Pre-Loved Equipment

[Kevin17]

Hey all,

 

i just wondered what you're general attitude and experience is of pre-owned / used equipment.

 

I am currently trying to build my first kit whilst walking the tightrope of what i need vs what i want. I dont normally go for pre-owned kit, but came across an apparent 'deal' on eBay for the mount & tripod i wanted (HEQ5 Pro with rowan belt modification) it looks as good as new, still in its original box, although has been used 2-3 times by an new-to-astrology man who couldnt get to grips with imaging so he is selling the whole kit off (what's left of it).

 

I got the mount for £850, they go for about £1200 new at the moment so i am pleased with that, so long as it works, currently waiting for it to arrive on Monday/Tuesday with my fingers firmly crossed that it is okay and works as expected.

 

is there anything to avoid buying pre-owned, obviously somethings are robust than others, is there anything that is to be avoided at all costs if its pre owned?

 

Cheers

[Nightspore]

The 'new-to-astrology' bloke was probably a Virgo lol. As ever, caveat emptor with anything used. A lot of high end eyepieces (Pentax, Tele Vue) tend to be looked after, as is a lot of quality kit. Sometimes you can get bargains I reckon. 

[Kevin17]

thats a fair point about the quality kit being looked after better.

 

i did see a few 'buy my telescope thats 3 years old for £20 less than you can get a new one with a 2 year guarantee' adverts. they made me chuckle.

 

Seems to be a fair few skywatcher ED80s kicking about on the second hand market.

[Nightspore]

The 80ED DS Pro is a bit of an enigma, not unlike the 72ED DS Pro in many respects. 

 

 

It's a 100mm-bodied 80mm aperture scope, which is a bit odd in itself. There are aftermarket focusers available. This Long Perng focuser (above) is my third. Some of the older versions, like mine, have a Schott crown. Although I believe this was a temporary thing between Synta and Schott and predominantly just marketing hype. The ED element is Ohara S-FPL53. This gives them a very good Strehl number. The old joke about the 80ED Evostar was that it was an entry level optical tube assembly with high quality glass. I think many started AP with an 80ED and when they move on sell them. The stock focusers are typical Sky-Watcher that have often been described as 'joyless'. The draw tubes are typically too short, although I thought the dual-speed was OK. Whatever focuser is on the 80ED (Orion or Sky-Watcher version) the telescope punches above its weight visually. They might be a good bargain secondhand. Don't pay extra for the Schott crown though lol.