so happy with the first one, I'm going to get a second.......... but does it come in black?

I was one of the early adopters for this scope, mine was the pre-386 CPU version so a bit slow to download images. The manufactures are quoting a ridiculous price for a CPU upgrade. It does have a bit of a focusing issue but nothing that Pixinsight with Blur Xterminator can't fix. So not perfect but I am very happy

Can't seem to connect my ais air to it 😕

Is it compatible with ASIair?

I admit that you have a great sense of humor.
Really very nice

Does NASA know about this?

Excellent optics (now), but I had issues with it focussing straight out of the box. I would have given it five stars, but it was not available in Red (as the Red Cat telescopes are). Great service and delivery as always from FLO.

I ran out of space on my counterbalance arm for adding weights. is it possible to add a very long extension?

It'll go well alongside the London Bridge in my unique items collection. Can't wait to collect it.

I'm not sure what the delivery driver was up to but seen him yeet this from their van on my door bell camera. Looks like he kicked it into low earth orbit! Be amazed if this didn't need some repairs to get it working properly as that would have certainly put the mirror out of alignment. Just hoping it makes it back in one piece!

Quite an upgrade from my 6-inch to a 95-inch scope. Unfortunately, doesn't fill in my car well so I can't take it when traveling. Came with some aberration in the primary mirror, and manufacturers still haven't got back to me about a replacement.

I'll need to upgrade my tripod, but "double bubble Hubble" is the way to go!

Couldn't be more pleased with this purchase.

The bottle of lens cleaner was measured in gallons rather than fluid ounces. That gives some indication of the size of this eyepiece.

Eye relief is a few hundred miles. That's more than comfortable.

Highly recommended!

This must have been the first version that suffered from aberations. Since the shuttle program is shut down, I cant have anyone service it. Would not reccomend.

As the title says. I hear it's a great instrument, and I understand product shortages, but 33 years is 33 years ...

I bought it to watch the birds in the garden but find my binoculars easier give better results and are a lot easier to set up. However, on the plus side a woodpecker is now nesting in it.

Naturally it was cloudy upon arrival so couldn't use it straight away. Good job too as it didn't come with tube rings. I had to weld some up as the skywatcher ones aren't suitable. I was surprised to see it arrive via airmail, it'll need collimating as mirrors moved slightly after impact in my garden.

Was a bit big for the az-gti but seemed fine on an HEQ5 pro. This, like most Ritchey Chretien scopes, appears to be a rebranded GSO.

No information as to location with 'Buyer Collects'. As I don't have a space motorcycle - and suspecting where this kit is just hanging about - perhaps the sellers would confirm rights under the Consumer Rights Act? I don't want to damage my bike with stray space debris. Could this be converted to a submarine?

Its the 'Buyer Collects' that put me off .....

Do you sell the Canon EOS T-connector for this?

When FLO starts selling the James Webb scope, buy that one instead, the Improved optics will make it worth the wait. Galaxy season is approaching!

When I first received this scope, from the factory there were some aberration issues with the mirror, for a short while I was able to coupe with the blurry images by correcting them in the post, but FLO were quick to resolve the issue and sent a crack team of their finest staff out to my Hubble telescope, mend the issue regarding the mirror and now the pictures are clear as day (or night).

For a twenty plus year old design, this scope is certainly up there with the other titans such as the Celestron C11, it's also phenomenal for visual astronomy.

Received this expecting amazing views as per the (big) box picture illustrations in which it came. However when I inserted my wide view 150mm eyepiece I realised things were not as described.
Upon further inspection I found a cheap 200 million dollar corrector lens used to allegedly improve the visual results. Avoid!

Has the power to open doorways to other dimensions, had to deduct a star as it needs a pretty robust mount.

There is a new model about to be released so save your money.

Chinese rubbish... stay away.

I am seriously considering this as a first telescope so buying second hand might save me a bit of money. On the other hand, their are probably some cheapo Chinese copies to be had on eBay

Had my eye on this for a while now and I finally took the plunge. Great optics but I just can’t keep up with the batteries any longer. Had to remortgage my house and have decided to put it up for sale on Shpock

Would have ordered but can't locate a version of ASCOM that will run on windows 3.0

I'm new to astrophotography.
"Invest your money in a good beginner mount" they say. So I bought a HEQ5 and was looking for a cheap telescope to start with.
There was no shipping, it just said "pick it from the orbit". I've done just that and finally in my backyard, I found out that there is no Vixen style adapter for this scope. Also FLO wasn't supportive. They told me lies like "too heavy for your mount" or "only works well in zero gravity".
I should have spent more money in a telescope from a major brand.
Don't trust this tinkerer company called "NASA" (never heard of them before).

Not what i expected since I was looking for something bigger .

Purchased this a while ago now...had trouble at first with the focuser but got used to it after a bit of practice
I've had a lot of problems recently (computer wise) so thinking about getting a newer model...Is FLO getting the James Webb in soon?

