New scope day turns sour

[cmknight (Chris)]

"Originally Posted by strongmanmike
It is important that Chris is looked after and I am sure he will be"

Between my wife and the meds, I am well looked after. Thanks for all the concern.

[wasyoungonce (Brendan)]

Originally Posted by cmknight

Between my wife and the meds, I am well looked after. Thanks for all the concern.

Still that gut sinking feeling when opening the package! ...one of life's lesser experiences.

[RickS (Rick)]

Orion have been in regular contact. Latest news is that they expect to ship me a new mirror and mirror cell early next week. Hurrah! I'm very happy with how they have dealt with this.

Cheers,
Rick.

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Originally Posted by RickS

Orion have been in regular contact. Latest news is that they expect to ship me a new mirror and mirror cell early next week. Hurrah! I'm very happy with how they have dealt with this.

Cheers,
Rick.

Great to hear Rick, you can relax in Cairns now...will be a long forgotten dream (nightmare ) soon

Mike

[gregbradley]

That's very fast service. Good news. A plus for them with their customer service backup.

Greg.

[RickS (Rick)]

The new mirror and cell have arrived safely. I'm very happy with the quick and helpful response from Orion Optics I will report back when I get a chance to collimate and test the scope. Unfortunately, it's a busy time of year and that may not be for a few weeks.

Thanks, everybody, for your interest and support.

Cheers,
Rick.

[Kunama]

That is great backup of the product !!!

[whzzz28 (Nathan)]

Originally Posted by RickS

The new mirror and cell have arrived safely. I'm very happy with the quick and helpful response from Orion Optics I will report back when I get a chance to collimate and test the scope. Unfortunately, it's a busy time of year and that may not be for a few weeks.

Thanks, everybody, for your interest and support.

Cheers,
Rick.

AHH!
I knew it!
This horrid weather had to have come from someone's purchase - i guess i know who to blame now

Don't worry - at the rate Brisbane weathers been going, you won't get out till after new years.

Good luck with the new equipment, was meant to post earlier but forgot in the shock of seeing such carnage.

[RickS (Rick)]

Thanks, guys.

Nathan: you can't blame me for the weather until the scope is assembled and collimated

[bartman (Bart)]

Maybe an odd question.......
Rick, the side on pic of the mirror ( pic 2 and 3) show lateral banding and waves in the glass. Is this normal or due to the drop it had?
Just curious....
Good to hear you got a new one so soon!
Bartman

[gregbradley]

[QUOTE=RickS;919296]Thanks, guys.

I look forward to your review of the scope.

Mike has me thinking about getting one for my dark site observatory now.

Specifically I would be mostly interested in flexure problems.

Greg.

[RickS (Rick)]

Originally Posted by bartman

Maybe an odd question.......
Rick, the side on pic of the mirror ( pic 2 and 3) show lateral banding and waves in the glass. Is this normal or due to the drop it had?
Just curious....
Good to hear you got a new one so soon!
Bartman

Bart: the new mirror is the same. I think it's due to the way the mirror blank is cast.

Originally Posted by gregbradley

I look forward to your review of the scope.

Mike has me thinking about getting one for my dark site observatory now.

Specifically I would be mostly interested in flexure problems.

Greg.

I'll let you know how it goes, Greg. I was going to compare guiding using the internal guide chip in my STL11K vs an external guide scope (which is what I'll ultimately need to use with my U16M when it finally comes back from the USA).

I picked up a nice lightweight, solid guide scope to use - a Borg 50mm achromat.

Cheers,
Rick.

[naskies (Dave)]

Glad to hear that you have it sorted! Out of curiosity, did Orion ask you to ship the damaged mirror back?

[Satchmo]

Originally Posted by bartman

Rick, the side on pic of the mirror ( pic 2 and 3) show lateral banding and waves in the glass. Is this normal or due to the drop it had?
Just curious....
Bartman

Bertman- The glass blanks with the wavy edge are made by Schott and material trade name is Suprax ( not to be confused with the new Supremax borosilcate available in thick sheets which is actually Schott Borofloat 33 ) . They have a coefficient of expansion somewhere in between Plate Glass and Borosilicates made by Corning ( eg. Pyrex).

I am not sure why the blank have not been diamond edged for release of strain and to to give a nice mechanical edge. Schott do not offer a fine- annealing service for Suprax, so I would assume that it was fine or precision -annealled by some third party. I have queried Orion on these matters in the past and didn't get a response. They do not say anything about the anneal of their optics on their web site. Perhaps a question on their forum might get a response.

[RickS (Rick)]

Originally Posted by naskies

Glad to hear that you have it sorted! Out of curiosity, did Orion ask you to ship the damaged mirror back?

Thanks, Dave. They asked me to hang on to the damaged mirror until they finish sorting out insurance.

[bartman (Bart)]

Thanks Mark for that
Curiosity now satisfied
Bartman