Mick,
I'm working just a little outside Dublin

It can be good to order from the USA now because the Euro is high but stable. Bush and his economics have made a mess of the dollar..just check those oil prices
If you order a big scope like a 8" or 10" from the USA you will save a bit of Cash, however shipping could cost you a bit..sometimes 900$ to ship something that size to Dublin plus you might need insurance.

The eye pieces and barlows are good to get, there are a good few places in the UK and a little bit in Ireland too. I'm just new into the star gazing thing so I can't tell you much about lenses, but I know some places which sell.



An optician sells scopes in Dublin

http://www.gerardbradyopticians.com/meade/

Uk shop has accessories

http://www.telescopesales.co.uk/frame.htm

This site in England has some stuff

http://www.kayoptical.co.uk/

Telescope supply in Ireland

http://www.andromedaoptics.com/

HI SHENZHOU FIVE


yeh'' the prices are ridiculous.. i know of andromeda optics. i most probably buy from them?

what im doing for now is looking to see if someone in the uk delivers here? ive sent a few emails to companys but the reply was that they dont..

its all about saving money if you can.. and buying extra pieces to go with the new scope.

as you know yourself that the euro is a big mistake, it should never of happend''

anyways thanks for replying'' i must get back and do a bit more studying. ''SLAN''

How about seeing if you can find a cheap flight or ferry crossing? The 199 Skyline Bus will take you from Manchester Airport to a stop about five minutes walk from Stockport Binocular & Telescope Centre. A cab back would be about £15..£20

http://www.telescopes-binoculars.co.uk/home/

I do not know of any dealers in Liverpool or North Wales that would be handy for the air/ferry ports. Maybe someone else can help on that.

Are there any dealers in the North?

quote:

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Originally posted by mick
HELLO ALL..

im new here'' and i must say its a very good forum. its a credit to you all..

anyways im a bit confused about certain lenses. why are some PLOSSLS and others are SMA?

when i buy my scope what should i choose PLOSSLS or SMA?
or does it really matter. i noticed on most scopes that cost a fair bit have PLOSSLS and the cheaper ones have SMA.

is there much difference between them? from what ive read the PLOSSLS are better'' something to do with the coating i think?

im just curious

THANKS FOR YOUR TIME.

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Mick, further to tmorten's post: you probably know that Ryan fly out of Dublin to Gatwick. Depending when you travel it can be very cheap; the lowest I've seen is 99p plus tax (tax can of course be £20 or £30 ). I'm afraid I know nothing about 'scope dealer locations but from Gatwick you can get the coach/train to Victoria (coach is cheaper, train is quicker). If you get the train you can get an integrated travelcard which'll allow you to use the Underground all day as well - so if you find a cheap dealer in London it could be a decent option.

From Gatwick you can also get to quite a few other places e.g. Brighton (seven or eight quid) and East Croydon (probably about the same).

Of course, being in the South the 'scope dealers all live in penthouses and charge for appointments. And don't buy a Guinness, for God's sake! Unless you think it's worth it for the chance to smoke in a pub

cheers
__________________
-mandicoot

THANKS LADS


can you tell me which company in the USA deliver to uk/ireland?

i was in england last summer, but i wasn't ready to buy a scope then, its a pity....

i'll be getting my scope shortly, but the thing that confuses me is the f/5..f/6..f/8. for an 8inch'' choosing the right one is a mess.

is there such thing as an allrounder?

Hi Mick,

Anacortes deliver to the UK and I've heard good reports about them.

As for the scope, the lower the "F/?" the faster the scope and the larger the field of View you'll get with the same eyepeice.

So in general terms a lower F/? is better for Deep Sky Stuff and the Higher F/10 or above is better for Lunar and planetary. If is was me going for a good all rounder I would probably go for a 8" F/8.

But to make things more complicate you can go (i beleive) for a Meade/ Celestron 8" SCT at F/10(I think they are) and then get a Focal reducer, which is removeable, to F/6.3. The both of both worlds... At a price...

Regards
Ant

__________________
Ant

from the factory (I believe the faster one is now discontinued).

Mine is F/10 and I have a 2" Celestron field flatten at the prime focus to speed it up to 6.3.

You want a prime focus version as it also acts as a dust shield, that totally seals the main optics.

That being said; many cannot afford the initial price of a quality SCT.

quote:

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Originally posted by R. J. Grasser

Mine is F/10 and I have a 2" Celestron field flatten at the prime focus to speed it up to 6.3.

---

This must be what I've read about then - I have to be honest and say that I did not know that they did a factory F/6.3 version. Learn something new every day!

The prices of these SCT almost price themselves out of the market over here in the UK. They are good with the goto and large databases. Half the fun is spending ages finding that ellusive galaxy...

I've chosen the Newt and a good EQ mount, in recent times I've purchased a Focal reducer. This would turn a F/8 (allrounder) into a F/4.8(good for DSO). The actual reduction in focal ratio depends on the distance between Eyepeice/CCD and the reducer.(mines running at around 0.6)

Check out http://www.modernastronomy.com/ - very helpful guy.

Ant


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Ant

F/6.3 scopes of both the 8, and 10 inch SCT's.

Not sure when they were discontinued, as my library of S&T only goes back to 2000, and they are not advertized then.

Since my LX200 is one of the earliest GoTo's from Meade, you cant "burn" the onboard computers EPROM like the new ones I called Meade last year about getting the upgrades they offer on their website, and was told I would virtually have to buy an entire new scope Not going to happen