From what I have read, this model is pretty good. Alas, no returns policy.
Might wait for the new version before I commit

No idea how the broken onboard PC can be replaced. USB tethering to my laptop probably impractical. These RC designs are not easy to collimate either. I'd still give it 5 stars if it was working and came with a maintenance contract. Nebulas often seem to come out in funny colours that bear no relation to reality though. I'd need to sort that out. There is no green in space.

Does not even come with a cheap eyepiece. Very disappointing when considering the asking price.

This telescope is an excellent bit of engineering. It is a little old, but it does the job. The setup of this scope is far from easy, as is the initial assembly (had to order a new mirror as the first one supplied was blurry). Other than that excellent scope! Expect YEARS of localised torrential rain and thick cloud once you buy this though...

Get this and we’ll never have clear sky’s again !! 😄

FLO were brilliant but I couldn’t get any dew straps to fit. Will have to return it

I bought this for some solar viewing, couldn’t find where to put the celestron starter eyepieces and some how managed reflect the sun on mine and the neighbouring 6 houses which caused some major charing! Please handle with care!

I am hopping mad. For the money I paid I expected to get research grade optics, but this is completely unusable for astronomical purposes. There should never be an RCT made with such a poor optical figure. The weird thing was the previous owner had lots and lots of excellent astrophotos he claimed to have with this scope, but as soon as I fit a custom 4" visual back and put in the 105mm Super Plossl I knew that was a frabrication. I went up to 2400x and the star test was a mess. Well, I did some digging, and it turns out that instead of fixing the figure of the mirror and recoating it, the previous owners refigured the lens and mirror surfaces on their cameras and sensors to correct for the spherical aberration. Well dag nabbit I'm not an ATMer, I have no idea how to build a corrector lens for my visual back. If anyone wants to take it as a project scope be my guest.

1.7/5 Stars. Excellent colorful views of the Orion Nebula, but hopelessly blurry.

Do not buy this ! Cannot be handled.

You cannot collimate this with a Cheshire or a Howie Glattor collimator. It's too bulky and due to be discontinued.

Turns out I can't use this for visual astronomy, some gubbins about focal lengths and ratios and suchlike. Was going to use it for bird watching in daylight, but it's not exactly portable is it? Also a few bits melted on delivery, sure Bob's Knobs must do replacements.
Very disappointed anyone wants it pre pre owned it's going on Astronomy Buy and Sell and ebay tomorrow!

I'm sure it's good, but I live in Britain so I can't see the point.

Unfortunately the telescope was broken when first used but has since been fixed and got some nice pictures

Are instructions in Welsh available.

Does this have an ASCOM driver?

No doubt the optics in the main OTA are top quality, but these are rendered useless by the lack of suitable mounting points for my Orion SSAG. The only points on the scope with suitable screwpoints to mount the dovetail suffer from obstructed views, caused either by the solar panels or the covers at the front of the OTA. I have therefore been unable to guide with any precision. The only solution I can think of is to get the drill out and make my own mounting points. Either that or try an OAG. Disappointed. Any reasonable offers to purchase welcome, even if just to take it away for spare parts. Offer includes a free Orion SSAG - never used.

Ordered in 1985. Expected delivery still 5 - 10 working days 😏 Not a criticism of FLO who appear to be the most realistic 😀

Ordered one - but it burned up on re-entry.

Come on parcel force - up your game a little.

Hopefully Covid-19 won't affect the delivery time of 2 of these bad boys. I've moved a few shrubs from the patio area so there should now be enough room. If optics remain undamaged during transit and I manage to mount them both on a SkyTee-2 I'll give a longer review of the set-up … fingers crossed for a 5 star performance

Very interested in purchasing the hubble telescope. as soon as i can find a fork mount big enough i'm sure i will be in business. Just need to ask a few neighbours to move out so i can demolish their houses to make space, and chop down a local wooded area and i'm sure i will be ready to go.

I read lots of good reviews on Cloudy Nights so thought I would give this a try. It's not bad for a thirty year old product and they seem to have sorted the optics. However, my laptop crashes every time I run the 'deep field' function and I just don't have all night to wait for the admittedly very accurate GOTO. I prefer freezing in a field at 3am with my Norton's Star Atlas so it's going to have to be a 'no' from me for the Hubble Telescope Company

So this arrived in the post in a Space Shuttle, with a load of bubblewrap. It produced fuzzy images at first but FLO tech support did a great job and I was surprised that a team of 7 turned up in a Space Shuttle to fix it. Seemed excessive but there was no charge... Its produced some pretty good images, although the instructions are a little complex for a beginner. I quite like the auto-track gizmo which seems to use some sort of whirlygig to keep it really steady. Eyepieces are not supplied, which was stingy given the price tag, although the TDRS data package was thrown in. A service team turned up in yet another Space Shuttle and changed a couple of bits, although they broke a handle off when they did it FLO hsve been really good and offered me a small compensation package, and the handle makes no difference...

