JTW Astronomy are giving away a telescope! To enter, click Like on their Facebook page, then get over to our YouTube channel, simply subscribe, rate and comment “Pick Me!” on this video – www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-7GPsCd_Fc
The prize is a 6″ Newtonian telescope on equatiorial mount, with accessories including a planetary camera! Prize is valued at around 250 euro!
Still no t-ring today, so I gave Telescope Planet a ring and they said it was posted yesterday. Next day delivery it is NOT (given that I ordered on Sunday) but hopefully that means it’ll be here tomorrow.
The camera arrived safe and sound yesterday and I *love* it! Today the Celestron 1.25″ t-adapter arrived but still no sign of the t-ring (the t-ring and t-adapter are needed to use the camera with the telescope for prime focus photography). The t-ring was ordered on Sunday and was marked as “in stock” (and still is) on the Telescope Planet website and the delivery shows as “free next day delivery”. Therefore, I’d have expected it to go in the post on Monday and to arrive on Tuesday. Here we are at Wednesday and still no sign of it. I tried calling them earlier, but got fed up listening to their “on hold” music and gave up after 5 mins or so. Emailed them at 12.45pm today to ask if the order had been posted and haven’t had a reply.
It’s a shame really – they have a great stock, competitive prices and were helpful when I placed my first order by phone. But since then it’s been a bit hit and miss – twice I was told that my solar filter had been posted when it wasn’t even in stock. And twice I’ve sent them emails which they haven’t replied to. We’ll see if it comes in tomorrow’s post, otherwise I’ll be back on the phone to them again.
My solar filter has finally arrived and it looks perfect! Now all I need is some sunshine 
I’m expecting the camera to be delivered later today, so it’s an exciting day for parcels!
I’m supposed to be saving up for a Canon 300D and I’m only about 20% of the way there …. but I saw one on Ebay that was a good buy (included the lens, waterproof bag, manual, battery, charger, 4GB card etc.) so I went for it! Also ordered the t-adapter and t-ring to match. Feel slightly sick at the thought of spending all that money, but I think it’ll be a good investment both for astrophotography and for the digital photography course I start next month! Will keep telling myself that anyway 
…. it turns out it hasn’t even been POSTED yet!
I ordered it by phone last Friday (28th) and was told they had one in stock and it would go out same day. Still no sign of it on Wednesday, so I gave them a call and they assured me it HAD been posted by Recorded Delivery and to give it a few more days. They said they’d send me the tracking number by email which they didn’t do. So I called them again today after the post had been delivered and it turns out it WASN’T in stock when I ordered it and is only expected to arrive back in stock this afternoon. They’ve said that, if it does indeed arrive today with them, they’ll get it in the post to me today. I’ve asked them to email me when it’s been posted, so HOPEFULLY I’ll get my solar filter soon!
The reducer lens for NexImage that I ordered on Monday arrived safely today, which is great. Unfortunately the solar filter ordered on Friday (from the same company) hasn’t arrived yet, but it’s coming by Royal Mail which explains it! There have been a lot of mail strikes lately (as well as a bank holiday), so that’ll be what’s holding it up. Hopefully it’ll get here soon!
Am saving up for the drive motor (around £125 + postage), currently by doing reviews at DooYoo.com. I’m at £5.50 so far … am estimating it’ll take about 7 weeks at my current earning rate!
Also treated myself to Atlas of the Constellations today, which cost £2 in a bargain bookshop!
I ordered a Solar Filter today from TelescopePlanet.co.uk, after calling them to make sure I could get the right solar filter for my Celestron C6-N. They told me it’ll go in the post today, but given that it’s a bank holiday weekend, there’s no telling when it will arrive!
Very pleasant on the phone though, so I’ll shop with them again! Once it arrives safely, I’ll add them to my list of recommended suppliers.
No sign of the 3.3x Barlow and I think the postal workers are on strike tomorrow, so looks like it’ll be Tuesday at the earliest now.
365Astronomy.com have made it onto my “recommended suppliers” list, now that my Celestron NexImage has arrived (the day after ordering). I’m very pleased and have done a practice capture in daylight to make sure the camera is working and to have a shot with the software. Everything worked fine and was straighforward enough. The software works by recording an AVI video of whatever you would like to photograph. Then the software aligns and stacks the frames from the video, takes out the duff ones, and leaves you with the best possible final image. There are a lot of controls and settings within the software, so I imagine there will be a bit of a learning curve when it comes to actual astrophotography, but I’m reasonably confident I’ll be able to produce a half-decent picture. Famous last words?!
I’ve also ordered a 3.3x Barlow, which is coming from “Lotnabox” via Ebay. I ordered this at lunchtime and have since had a message to say it’s been posted, so we’ll see how long it takes to arrive (never can tell with Royal Mail these days!).
Weather forecast for my area:
Today: Rain
Tomorrow: Rain
28th August: Rain
29th August: Rain
30th August: Rain
31st August: Rain
1st September: Rain
2nd September: Rain
On a more positive note, I ordered my Celestron NexImage this morning thanks to a fantastic 30% off August Special Offer on 365Astronomy.com. I’m told it’s being dispatched today – woohoo! Now all I need is a vaguely clear sky…
I’d been doing a fair bit of price research for the three things I have on my “astronomy shopping list”:
And had come across NexImage on a website called Crazy Cameras for the bargain basement price of £71.99 with free delivery. I’d tried to contact them through their Live Chat and wasn’t able to get through, so I decided to do a little web search and check them out. The first thing I came across was this thread and I’m SO glad I saw it before I decided to place an order. The next best price was 365Astronomy, who answered my email promptly and called to return my missed call (from 9pm last night) too. Good service gets the sale, every time! Once the NexImage arrives safely, I’ll create a link category on the sidebar for recommended, reliable astronomy suppliers and put them on it.
