The recent introduction of the Meade Lightbridge line of truss tube Dobsonians got me thinking seriously about supplementing my collection of refractors with a mid-sized, low priced reflector. The Lightbridge itself looked nice, and early reviews seem positive in terms of quality of components, smoothness of axial motions, etc. The huge minus was Meade's decision to ship the components in flimsy, single-layered cardboard boxes with a mirror cover prone to dislodging during shipping and scratching the surface of the primary. Despite recent assurances from Meade (communicated second-hand on various forums) that Meade is aware of the problem and taking steps to remedy it, folks seem to still be receiving damaged scopes. One person on the Yahoo! Lightbridge group is on their third(!) replacement which also arrived damaged. There continue to be reports of long waits on the phone for support, broken promises by Meade support personnel that replacements will have the mirrior cover taped in place, etc.
So while the inspiration came from Meade's new line, I elected instead to go with the tried-and-true Orion XT line. Today I stopped by the Orion Cupertino store and picked up the three boxes that make up a Skyquest XT12 Intelliscope. The net-net of my deliberations that landed me with a Skyquest was the spotty customer service and shipping issues suffered by Lightbridge buyers and the fact that for about the same price as a 12" Lightbridge Deluxe I obtained a 12" Skyquest with digital setting cricles included, and was able to "throw in" an Orion Oxygen III filter to boot.
But all was not rosy with my Skyquest. I arrived home, eager to build and collimate it, but during unpacking I noticed that one of the Teflon disks on the groundboard had come loose. These disks are nailed (or stapled) into the ground board with 3 metal fasteners. Two if the fasteners were embedded in the groundboard and the third was in the Teflon disk.
At 2:52pm PST I sent Orion support an e-mail advising of the issue and asking if it something I could fix myself, or if alternately it was something they needed to help with. At apprximately 4pm PST I received a call from Nate at Orion advising me that I could not repair the groundboard myself as each disk has to be absolutely even with its peers, and that they will be Fed Exing me a new gorundboard with the Teflon disks properly affixed on Monday. They do not need for me to return the defective groundboard.
As disappointing as it is to find a defect in a new item, this is as good an example of customer service as I've ever experienced in the amateur astronomy world. I am very happy with Orion's diligence in responding to and undertaking a remedy for the issue. If you're in the market for an inexpensive import Dobsonian and are spooked by the Lightbridge customer support woes as I was, I suggest you take a look at the Orion Skyquest line. They certainly stand behind their product.
So while the inspiration came from Meade's new line, I elected instead to go with the tried-and-true Orion XT line. Today I stopped by the Orion Cupertino store and picked up the three boxes that make up a Skyquest XT12 Intelliscope. The net-net of my deliberations that landed me with a Skyquest was the spotty customer service and shipping issues suffered by Lightbridge buyers and the fact that for about the same price as a 12" Lightbridge Deluxe I obtained a 12" Skyquest with digital setting cricles included, and was able to "throw in" an Orion Oxygen III filter to boot.
But all was not rosy with my Skyquest. I arrived home, eager to build and collimate it, but during unpacking I noticed that one of the Teflon disks on the groundboard had come loose. These disks are nailed (or stapled) into the ground board with 3 metal fasteners. Two if the fasteners were embedded in the groundboard and the third was in the Teflon disk.
At 2:52pm PST I sent Orion support an e-mail advising of the issue and asking if it something I could fix myself, or if alternately it was something they needed to help with. At apprximately 4pm PST I received a call from Nate at Orion advising me that I could not repair the groundboard myself as each disk has to be absolutely even with its peers, and that they will be Fed Exing me a new gorundboard with the Teflon disks properly affixed on Monday. They do not need for me to return the defective groundboard.
As disappointing as it is to find a defect in a new item, this is as good an example of customer service as I've ever experienced in the amateur astronomy world. I am very happy with Orion's diligence in responding to and undertaking a remedy for the issue. If you're in the market for an inexpensive import Dobsonian and are spooked by the Lightbridge customer support woes as I was, I suggest you take a look at the Orion Skyquest line. They certainly stand behind their product.