Overall recommended, but haggle for those eyepieces folks.

poor quality....
wait for the James Webb Space Telescope.
but if you insist buying it take the updated one...

The courier I used to collect from FLO stated he/she/it posted my parcel through the letterbox, but I somehow doubt that. The sofa on the stairs prevents the letterbox from opening. I tried contacting the courier company for a claims form but I get a recorded message to 'go stick my head in a pig'. FLO have sent out a new batch of bubble-wrap and polystyrene packing chips for me to jump up and down on but sorry, it does NOT help.

I require 2 of the above mention telescopes, but sadly only one in stock …...

Sadly returned. was nowhere near meeting my expectations. Firstly, the packaging was excessive in the extreme. Secondly, there was no supplied Dovetail, and I'm not convinced my tripod could have coped anyway. Lastly, and most annoyingly, my new desiccant cap bought specifically didn't fit anywhere at all.
The manual was hugely impressive however.

Was very annoyed to discover that there was no where to put my eyepiece - future buyers please note, this is NOT a visual scope! Thanks FLO for their speedy response in swapping for a much more useful Heritage 130P.

Firstly can I say it has potential.

On arrival I discovered three immediate problems; a complete lack of oxygen; sub zero temperatures (though I did bring a dew shield); and no diagonal that accepted 2 inch eyepieces.

The lack of any sort of flooring was soon overcome with a tether and a willingness to view upside down rather than rotate the scope within its tube rings. This was slightly hampered by my corneas glazing over. As for a tripod, it would appear the previous owner had completely omitted this from the sale particulars so I guess ‘bought as advertised’ kicked in.

As for the plus points;

Polar alignment wasn’t an issue.
Celestron hadn’t any involvement with auto star align.
PEC wa basically zero.
The wife turning on the house lights couldn’t be seen from my current altitude.

Overall this has great potential. I just need a lift back home now.

The ground support at this time is very poor due to pending contract disputes of a vertical barrier nature

When I first got it, I immediately tried to image a galaxy, but I was greeted with blurry images and concluded it was from spherical aberration. Really?? at this price, i cannot accept a stupid amateur mistake. Did you not do a simple focus test? Surely you had a lot of time to check it before shipping it. I gave it 3 stars because the included the tracking system and spectrogram was pretty neat. I am looking forward to your James Webb telescope (been waiting for a long time to image the first galaxy of our universe)

Has some serious issues with obtaining sharp focus so needed to return for repair. As it happened the manufacturer sent a team out to repair on site so now very happy.
If it had not been for this issue would have given it 5 stars.
Now had this some years and wanting to upgrade but not sure what I can upgrade to.

PHD, Backyard Nikon, Cartes Du Ciel or any of the software we have come to rely on in our search of the extra-ordinary. No drivers I can find anywhere, and I even had a look on Astronomics. So can't recommend.

My wife tells me where I left most things when I loose them but on this she is no help.
It never seems to be where I last found the damn thing.
You would think that such a big scope would be easy to find.
I think SWMBO keeps moving it.
Can I return it and exchange it for some binoculars and one of those tags that beeps when you whistle.
Yours
Al. T. Zeimer (Mr)

I really awaited this scopes arrival. I wanted amazing views of the cosmos and this scope did not hesitate to please. The only issue I really found is its not good for visual use. While the scope is optimized for imaging and it works well there, for visual it's a problem. No one seems to carry the 353 mile long ladder to reach the eyepiece or a 353 mile long extender for the focussor . They really need to include these as part of the kit.

I phoned up and said it would cost $4.7 Billion a bit over budget but my wife said no So I had two problems That I was a bit short on cash and then my wife would not let me get it, So the solution was to sell her to some Mexican dude so it was a win win I got the telescope and got rid of my wife. But then another issue occurred since I had to sell my house so I cannot store it but on the bright side I could stare at other galaxies looking for a new home 10/10 Would sell wife again

Very funny, thanks. Cheered me up no end in the midst of all the terrible weather we have had in York. Best wishes. Keep up the good work.

When this first arrived, I thought it was too good to be true, but I perservered with it since it was a canny owld bargain. Anyway, it's a bit small what with it only being 2.4 meters and all that. You can get whales bigger than that, can't you? So I was a bit circumspect on the size, though it does fit in my kitchen and that's the main thing.

The portability is tricky and I had to improvise with a shopping trolley I borrowed from Tesco and one of them forklifts from Black & Decker. Those two things coupled with borrowing my dad's tool kit made assembling a wheeled cart quite an exhilerating experience. I can't speak to how it's all going to fit into my dad's Fiesta as we haven't tried it yet, but I'm sure it won't be much of an issue. I mean, a couple of bungee cords and carabinas would make transporting this a doddle, surely.

The view on it was quite disappointing, though. I was expecting to at least see something of Jupiter, and even Saturn at a push, but all I saw were pink clouds that were the cause of some arguing over what they looked like. I swear I saw one that looked like the head of a horse, but my dad said he saw a rabbit. It was a bit of a head scratcher to say the least.

