merchants and US ebay sellers don't ship outside the US.
You can open an account for free on www.viaddress.com and you get a US address. You can then ship products to your suite at Viaddress, then have Viaddress forward them to you.
You just pay Viaddress for the shipping fees, and their rates are the lowest that I could find.


http://www.viaddress.com

[gregbradley]

If you want a quote on shipping rates you can go to UPS or FEDEX or USPS websites and the have a shipping calculator.

I have brought in numerous items.

For a small refractor I imagine up to US$200. For a medium mount probably about US$550. An eyepiece would be about US$15.

Greg.