Re: so called new approach to design doublet APOs. ;>)

From: Tom Davis (tdavis11_at_carolina.rr.com)
Date: 11/22/04 

Date: Mon, 22 Nov 2004 02:23:27 GMT

Jan,

Several different issues. Bill had allowed pre-orders on some products in
the past that were taken away by other companies who waved the wand
of a larger order with them. This obviously hurt Bill's reputation, but
there
was not much he could do about it. Thie is one reason why he and Thomas
Back are not now talking about scopes and other products they might have
in process. The 102 Semi-Apo was already promised, so that has been
discussed, and thie scope here was promised, and since it is now in
production, Bill asked me to post a review of it.

There are always two sides to a story, though. All the 1026s were sold
at a discount as-is. Those with scopes they could not work to their
satisfaction were still offered refunds, but they could not be fixed due to
not having proper objectives to replace them with. I've had a problem with
every short-focus Synta achromat I've owned, except for a good 8 year
old orion short-tube 80 I have. Bill simply sold that quality level with
these
scopes, when he expected to sell better. At $150 for the package, it was
not at all out of line with the market price for other branded versions that
were no better. Some people are happy with theirs, others not. Bill was
not happy with them, so sold them at a discount. This is an old story,
but it has left some deep wounds with some expecting a better product.
To make a long story short, he has been on a long search since for higher
quality products overseas. This scope appears to be on hit on the search.

On the repair issue, I know I had no problem getting parts from Bill. I
needed a tube ring for my 1278, and got one in two days. I sold that
scope, and they swapped out the focuser for the next buyer who had the
focuser mis-align in shipment. They could not collimate it, so Bill took
one off the shelf, collimated it in an OTA in the shop, and shipped it to
my buyer with a return tag for the old focuser. There are horror stories
with Meade and Celestron service that would take days for us to go
through if all were posted here. Things happen.

Thanks, Tom Davis

"Jan Owen" <janowen1z@cox.net> wrote in message
news:GCbod.125498$cJ3.124835@fed1read06...
> Doesn't matter at all to me personally.
>
> I have no stake in it. But I have been hearing from folks for some time
> about scopes ordered and not received. And about issues that have
> surfaced that are being fixed (but haven't been fixed yet, or at least
> their scopes have not been delivered yet...).
>
> Not something you're responsible for in any way. You just peeled the scab
> off, so to speak...
>
> I simply wondered out loud when these issues might realistically end. Not
> an issue for me personally. But that may not be the case for others...
>
> --
> Jan Owen
>
> To reach me directly, remove the Z, if one appears in my e-mail address...
> Latitude: 33.662
> Longitude: -112.3272
>
> "Tom Davis" <tdavis11@carolina.rr.com> wrote in message
> news:1gbod.18105$DE1.906334@twister.southeast.rr.com...
>>
>> "Jan Owen" <janowen1z@cox.net> wrote in message
>> news:WKaod.125491$cJ3.79076@fed1read06...
>> > And this is all going to get fixed during out lifetimes???
>> >
>> Jan,
>>
>> There is nothing to fix. Five scopes passed an interferometer test.
> What
>> more do you want? This scope has no relationship to the Burgess 1026.
>> The 1026 could not be fixed, because every one of the objectives sold
>> were substandard, even the stopped down prototype. First thing I did
>> with this scope was pull the rear baffle and test for vignetting
> afterwards.
>> None. The interferometer test was done with no baffles involved. The
>> 1026s were not tested in anything approaching this way. Bill has
> learned
>> much about doing QA on scopes. The manufacturer of the lenses is
>> also doing QA. None of the lenses they provided Bill were substandard,
>> even the one that Bill's telescope tube manufacturer broke the front
>> element on. All that happened was a mistake by William Optics in
>> assembling the objective on this tube. This was not done in their
>> plant, and this can't happen again as every objective from that point
>> forward is being assembled, collimated, and tested in the optical plant.
>>
>> Just to make this point crystal clear again, the 1026 had the
> objectives
>> made by another optical manufacturer, with nowhere near the expertise,
>> equipment, or quality of optical materials as the 92 fluorite
> manufacturer.
>> I can attest to the quality of what I have and any statements that the
>> following shipping scopes will be substandard is nothing more than
>> an unsubstantiated accusation. So far, the manufacturer has been
>> five for five, or batted 1.000. Not even one 1026 passed muster to
>> a degree Bill was satisfied with. Since the scopes have gone to
> production,
>> the only way someone like yourself will be satisfied is if the entire
>> production batch turns out OK, but then will not the statements be
>> made that they were good because they were the first batch? If
>> China can produce 80ED and 100ED scopes that prople are happy
>> with, just maybe they can do this scope as well. As with any product,
>> people will need to buy it for this to be known. But what I get here is
>> don't even discuss the performance of the first scope.
>>
>> In a word, it already has been fixed. I have the proof in my hands.
>> If anyone gets a bad scope, they will have a return option, or a repair
>> option. If that is not good enough, might be best to not consider one.
>>
>> Thanks, Tom Davis
>>
>>
>
>

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