It is a good telescope by all accounts, though I don't know why it's wrapped in BacoFoil when clingfilm might have been a better choice. Still, it does need to a bit of DIY here and there, so it might be an idea to shop around a bit more and see if you can't find something better.

Obviously grey import as all instructions in Chinese. No lens cap or batteries in box

First off, please don't be put off by the negative reviews on this scope. Collimation issues in the first batch have been sorted and now it works rather nicely.
I bought this scope as a present for myself at Christmas as the wife said we needed money to eat and live rather than taking snaps of the stars. FLO do a rather nice finance deal if you ask nicely enough (Cheers guys!)
Faced with the option of an EQ2 mount fitment or an LEO mount I chose the LEO and my God, I was certainly not disappointed - It was totally worth the extra cost of delivery - the resulting images have been nothing sort of extraordinary. It was a bit of a fiddle with the reaction wheel controls (it's a little counter-intuitive) but once I found Polaris and found the sidereal tracking button located on the side of the telescope I was more than happy with my images of the Orion nebula. I managed nearly 15 mins of exposure which is a big improvement on what I was using before.

I suppose I should add some cons by way of counter balance...

I struggle to find the right size of Bhatinov mask which was a little disappointing - surely FLO, if you sell the scope you should have a mask to fit.

There was no adaptor to fit my canon 60d. (The CCD already fitted in the scope is more than up to the job regardless, but still nice to have the option).

Expect some whinging from universities and NASA and other space based institutions about want to play with it (I suppose I could rent out some time to recuperate some costs, but I don't need all that hassle).

Overall I was more than happy with my purchase, I would totally recommend the LEO mount as it virtually guarantees clear skies, (except for the time that Jupiter crossed my line of sight).

Don't be shy of the cost - buy it and chuckle to yourself while everyone else whinges about clouds!

Regards,

Mike.

..still relatively happy with my purchase. However I have now moved to Australia and although the HST still performs, all of the images are unfortunately coming out upside down. I can't find Polaris to align it properly either.

Don't buy this scope , money better spent in a good refractor

The little flip out video screen on the back was broken, sent it back and FLO gave a full refund (they even reimbursed the cost of the rocket fuel DHL used.

But if you like tinkering with second hand broken gadgets this is for you.

I bought this as an upgrade to my 90mm refractor in the hope of getting some decent planetary views and the occasional DSO. Overall I am very happy with the views I received from this scope.

On the down side I couldn't find anywhere suitable to mount my Telrad. I tried the riser bases but just didn't work so I had to return these.

Also, by the time I had flown up there and actually found it to have an observing session and returned I had missed a whole week at work and the wife wasn't happy about having to pick me up from Cape Canaveral. Not to mention the catastrophically ruinous cost. I had hoped this would fit across the back seat of my Fiat 500, but it turns out I needed a specialist truck and police escort if I wanted to take it anywhere on land.

Overall I give this 4 stars, it would have been 5 but for the above impracticalities. My advice would be to spend a little bit more money and go for a set of televue eyepieces for your current scope.

This is a piece of rubbish and covered in cheap cooking foil. I don't think NASA thought about firmware updates either. I tried to attach my Celestron StarSense and Neximage to it but the firmware manager stated that it couldn't recognise Hubble as not in database!! As for collimation, don't even go there. The delivery date promise was way out as well.
FLO is usually brilliant and efficient but I think they bit off more than they could chew with this one.

Why haven't I gotten an update on the expected delivery date of this scope ?

I overheard the neighbours complaining that the whole street was closed all day having this installed on the roof. But I was later branded a hero as the 18 wheeler 108 ton crane had flattened 7 sets of speed humps. Roof mounting was a challenge even more so when the local firearms dept were mistakingly called out on 4 occasions thinking we had acquired a new type of supergun. I was looking forward to a relaxing Christmas but woke up on the day to one heck of a racket - crying kids, annoyed parents and a red costumed rotund chap stuck half way down my telescope. It was Easter before they managed to get him out !

I was looking for a good quality finder for my Celestron C5. This I believe is the best of the bunch. Mounting was tricky as it doesn't come with the standard dovetail fitting. No problem, just gaffer taped it on and it holds nicely.
Only thing I can really fault it on is that it's a bit of a dew magnet, and Astrozap don't make a shield for it!

fantastic item, cannot find it anywhere else. is it possible also to order 'clear sky' with this product? It is also a pretty rare item, not much available from any retailer. if FLO can offer that, no doubt, they are best dealer in the world!

Collimation was out (something to do with re-entry), vey hard to re collimate, when I finally sorted it a pigeon had made its nest in it so I had to call pest control. Stick to a dob, easier to work with. Couldn't see any dark matter 😁

I appreciate that HST had issues when 'launched' as a new product, but the supplier support was good once the problem was defined. I am rather worried about all the opposition to HST2, though, especially in the area between London and the Midlands.

Can FLO also provide a space shuttle for transport back and forth ???

