Posts Made By: Richard Shell

I thought I'd drop a note here since there have been many questions regarding focusing film cameras in past threads.

This is just to let you know that Series IV 'Stiletto' focusers are available for ANY 35mm film or DSLR camera including Nikon, Olympus, Pentax-K, Canon,EOS, Yashica, Leica, Minolta, Miranda and any others you may think of. If you still think you have something strange, just give us a call anytime and you'll be surprised.

For those here interested in a Series IV, just mention that you post on the AstroMart forums and get free shipping.
Clear Skies!
Richard

Hi-

I've noticed a couple of things when posting sponsor ads. First, before the final confirmation of ad placement, a notice is given that the ad cannot be found. If one goes ahead anyways, it is placed. However, the first few times posting led me to backtrack to try to find an error somewhere.

Second, when writing text, the 'insert image' link does not seem to work or is disallowed. Is something special necessary like posting to a specific directory that will insert pictures inside of the text? My feeling is that since users must now click on a separate uploaded image to view it, most are passing it up. Any unnecessary user clicking should be avoided.

Just my two centavos worth here, and I hope the nice work continues!

Clear Skies!
Richard
hmm.. seems to work here???

Hi Dasahu -
Hey, there are lots of people focusing these critters! Right now we are in the middle of developing focusers for the QuickCams and SACs to make it easier. One important place to go for help is the Quick Cam Users Astronomy group on Yahoo. Do search for QCUIAG at Yahoo and join this group. You can also follow this link to get to their archives: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/QCUIAG

There are lots of SAC users out there to help.
Right offhand, it sounds to me like you do have too little or too much backfocus distance and will either need to add an extension, or shorten up the way you are attaching the SAC.

Clear Skies!
Richard

Hi Steve -

Thanks to Herb for forwarding your post to me, and to you for your very kind words here.

It's always been my personal belief that decent and reasonable service should be an implicit part of anything a company sells. And, it always irks me when companies charge upfront for manufacturing defects or otherwise that they probably could have avoided in the first place had they developed their product a bit better from the beginning (e.g. send us $450 and your scope with it's lousy drive motors and we'll fix it free).

The Series IV 'Stiletto' is now in its fourth incarnation and most improvements made in the design components are completely invisible to the average user. Yours was an older Series III focuser which, while it worked wonderfully, simply reminded me of how far the design has come in ten years. Plus, I simply hate the thought of having an astro-accessory unused in a user's junk drawer. (Mine is full!!)

Our service policy has remained the same since day one. Here's an exerpt from our FAQ file in the Support section of our website (which few folks read) initially written in 1998:

"Q. I dropped a Series IV or CVF and smashed it to bits. What do I do?
A. You simply send it back to get fixed. I only charge fair shipping and the exact cost of repair parts for customers who stumble across the dog in the dark by accident. So, you don't need to trash the unit and order a whole new Series IV from us. We're not that kind of company. Then again, we're not Zippo either."
I really do not like the idea of 'extended warranty plans' sold today. I believe they are simply a cop-out of a company's inherent responsibility to fulfill the initial sales agreement. The Stiletto focuser is not cheap in the first place, and is guaranteed to last a lifetime (but in your case, not continually!).

Thanks again & Clear Skies!
Richard