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Old 27-12-2023, 12:16 PM
Leo.G (Leo)
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Astromania 1.25" 4-Elements 5x TeleXtender

Has anyone heard of the Astromania TeleXtender?
I saw a manufacturers site (I think) where it had 287 x 5 star reviews, all left on the same day by the same bot with the same identification.
I tried to leave a review stating the reviews are fake but it didn't save, oh well.


I want a 5 times extender, preferably a Powermate but finances dictate I'll take anything remotely usable and reasonably priced since my 8" telescopes can only produce grain of sand size images of planets.
I've read the reviews on the Tele-vue items an am aware of their quality however I've seen mention there's good items coming from Meade and Explore Scientific at lower prices, I just came across the Astromania on Amazon Aus. Not that I ever buy anything from Amazon.


Yes, it's cheap and I know the old adage, "if it seems too good to be true it probably is"


Any recommendations would be appreciated!


Unlike a local friend who thought he was buying a new Honda Motorbike from China for $1,000 and going to sell it for $12,000 because they retail here for $14,000. It seems he lost his money and he's grateful he didn't order and pay for a container load of the things. He's still looking for his first million dollars.

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Old 30-12-2023, 03:38 PM
Leo.G (Leo)
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It seems like I don't need any information on this unit as I may have secured a 5X Tele Vue Powermate at a good price used.
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Old 04-01-2024, 09:31 AM
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Don Pensack
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Leo.G View Post
Has anyone heard of the Astromania TeleXtender?
I saw a manufacturers site (I think) where it had 287 x 5 star reviews, all left on the same day by the same bot with the same identification.
I tried to leave a review stating the reviews are fake but it didn't save, oh well.


I want a 5 times extender, preferably a Powermate but finances dictate I'll take anything remotely usable and reasonably priced <b>since my 8" telescopes can only produce grain of sand size images of planets.</b>
I've read the reviews on the Tele-vue items an am aware of their quality however I've seen mention there's good items coming from Meade and Explore Scientific at lower prices, I just came across the Astromania on Amazon Aus. Not that I ever buy anything from Amazon.


Yes, it's cheap and I know the old adage, "if it seems too good to be true it probably is"


Any recommendations would be appreciated!



Jupiter varies from 35" to 50" in size.
At 100x, that is about 58' to 83' wide in apparent size, or 2-3x the size of the full moon to the naked eye! At 200x, the apparent size is 4-6x the size of the full moon to the naked eye.
In other words, it's HUGE.
If your scope is an 8" f/4, that means an eyepiece of 4mm will yield that huge image. If your scope is an f/6, a 6mm eyepiece will yield the same size image.
You can get there with a 2X Barlow on a mid-focal length eyepiece.
Astromania is a seller of inexpensive Chinese goods made by many other companies under private label. As such, they are far from unique, though, like Svbony, they have a number of interesting products.
I guess the point here is that a 5x Barlow isn't going to very useful for visual astronomy. It's primary intent is to expand the image scale for prime focus imaging of planets, and, in that purpose, it should work fine.
Though be forewarned, the mount has to be ultra stable to handle a 4000-6000mm focal length created by a 5X Barlow.
I would recommend the 5X ES Focal Extender if you can't afford the 5x TeleVue PowerMate.
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Old 24-01-2024, 12:13 PM
Leo.G (Leo)
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Thanks Don!
I hadn't heard of them before but I remember when I hadn't heard of SVBony and everyone asking if there stuff was really worth wasting money on, I know how that turned out, everyone is buying their products. I've only got ND filters and a microscope through them but the quality is amazing, especially on the microscope.
I did end up getting a near new 5X powermate for a remarkable price.
Though I stupidly tried it on the moon just the other night (only clear night in months) and not thinking (rushing, I shouldn't have been out with a telescope) and I shoved a 12mm eyepiece in it with my RC8. Turns out with the powermate I was up around 800 times magnification, way beyond even the theoretical limit of my scope and I of course couldn't focus a thing.
I should have shoved my 40mm, 30mm, 25mm or 20mm in there, I just didn't think at the time.
Next clear night I'll try it on something other than the moon but the moon is an easy target to find and focus on.
My mount should also go straight to it since my son changed the date to 24, it couldn't find the moon when I accidentally set the date to 1/21/23 and I thought it was just the mount having a seizure. Eventually I just slewed manually.
I can be such an IDIOT at times.....
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