A great product. I had a bit of trouble with its mount, but I managed to find some sky hooks on Amazon which made the whole thing pretty much hassle free.

Can anyone tell me where to get a 1.25" eyepiece adapter ?

Heavy difficult to use in the field, no standard 1.25 fittings which means you have to spend more on adapters, avoid.

no finderscope, no manual provided, NASA support inexistant, no T adapter (had to drill a hole myself).
I had to ship it back to space (Very bad return policy from FL0, no help with launcher fee).
Make yourself a favor and buy the VLT from Chili instead.

Can you do a deal on a Space Shuttle to help with maintenance?

I`d rather have a nice compact refractor. The Yerkes 40" should do it.

They have to put it on clearance to make room for the James Web.

Some of the best views of Saturn I've seen with an amateur-level scope. Hardly any noticeable CA. Casini division spot-on.

Not a bad starter scope but to be honest I'm considering putting mine on eBay as the cost of getting up to change the batteries is astronomical!!!

With all the bad weather we have had lately, it makes sense to choose this model as you can control it from the comfort of your home...

Finally got my order. But it came with the flawed mirror? Is there an option for a corrector or would it be possible to get the Kodak mirror from the Smithsonian as replacement?

Didn't know you could still get these. Dont know what they're like now, but I bought one of these when they first came out and it was rubbish. Had severe collimation issues, plus I'm suspicious of any company who tries to produce a telescope with a built-in CCD camera. Seems too convienient to me and from my experience in the telescope world, when something seems too good to be true thats because it is. It didn't surprise me that it produced such shockingly bad out of focus pictures. Sent it back and ordered a mak 90 instead. Seemed a much more intelligent choice at the time. Haven't looked back since. My next telescope is a lovell but I heard you need to temper your expectations with a radio telescope as they're supposedly not good for planetary detail and they won't accept stacked barlows.

Was looking at the celestron range for a beginners scopes and decided to go for this instead. Currently looking for a T-adapter on EBay for it.

Misplaced my ladder which I used to reach its eyepiece. Unusable since... Ladder was the largest structure on the planet, don't know where I placed it in my garage!!!

Ordered this for our school science project, head teacher has since complained about it stretching the science department budget and blocking up the school hall. We may have to supplement the deficit with a tombola. I feel this unfortunate situation could have been avoided if accurate dimensions were correctly stated in your ad and perhaps state your prices in Dollars or Euros but not both. Pictures were marginally better than my Nokia 3220 phone. Power consumption was somewhat more than I thought; the 8 AAA cells only lasted a few hours despite the solar array back-up. Might need to purchase some 1800 mah rechargeables but I hear it doesn't work so well on 1.2v cells? I found the limited choice of colours very disappointing; how about a nice 'Celestron orange'? Next time can you please enclose a few more polystyrene packing peanuts as it was definitely rattling about in the box when it arrived; heaven only knows what mess that may have done to the optics.... finally, please use a different courier; UPS put a few 'dings' on it, they blamed meteors; HAH! Overall I think it'll probably end up in the cupboard along with the 30mm refractor bought from BHS.

Item didn't arrive (carrier says "we've mislaid it" - awaiting refund

Nice bit of kit, works fine, pictures to follow!

Not really a review for this product – I’m sorry – but I felt that I had to say something to other potential purchasers. Thinking what I believed to be a rather clever and yet extremely attractive twist on the traditional Christmas tree topper – Angel or star etc. - for the keen astronomer, I was devastated to discover that this was the actual satellite Rubble Telescope thing that floats in space.
Is this a joke; High altitude? My cousin’s tree is only 5ft. I won’t be looking any further on this site for Christmas gift ideas and my relative will be quietly ignoring the top of his tree this year, once again. I cannot recommend.

It al started off well with this scope. But running costs are high. Also collimation is a tad difficult. I keep needing a shuttle launch every time at a cost of $2billion a time and that kind of money does not grow on trees and it makes the hobby expensive. I am also struggling to find a way to get my Baader 1.25 filters to fit. Anyone know of a workaround please?

....I ordered this because Bob at my local club has always had the biggest scope and I thought no way can he top this. All excited I unwrapped this mighty beast wanting to boast massively and at first the required irritated face of Bob appeared as expected. However, rather smug he asked where the mount was. Er, good question so I said it was arriving separately - still some where in a NASA building but we could perch it on the car for tonight which we then did. We adjusted slightly to get Andromeda in view and duly focused it. Sadly, the collimation was out and we couldn't get focus. I spoke to First Light and they said that it would cost about $4billion to fix and through their excellent service agreed to take it back for a full refund. Alas, Bob had the last laugh. I heard the newer ones are a little better and more reliable but royal mail changed their rules and now no longer ship it through normal post. So I will stick to a more modest scope.

I've been looking for a decent portable scope forever, so when I saw this product and the seller told me that it's "effectively weightless", I immediately ordered one along with an iOptron SmartEQ.

