Posts Made By: Ken Ng

I recently purchased a used TV102. As funds are really tight, I've been selling off stuff to finance one premium eyepiece.
Can someone recommend where I should start? I'm thinking
of a Nagler or Panoptic. Right now, I view mainly moon and planets, but will get into DSO soon. I currently have Plossls in the
9.7mm to 32mm range and a 2x barlow. I figure I may sell a few Plossls to fund a TV eyepiece. I just joined a local astronomy club, but haven't had time to go out with them viewing. What is a good focal length/eyepiece type to start? Thanks.

I have an Orion ST80. I was wondering if there would be
any advantage of getting a 11x80 or 15x80 pair of Binoculars to learn star-hopping and the night sky.
I just ordered the Sky Atlas 2000 Field Version to help learn the sky.
I was looking into Orion binoculars. Or should I look into 7x50 binoculars?
Thanks for your advice.

Please advise, as I am getting very nervous.

Story: I shipped a scope via UPS (mistake) ground shipping from New York to Alabama. I explained to the clerk that this was a telescope packed in the original box and placed in another box with styrofoam peanuts. He shook the box to see if there was any movement, and said the packing was fine. I insured it for full value.
So off the scope goes, and 5 days later, I read the tracking information on the UPS site. It said "Package damaged in transit." The recipient refused the package and it is now being sent back to me.
What do I do? UPS told me to hold on to all the packing material. However, I imagine the box to be all beat up.
I assume the shock may knock something out of alignment? If so, how do I prove to UPS that there is damage?
HELP!!! I'm getting nervous. My scope will be arriving back to me this Friday 2/24. I just have all these horrible thoughts in my head...

I am planning on going to NEAF. I hope to pick up 1 or 2 Televue blemished eyepieces at the Televue booth.
Any advice out there?
How early should I go?
Do they run out really quickly?
I just basically want a 35 Pan and a 7, 9 or 12 Nagler. Do they have a wide selection?
About how much are they discounted from retail?
Do they take checks? Credit? cash only?
Do they have a limit on number of eyepieces per person?
Thanks,
Ken

Sorry to hear of this tragic incident. I belong to the AOS astronomy club here in NY and a fellow member just told me a similar story. He had sent his Nexstar 11 back to Celestron because of motor failure. When it arrived, the front corrector plate was smashed, and the mirror was damaged from the pieces of the corrector plate. Celestron at first suggested that they "touch up" or recoat the mirror (whatever that means), but he objected and wanted everything replaced. He is filing a claim to UPS. At first UPS denied responsibility, claiming that it wasn't packed properly. However, my friend used the original boxes that the scope came in. I will post a follow-up as soon as I hear a resolution. But I can only image total frustration. Seems like everyone wants to deny responsibility, from UPS thru Celestron. I'm beginning to think maybe the Nexstar 11, because of it's size, is too fragile to ship or Celestron is not using adequate packing materials.

Thanks Dan, very calming words of wisdom. I just had to
get over the initial shock. Still, I have to wait another 3 days before I see what UPS did to my scope...sigh...