BinTel a re-seller for Software Bisque now

[g__day (Matthew)]

I see https://www.bintelshop.com.au/welcome.htm advertise the SB mounts:

Software Bisque Paramount ME

$17,150.00

Software Bisque Paramount MX

$10,200.00

The AUD buy price from Opt Corp is of course $13,351 and $7,944 so its always annoying to see the mark ups buying locally inflicts on one. Guess its the distributor, insurance, freight and tax differentials.

[CDKPhil]

I have ordered an MX through Bintel. It was no cheaper for me to order it from Bisque. The time you pay GST, freight and import duties ect, and the worry of it getting lost or damaged in transit, their price is excellent.
I also have the backup and support of an Australian company if anything goes wrong. ( not that anything will go wrong) Much easier to go to Sydney than the US.
The guys at Bintel have been great to deal with.
cheers
Phil

[mozzie (Peter)]

amen!!!! to buying local for there backup service....you maybe able to save a few dollars overseas but it can bit you hard if something goes wrong....

[garymck (Gary)]

Price looks OK to me:
round figures:
mount $8000
add air freight and insurance: $1000
add GST on $9000 (GST payable on freight as well as items invoice cost)
$900
add customs agent charges $200
for a grand total of $10100

Wouldn't quibble over trivial differential for local support, would you?

cheers
Gary

[frolinmod]

Isn't the Australian dollar currently worth US$1.05.

[Barrykgerdes]

I worry about the people buying directly O/S. This practice will eventually cost them more than they bargain for.

Everyone seems to complain about the markups put on imported goods but they don't realise the cost of retailing goods in Australia.

Those of us who are still employed enjoy superanuation, sick pay, 4 weeks annual leave, leave loadings, longservice leave etc. Even the dole if you are unemployed. None of these luxuries are production costs in most of the places we source manufactured goods from. That is why we cannot be competative. To coin a standard phrase "There is no such thing as a free lunch"

Barry

[mswhin63 (Malcolm)]

I think for now while economies are improving all over the world, the dollar will impact a great deal on people choice in buying either locally or overseas.

Even I decided to purchase overseas on my last round but had no real choice as I need packages that cost 100% more in Australia. I did find equipment at equivalent prices for the same optics but there were other features sadly lacking carefully hidden in the information.

Eventually once other countries start to improve their economies then the tables will be turned. The only thing left is Retailers markups and Wholesalers Mark downs.

[GrahamL]

Very true Barry.,, US margins are very small and rely on volume.

Seans astronomy shop was run by a great guy !
http://www.seansastronomyshop.com/

I think its great we have local retailers
and don't mind paying a little more to support them .

[avandonk]

I am currently deciding between a Titan and a Paramount MX. This makes it far easier thankyou for the heads up.

It is far easier to deal with a local supplier. I have had problems with paying GST with Customs in the past.

Bert

[garymck (Gary)]

Originally Posted by frolinmod

Isn't the Australian dollar currently worth US$1.05.

Buy price is not the same as the exchange rate (check your local post office for an example). Add possible fees etc, and the actual rate you will get fbuying USD will likely be 1.01 - 1.02 depending on where you go...Learned a very hard lesson about this several years ago...

Gary

[mswhin63 (Malcolm)]

I bought my new scope from Germany, completely different application than the US.

[gregbradley]

Bert,

Personally I think the PMX would be the better mount unless you were planning to mount something really heavy.

The PME is a joy to work with. One thing I really like is the home position and the complete integration of the various softwares like the Sky and CCDsoft and Precision PEC with the mount.

Home position is really valuable. It means you can rebalance your mount in the middle of the night. Send it to home and everything is realigned and then your go-tos all work again as before - brilliant!

My PME is specfied to be at least 7 arc seconds peak to peak.
Actual measured PE is 2.6! That is really really low.

It also slews very fast, connects really quickly, not fussy, works everytime etc etc. A very nice piece of machinery that has created a standard in the amateur astronomy world.

Titan is probably a nice mount. I personally am not a fan of Gemini as I found it fussy, complicated, took lots of work to get it all synched, easily lost etc. It has lots of fans but its its own world and it will take a bit to learn it and how to work it, that's fine if you want to spend 50+ hours getting familiar with it. Its got hot starts, cold starts, it would take 12 stars to get synched before go-tos were even close. My Tak does it in 1 synch.

PME/PMX is simple and intuitive and superbly thought out and engineered and in my opinion in another league perhaps only approached by AstroPhysics.

Greg.

[avandonk]

Thanks for that info Greg. When I put the order in it will be for a PME from Bintel. Your advice has just confirmed my choice of mount.

My aim is to be able to run my observatory completely remotely for data collection.

At the moment I can collect data remotely (from inside the house) once the system is running and a target selected. I only have to go out in the cold to change targets.

My modified EQ6 has served me well but I need something with more load capability and foolproof goto.

Thanks Bert

[Paul Haese]

Bert I can also confirm that the PMX would be a very high upgrade for you. Based on my use of the PME I have (even despite the problem of solving maintenance errors that I had with my mount). The mount now works really well and points remarkably. PE on is 1.8 without correction and now at 0.5 arc seconds Peak. Like Greg said, just go to home position each night and then go directly to your target. Click which star you want to guide on and start collecting photons.

If the PMX is anything like the bigger model then you will find it a wonderful instrument. If you do go ahead with the PMX get Tpoint mapper with pinpoint and MaximDL for doing plate solving. It plate solves every time without any hassles. Let me know if you would like any help. Now fully conversant with this software and mount. I am sure I can help.

[frolinmod]

Originally Posted by Paul Haese

If you do go ahead with the PMX get Tpoint mapper with pinpoint and MaximDL for doing plate solving. It plate solves every time without any hassles.

In my experience TheSkyX with the Camera Add On and the Tpoint Add On also plate solve extremely well without any hassles whatsoever.

I'm sure Tpoint mapper was a good work-around over the years for perceived problems with or deficiencies in TheSky6 at the time. Existing users who are more comfortable staying where they are might just as well continue using it, but I would not personally recommend new users do so. TheSkyX is much better than TheSky6.

The PMX comes with TheSkyX, the Camera Add On and the Tpoint Add On software. If you're purchasing a PME and receive only legacy software, I recommend purchasing a Universal Subscription (or arranging to receive one with your mount instead of or in addition to the legacy software).

[Paul Haese]

Yeah that is a good point Ernie. I had not considered that this software would be available with the PMX. SkyX should be a better suite than Sky6 but I am quite happy with what I have now though.