I immediately knew something was wrong when the scope finally arrived, since it was almost 44' long and weighed 24,500 lbs! I tried mounting it on the SmartEQ anyway, but it stripped the mount's gears (even though I adjusted those shiny blue counterweights it comes with).

But things got even worse when I tried to return it. THERE IS NO RETURN POLICYY FOR THIS SCOPE! Now I'm stuck with an aluminum foil school bus in my backyard, the wife hates it, and tech support says that I'll need to book tickets on the next outbound space shuttle to get the thing to work. IT SAYS "MADE IN THE USA", SO WHY ARE THEY OUTSOURCING???

Verdict: STAY FAR AWAY FROM THIS PRODUCT!

Dear firstlightoptics team, could you plase advise a relatively strudy tripod and mount to accomodate for this nice scope. This is the only point that prevents me from purchasing it from you.

Great scope! Slight problem though; I have not had clearance for an orbital space yet. So the scope is sitting outside my house at the moment. The local raggamuffins have taken to climbing all over it. Such a shame as I think it has huge potential. Willing to trade. Will deliver.

Sorry to moan but the low rating is due to the following
1. Bob's Knobs don't stock big enough collimation screws
2. Only comes in silver
3. My 4 channel dew strip heater and hairdryer just aren't enough
4. Can't locate where I screw in the eyepiece.
5. Speaking of which does anyone do an eyepiece set for this?

Was going to buy this but wife pointed out that I didn't have a long enough USB cable and Bluetooth won't connect either. Never mind, one day!!!

If I remove the optics etc. Could I convert it to a small hotel ?

The good points:
- excellent image quality from onboard cameras
- excellent resolution and detail
- can be operated remotely
- does not require an expesive mount
- excellent for scientific research, universities and schools
- not affected by atmospheric effects
- does not require garden, shed or attic space

The downsides:
- very expensive
- requires an expensive antena to operate remotely
- not suitable for visual astronomy
- no technical support
- long delivery times
- not supported by most planetarium programs including Stellarium, Cartes du Ciel or Starry Night, although Google are rumoured to be working on integration with Google Sky and Street View
WARNING: Under no circumstances should this be pointed at the sun. Damage to the mirror, optics, cameras, external panels and the earths surface may result. There is a risk of starting forrest fires and blowing up oil refineries.

This was on my wish list for Father's day but apparently it can't be delivered because the trucks that were capable of carrying it have been taken out of service and put in museums.

It can operated remotely using a satellite dish, but after getting into all sorts of trouble with the fire service while trying to use ours I found out that it was too small anyway. I then tried to use a really big dish locally but the men with the dogs and guns said something about trespassing on MOD property was naughty and didn't seem to believe my story about stargazing. When I get out in about 10 years I may look at the new Web telescope, but I must admit the whole experience has put me off a bit.

B2344569 - HMP Parkhurst

I purchased this monster of a scope and I must say it is much larger in reality as compared to the picture.
This scope is sooooooo heavy that I couldn't purchase a mount for it. Hence I decided to mount it on the "London Bridge",but due to the OTAs enormous weight the bridge fell down and the OTA is broken.
Now all I have with me is my empty wallet. Donations are welcome

Conclusion: The nursery rhyme "London Bridge is Falling Down" was the result of me mounting the hubble space telescope on it. LOL

Be warned this scope is much bigger than it looks in the pictures.This OTA is not compatable with my garden shed and I shall therefor return it to outerspace where I hope to get a full refund and appology. Yours Disgruntled Mudy

I was thinking of getting a binoviewer for my scope then I changed my mind and thought I'd save up for two of these, connect them together and by using a red and green filter would be able to have perfect 3D views of the cosmos. Just my luck there was only one left in stock, during delivery it trashed the postmans bicycle and sustained slight damage to the optics so a minor re collimation is needed. Does anyone have Story Musgrave's phone number as I reckon he may be the best person to fix it before I attemp to fit it onto my NEQ6 but I think I may be better to wait for the EQ8 pro to arrive and does anyone know where I can get a dovetail that will fit as FLO don't seem to list one for this model? I was thinking of modifying the gazebo to make a dew shield as the one from my LX200 wont quite fit.

Despite all its faults I had saved up and started to ring in an order . My Mrs walked in and asked who I was talking to and made me hang up with "There's no way that thing's going in MY living room. (Hence low star rating). Mr Wince Redcheek

I agree with Stephen. OTA only. No accessories come with this scope. No mount, no 10mm and 25mm EP no 2x Barlow not even a finder scope. Got to find a goto mount now and a power tank I hope a 7Ah will be enough as I'm now skint buying this Scope. It was an awful lot of money for some tin foil and a cat flap.

