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Post by jamesling1000 on Jun 21, 2014 1:34:25 GMT -5
Hi ALL...
It has been a week since I posted about Istar latest development of the PHOENIX WXT 201-6 Comet Catcher Refractor, in CN... And has seen some of our Istar users also given their comments....which is very encouraging....
But I just want to let all of you in Istarscopeclub members or also those interested in dropping into this forum, that I received a PM form one of the CN moderator, that what I did in the post is not as per Cloudy Nights terms of service, which the quote is with regards to not editing the information from Ales and post it in CN, as well as not getting permission from the original writer, which is Ales.. And I must state in the CN post as well, otherwise is at the very least, poor netiquette, and is not permitted on CN forum
As such I just want to remind other members if you will to post any information in CN on news of ISTAR, pls do not follow the way I recently posted in CN, unless is only one or two sentences, otherwise use a link instead.....which is the advice from the CN moderator to me...
REgards
James Ling Quote:
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Post by kevinbarker on Jun 22, 2014 2:35:11 GMT -5
Hi ALL... It has been a week since I posted about Istar latest development of the PHOENIX WXT 201-6 Comet Catcher Refractor, in CN... And has seen some of our Istar users also given their comments....which is very encouraging.... But I just want to let all of you in Istarscopeclub members or also those interested in dropping into this forum, that I received a PM form one of the CN moderator, that what I did in the post is not as per Cloudy Nights terms of service, which the quote is with regards to not editing the information from Ales and post it in CN, as well as not getting permission from the original writer, which is Ales.. And I must state in the CN post as well, otherwise is at the very least, poor netiquette, and is not permitted on CN forum As such I just want to remind other members if you will to post any information in CN on news of ISTAR, pls do not follow the way I recently posted in CN, unless is only one or two sentences, otherwise use a link instead.....which is the advice from the CN moderator to me... REgards James Ling Quote: HI james I've had one or two odd messages from the moderators too in the past year or so on CN. I was a bit puzzled over it frankly. At the time i thought it was a bit "big brotherish". Once it was merely for asking why there had been a couple of deleted messages. But apparently questioning the authority and judgement of the divine moderator is a no no !! I obeyed as one ought to so i could still send messages!! Whilst I am not a fan of censorship, I do realize there are some who troll forums just to wind people up. That was why the messages were deleted i was told later !!! I recall a forum in an unrelated non astro topic(not CN) where an anonymous person caused all sorts of problems. When he was unveiled he disappeared pretty fast!! He had a psychiatric disorder and his medication was not balanced at the time of his interventions. He caused quite a stir for some time and was really nasty !! Anyway the message seems to have gotten through that the new scopes are indeed very light considering their considerable aperture!! Kevin Barker
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Post by StephenEveleigh on Aug 7, 2014 21:49:11 GMT -5
Alex, I am happy for Istar to not be resting on its laurels. Responding to the "Markets" cry for lighter instrument should help move product. I would like to comment on the changes you've made. In essence, it ends an era of Uber durability and well designed excess.
When I picked up my Asteria (127mm/F12/R30), the weight of this 5 inch instrument made me laugh. It was heavy and solid and ridiculously overbuilt. I liked that.
The dew cap was unique but highly functional and continues to work so well.
The bolted in place dew shield were never an issue. Being able to retract it would not have created much space, and I don't have to worry about it sliding, ever.
The placement of the baffle screws from the outside doesn't compromise the appearance very much. When looking at the overall built of the scope, it solidifies a robust, industrial look. The black color was part of that overall look, and I much prefer black over white for these scopes. Its a howitzer.
Comparing the construction of this scope to my Antares 102/ F13 achromat, the baffles have all come loose and slid every which way in the tube. This resulted from being placed on a foam matress and carried for several days in the roof carrier. A length of wood dowel should get them all back in place. That scope makes me laugh too - at how cheaply made they were. The popcan telescope. (make no mistake I love that scope as well)
The rounding of the counter cell appears to be part of the overall softening and feminizing of the scope. In keeping with its industrial roots , the counter cell was esthetically suitable "as is".
The selection of focusers is great. I guess the Baader didn't work out. It was a good option, as much as having Moonlight, Istar and now Feather Touch.
