Missed Opportunities

I was thinking about the recent offer by Hardin Optical for their discontinued 6" Dob at only $99.00 plus shipping. I was kicking myself for not buying one, even though I didn't really need it, because at that price, how could you go wrong? I then thought about the old Sovietski 6" EQ Newtonian reflector that was shipped in two wooden crates for only $600 or $700; it had a reasonably well-figured parabolic mirror, sturdy mount, cabinet-quality crates, and several accessories for drop dead cheap. I kinda wish I popped for that, too, when I had the chance; it was a heckuva deal for a pretty darn good setup. What other deals are we kicking ourselves for not grabbing when the opportunities knocked on our doors?

Walter

Walter,

Let me predict one that I believe many will feel that way about in the future--the Coronado PST. I know the conventional wisdom is that technology will continue to bring the prices down, but I still have a hard time believing that anyone can produce a high quality Ha scope for $500.00. As I understand it, the etalons still require a lot of hands on assembly and the mechanical and optical tolerances are very difficult to achieve. I predict either the build quality will drop significantly or the price will slowly rise. I hope I am wrong, but time will tell. If I didn't own one, it would be top on my list of purchases to make.

Randy