I just wanted something portable, problem was that I misread the dimensions of the mirror in cms. I suspected there was a small issue when the shipper emailed to tell me that they didn't have a trailer large enough to ship which I thought a bit odd. However, FLO had another option and I chose FLO's 're entry' delivery which went fairly well - well almost. I was scrathing my head somewhat confused when they suggested that the airspace over Glasgow be cleared but I went along with this. I was given a delivery time and informed that the delivery would drop in. It dropped in all right, problem was the delivery went next door and the delivery man made a terrible mess. Thankfully, I was given a 30 day warranty so it will be going back. I also ordered a tripod- anyone seen the Blackpool Tower ?

despite the cost of picking up the scope myself (hire or space shuttle, fuel and astronauts), it was still cheaper than getting a small scope delivered by Australia post locally, it was also quicker.

Buyers beware this is a mighty beast, I decided to buy it for my two youngest children to stop them wanting to use my existing scopes. After (finally) getting it out of the box and up on top of the mount I had crafted from reclaimed seconds from the original Humber Bridge pillars, to my dissmay the kids were playing with the box and showed total disregard to the scope - therefore as a choice for children choose the box and leave the scope to others. P.S my back is currently rather painful as the Hubble slipped whilst I was attempted to polar align it. FLO this has not been your finest hour!!

I took delivery of this as my first scope this afternoon.
Firstly I had trouble getting it through my front door so I had to take it around the side of my house instead (Goodness me what a farce), finally I managed to (with difficulty I hasten to add) lumber it into my back patio terrace garden. The very first thing after this horrible palaver was it dawned on me that the pictures on the website are very deceiving as this scope is pretty large and its quite heavy too. Once I had it balanced diagonally against the wall (I am taking delivery of the mount tomorrow) I waited half hour in order to allow the scope to cool down in order to prepare for a viewing session. I have issues with understanding any aspect of its functioning especially in the dark so I went inside (again) to retrieve my nail varnish dipped LED pocket torch. Whilst inside the house I went back out the front and took a walk around the inside of the cardboard box it came in to try and find the instruction manual.......Nothing! I am pretty miffed at this scope and the lack of information on setting it up. This hobby has not started well for me and I am already thinking of quitting and putting it up for an online auction.

Be warned this scope is difficult to collimate, suffers from battery issues and needs a very heavy duty mount and not really any good as a portable setup.

Can you supply a network and USB cable, do you have windows 8 drivers and software and I cant seem to get it to work with an Iphone or Android phone on a wireless network hence the need for a cable.
Otherwise its a nice bit of kit but a little hard to carry requiring a very large rocket each time to place in orbit.

I was disappointed to find that it was not fitted with a goto mount and software, nor indeed a mount that fits any tripod. Although I followed the suggestion to use at high altitude, and my team of engineers managed rig up a suitable mount on top of Snaefell, the tallest mountain in the Isle of Man (getting it up there was no joke), I find the quality of pictures especially at low azimuth far inferior to the example images used in its advertising. The manufacturer's use of Photoshop is so blatant, they almost give the impression that they had been taken from somewhere with no atmosphere at all!

And now I've been told to remove it because the planning authorities seem to regard it as a permanent fixture and its not an area zoned for monstrous structures.

I'll be sending it back for a full refund - I take it that all I have to do to get back the £1m purchase price is to provide proof of posting of a large box marked 'Hubble Telescope'?

Actually takes quite good pictures when you get the collimation right, but I've noticed a few rust spots appearing on the main mirror. I'm told the previous owner used it in dryer conditions where the air is a bit thinner.
Any chance of a quick turnaround on the mirror resurfacing service? If you could do it next day or by the weekend that would be fine.

The scope required power to open the shutter but i just removed it and the solar panels came in handy for my roof.
It pulled my EQ3 mount over so a sturdier mount is my next purchase and also a red dot finder.
No DSLR adapter though and some of the parts are made from baking foil

Wanted to get this for a good view of Mercury but the optics are apparently too delicate to point anywhere near the Sun. Typical!

Might wait for the Webb Space Telescope to become commercially available. Looks like a steal at around 8 billion dollars.

I don't think this sort of thing will ever be any good. I still think an unobstructed APO refractor will beat it every time.

Not sure what others have received but I bought one of these for myself for Xmas. Other people have posted about the size of it being huge however the one I received is not huge!!! The picture depicts its ACTUAL SIZE!!! Not good value for money.

1) Unlike the usual FLO reliability and speed of postal service I was forced to wait for a 'delivery window' which I took to mean getting through.the Christmas post but FLO and NASA seemed to think it meant something very different!

2) Arrived with scorch marks, in multiple pieces and was very flat - I was not told it would be flat pack self assembly. Advanced degrees (plural) needed to decipher assembly instructions.

3) Could not set it up in the 'recommended' location and have had to improvise using a different mount.

4) Does not seem to fit well on my Nexstar 102SLT GOTO mount and it may be having issues with weight or the motor dying or the battery supply (please can FLO advise?).

I was so excited when I had this delivered but having made some DIY rings and dovetail as I couldnt find any that fit anywhere, I placed it onto my EQ3-2 mount with the assistance of a bunch of mates but to my dismay the mounts goto functions were very slow at best. It couldnt stay on a target, I suspect this was due to the weight. Also the main mirror was 2.2 micrometers out which caused any sort of astrophotography of even the bigger objects extremely difficult. STAY AWAY!!!