Always good to see refinement, but your changes are making me nostalgic for good ol European alloy.
All the best, Stephen Eveleigh
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Post by Ales - iStar Optical on Aug 8, 2014 7:45:53 GMT -5
Alex, I am happy for Istar to not be resting on its laurels. Responding to the "Markets" cry for lighter instrument should help move product. I would like to comment on the changes you've made. In essence, it ends an era of Uber durability and well designed excess. When I picked up my Asteria (127mm/F12/R30), the weight of this 5 inch instrument made me laugh. It was heavy and solid and ridiculously overbuilt. I liked that. The dew cap was unique but highly functional and continues to work so well. The bolted in place dew shield were never an issue. Being able to retract it would not have created much space, and I don't have to worry about it sliding, ever. The placement of the baffle screws from the outside doesn't compromise the appearance very much. When looking at the overall built of the scope, it solidifies a robust, industrial look. The black color was part of that overall look, and I much prefer black over white for these scopes. Its a howitzer. Comparing the construction of this scope to my Antares 102/ F13 achromat, the baffles have all come loose and slid every which way in the tube. This resulted from being placed on a foam matress and carried for several days in the roof carrier. A length of wood dowel should get them all back in place. That scope makes me laugh too - at how cheaply made they were. The popcan telescope. (make no mistake I love that scope as well) The rounding of the counter cell appears to be part of the overall softening and feminizing of the scope. In keeping with its industrial roots , the counter cell was esthetically suitable "as is". The selection of focusers is great. I guess the Baader didn't work out. It was a good option, as much as having Moonlight, Istar and now Feather Touch. Always good to see refinement, but your changes are making me nostalgic for good ol European alloy. All the best, Stephen Eveleigh Hello Stephen, I know exactly what you are talking about, BUT people who are appreciating a rock solid, robust refractors which will last lifetimes are a dying breed... including myself. People like yourself, Neil English and few of my friends are the only people who like the first generation scopes the way they are. But wast majority of amateur astronomers want lighter, smaller, generic look-alike refractors and I had to act on that. One good news for you.. I would never design a flimsy, junky refractor, like those mass produced Chinese ones, most with Big Names printed on their dew shields. iStar refractors are still all CNC machined and assembled by hand. I had a number of Chinese companies contacting me in the past, offering their services. Yes, prices could go down considerably but I refused every single offer like that. I still want our scopes to be designed and made in Europe and USA, and Im actually doing my best to produce more and more lenses in European Union as well. Basically, Im doing exact opposite of what everyone else is doing, except for two great companies, AP and TEC. So even these new, third generation iStar refractors will be extremely solid and some will be made in black, just like the first, original scopes. So anyone preferring black will be able to get one. All scopes in 150 F5 to 150 F8 will still be made out of the original Austrian made tubes. Anything above 180mm will use the new US made, super thin tubes. If I hear from more people that they don't really care about the silver bolts holding the CNC machined knife edge baffles and showing outside of the main tube, I might just continue producing iStar scopes this way. I did come up with a new way of attaching baffles, but to have a CNC rock solid baffles inside the tube adds tremendous amount of stability and the entire construction will not flex during rapid temperature changes. So I will appreciate a word from other iStar refractor owners about this issue. I want to add few words about our dew shields. I developed and created a unique bayonet locking mechanism which holds the Dew Shield securely locked in place. It can NEVER accidentally slide or move unless you manually unlock it and slide it backwards. I did not want our dew shields to be held in place simply by a friction lock like on many dew shields made by competition. So again, I did react to the cry of the Market, but I did it my own way. I would never, as long as I live, put our iStar logo on a crappy, flimsy telescope. I have pride in what I design and produce and I want the high expectations of many of our customers to be completely satisfied. We sold first Ares WFT 150-5 to a European customer, if I remember correctly. This scope was already made with many of the latest generation changes implemented into it. And we have 12 more in different model styles now waiting in our Florida stock. Simply talk to Mike about availability. So I urge everyone who purchased one of these latest generation scopes to sit down and write a short review right here on ISC and also share with others on Cloudy Nights, Astro Mart and other places. Best regards, Ales
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