profdant139 wrote:
I talked to them -- they have stopped making them because they were unhappy with the quality of the Chinese optics -- they are working with another manufacturer and hope to have new units by mid-2015. After shopping around, that is the one I want -- there are other small "go to" computerized reflectors around, but they are not as foolproof as the Astroscan. I can wait!
LenSatic wrote:
UPDATE ON MY TELESCOPE RECOMMENDATIONS!
I've been looking into the Astroscan shortage and it seems that they are made in China now, not the US, and QC may be inconsistent. I've contacted Edmund's and am waiting for a response.
LS
This response was much longer till I looked at profdan's profile. Never mind. Maybe an Astroscan is all you have the space for though I still think there are better and more useful alternatives.
You mentioned a "Go-to". How about a "push-to" with a computerized digital setting circles or "Object Locator", where it tells you which way to point but you provide the motive power?
Orion StarBlast 6i IntelliScope Reflector TelescopeIn regard to the mention of "China", probably 75% of the consumer astronomy optics sold in the US are made in China anymore and "Chinese optics" certainly is not synonymous with poor quality.
Since 2005, Celestron has been owned by SW Technology Corporation, a division of Synta Technology Corporation of Taiwan, which is basically just a Delaware holding company for Celestron. Synta had made a large part of Celestron's products for 15 years before that. Synta also makes the Sky-Watcher line of telescopes and mounts which have been marketed in Europe and Canada for years and which are now marketed in the US and are headquartered right in Celestron's Torrance, CA facility.
Synta also makes a large part of the Orion line of telescopes, accessories, and mounts with most of the rest of the Orion line made by GSO (Guan Sheng Optical) also a Taiwan otpical company. GSO also made much of the optics (mirrors, focusers) for many of Meade's products for years. William Optics from Taiwan also makes a few of Orion's products most notably some of their eyepieces.
I have no problem with Celestron being owned by Synta as the merger injected billions of dollars in capital into Celestron and has allowed them to expand and refresh their product line. Celestron still makes some of their Schmidt-cassegrain telescopes in Torrance and also has their factory service facility there.
After struggling terribly since around 2006, with bad quality and poor customer service (after moving manufacturing and service to Mexico), Meade Instruments was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. I followed their SEC filings closely during this time and the statements like, "Our machine and manufacturing tools have worn out and we do not have the capital to replace them. It is doubtful that we can continue as a going concern." Meade teetered on the brink of cessation of operations for many years, until they were sold to Sunny Optics Inc, a division of the Chinese firm Ningbo Sunny Electronic Co Ltd., in September of 2013. We shall see if their outcome is as good as Celestron's.
There's others. iOptron (Nanjing iOptron Scientific), many of Takahashi's products, much of the Explore Scientific Line, some of StellarVue's products...the list goes on and on. Almost no one is immune to using Chinese manufacturing or optics.