Doesn't keep collimation and TBH it looks silly in my garden. My neighbours don't even talk to me anymore and I'm sure its going to result in me not even getting a Christmas card this year.

Like the Meade LX series, this scope has been regularly upgraded over the years and remains a pretty good performer.
However, support for this model has now been discontinued, so prices of used versions are bound to fall (out of the sky).
During a recent break in the appaling weather I got some pretty good 42.7 hour subs, but they did have some rectangular unexposed areas. The hinged cover is handy for darks.
It comes with a couple of satellite dishes, but they don't seem to work on Sky or FreeSat.
Unlike Meade there's no UK agents, you have to send it to ESA in Munich, they are reputable.

Not so much a review as a query. I notice from the picture that there are what look like photo electric panels of some kind. (great idea) - because of this and lack of any obvious manual slomo controls - I Assume it is a gull GOTO.
Also given the lack of any background reference - its hard to get an idea of size (assuming typo on 2.4m primary - oops). Would I need any kind of special viewing chair. I love the idea of the hinging lens cap - great idea - that really sells it for me - I'm always mislaying mine.

I got this scope for my sons 9th birthday for his first scope. The manual is very hard to follow, you need to be a NASA scientist to understand it. We have not been able to use this scope so would not recommend to anyone starting out in astronomy. This is more for the intermediate / experienced . I have now got him a 4 inch skywatcher startravel, and he loves it.

It was an impulse purchase, but I thought "What the hell, it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing". Sorry I bought it now. Wouldn't buy another. Needs a very tall ladder to reach the eyepiece. But I'm not good with heights, so sold mine on eBay ... got 93 million dollars, plus postage. Did use an awful lot of bubble wrap, though. Broke the scales at the Post Office ... lady behind the counter was furious. Mr. Singh has banned me. Had to use a courier instead. Van was a bit overloaded. Gave the driver a drink, and he was okay about it. Parcel got lost somewhere between Slough and Watford ... don't understand how that could happen, as Watford's only down the road. Took a few calls and emails to sort out. Did get a positive feedback from the buyer, though ... handy. Would like a grab-n-go outfit next. Any suggestions (apart from getting a life)?

Gutted that it's not mounted and that it doesn't include a finder or eyepieces. A bit shoddy, FLO!

Can I use a Telrad with this? Also what eyepieces do you recommend?

Please can someone tell me how easy it is to fit altitude trunnions to it so I can put it in a Dob mount.

This scope is fine if left outside. It dopes not mind the cold, or the cosmic radiation!

Found it difficult to get any guidescope rings to fit

Excellent optics - make sure you get the up-graded model as the original was difficult to collimate. Eyepiece position is a little high for me. Always very cold when observing with this scope and would recommend a very sturdy coat. I got mine second hand from a guy called Felix.

doesnt even come with a finder scope-disgraceful

Had one of these a few years ago, and after several trips to correct its faulty optics, decided to return it and not to reorder...

Could someone tell me if I should get one of these or go for a refractor?

I would love this scope, but am a bit worried my Hotech laser would not be suitable for collimation, and I don't really want to splash out on a new collimatior. Any ideas?

i'm waiting for the new version called "james web" coma free !!

Very dated optical system, motherboard flash upgrades no longer supported, and return to base warrenty no longer honoured. Save your cash for the superior James Webb version, due for release next year (just in time for the second batch of AZ EQ6-GT)!

Unlike most telescopes used for deep sky astro-imaging, this telescope does not require an equatorial mount. This means that the dreaded polar alignment that vexes many imagers is not required. In fact, because of the telescope's unusually low apparent weight, no mount is required at all which dramatically reduces the total cost of the system. Other benefits include zero set-up time as it can be left outside almost indefinitely, there is no cool-down time required and it cannot dew up.

I hadn't bargained on the quantity of flock material I would need luckily I know a carpet fitter and he used some offcuts of carpet, not ideal but it has improved the contrast, although I not happy with the colour....it will show the dirt.

Buzz Gary.

I was disappointed to find that this scope is not supported under ASCOM and Is incompatible with my Windows 3.0 machine even though they were manufactured in the same year. The 'customer support' at NASA's call centre were less than helpful.
Avoid.

Can you tell me what the service costs are likely to be, due to its age it must be due a major service, would my 180 pro be suitable as a finder scope on this?

When you choose an object from the goto handset - it has a tendency to drift off into space in the direction of the object.

I have used this telescope to observe Jupiter and Saturn. I found the AZ3 mount provided absolutely inadequate to the purpose. Also, the large aperture of this instrument makes it too sensitive to atmospheric turbulence. I prefer the views through my little 4'' apochromatic refractor.

First delivery had strangely figured primary but quickly fixed by a couple of despatched astronauts. Beware, this is a heavy scope and takes a few people to get outside and up high enough. Great images when properly cooled near to absolute zero. Needs more than an EQ5 for best results.