Just another little sample of the way things go. Here's one of my recent stories:

I'm no stranger to the night sky, having been fascinated with it all my life. Being born and raised in the middle of nowhere has encouraged that fascination. The biggest problem with viewing the dim objects is the obstruction caused by trees. Reasonably dark skies are the norm here in Central Wisconsin.

Recently I have become interested in taking pictures of the night sky. I have a cheap Canon that takes a fair picture when I stumble upon the right combination, especially after discovering the Deep Sky Stacker program (now if I can just figure out how to get the color to show up in my stacked pictures). My normal routine involves scanning the sky with my little binoculars for future targets while the camera is taking many exposures.

Now enters my desire to zoom in a little closer. But the stars get trails at anything over 5 seconds with the camera zoomed to 10x. Wouldn't it be cool if there was some way to make my camera follow the stars across the sky? I found an article about how to make a "Barn Door Tracker". Being a dairy farmer, it sounded like it was made for me! After careful consideration, it just seemed a little bit too much like all the other stuff I'm surrounded by everyday. I want something a bit shinier and prettier - something that stands apart from the equipment I'm used to!

I saw an article in Sky and Telescope about a factory-made camera mount that did the same thing as the barn door tracker. A mechanism called Astrotrac (?) that looked like what I wanted. But wow! What a price. More than I can spend on something like that.

I searched Wal-mart's website and found a Meade DS-2114 telescope that not only follows the stars across the sky like I want for my pictures, but also knows how to find them! I'm pretty good at finding them myself with a star map, but hey! I have a couple old reflector telescopes from days gone by, packed away somewhere, that are similar to the DS-2114 without the computerized mount. The ease and simplicity of the binoculars is really what I like between milking the cows late and early. The scope is not primarily what I'm after, but the motorized mount. I could make a bracket out of plumber's tape and a muffler hanger to mount my camera on the back of the scope. But from looking at the picture, and remembering how my old scopes are built, it appears that the eyepiece will be in the way.

A little further searching of Wal-mart and I came across a Meade ETX-80AT-TC that looks perfect. It's small, simple, has the computerized mount, and no eyepiece in the way. I would still have to build a bracket, and it's a little more money, but more or less within my budget. I read a review of it on the Cloudy Nights website that makes it sound like exactly what I want. The bonus being that I can look at the stars through the scope while I'm photographing them, when I'm not scanning with my binoculars. The ETX-80 is like half of a bigger pair of binoculars, but yet not so much to drag in and out of the house and mess around with like my old scopes are. Especially most nights when I only have a little time to enjoy it. I have a cheap spotting scope that is similar in size to the ETX-80, so I know what to expect (or not) from it. The motorized mount is the important thing.

OK, the ETX-80 is the one I want. I haven't used my credit card in years and this will be the first time I have ever made an on-line purchase. I'm paranoid about the horror stories of identity theft on-line. But everybody else does it so here goes. First try and Wal-mart says "sorry, contact your credit card company". OK, I did something wrong. Do it all over the second time. Wal-mart says "sorry, contact your credit card company". My assumption was that Wal-mart's website must be malfunctioning.

So I give up on Wal-mart and search for another vendor. I find one that handles the scope I want and it's even cheaper than Wal-mart was! And the best part - they have a "piggyback mount" just like what I was going to try to make myself! Excellent. I order the scope and the piggyback mount. The order is immediately confirmed via automated e-mail. Looking good!

Overnight I begin to think about my credit card not working for Wal-mart and worry that it won't work for the other company, despite the confirmation e-mail. I call my credit card company and no charges have been made to my account. Maybe the company I ordered from isn't open until Monday and then they will fill the order and charge my account?

Since I don't want any problems with my order, I talk to a representative at my credit card company. She tells me the reason why it wouldn't work at Wal-mart's website is because it was flagged as possible fraud. I haven't used my card in a long time and I have never ever charged anything on-line before and that's what puts the kibosh on my transaction. I tell her that I ordered something from the other company and she says she'll make sure the charge will go through without any complications. Still looking good!

Here is when I begin to think I made a mistake:

That was Saturday/Sunday, this is Tuesday. Still no charge on my credit card. I have heard nothing more from the company about my order after the immediate automated e-mail confirmation. In searching the Cloudy Nights discussion board, I have come across some discouraging information about them. It seems they are out of business, only half in business, or some other equally unreliable situation. Their shopping cart cheerfully accepted my personal credit card information, and if that's true, where did my information go? (See above about being paranoid.) Did I make a mistake by placing an order from that company?

Now what will I do? Wait and wait and wait, and then never get it anyway? I wanted it yesterday, if you know what I mean. If I know for sure that it's coming, I don't mind waiting a week or so. Should I take this as a sign to give up on it? Maybe it just wasn't meant to be. After all, there are many other things I could use that money for, albeit none so enjoyable. Excitement turned to discouragement turned to worry, just like that! Astronomics also has the scope I want (and the cheapest of all!), but no piggyback bracket. If I order the scope from them, will I then end up paying for two scopes if by some chance the other company is still in business?.......

Just my luck.

And then..................

It was hard to find a phone number for the company that I ordered from, because it's not clearly listed on their website. Not too surprised by that though, I guess, because the on-line Wal-mart # isn't listed very prominently on their site either. So I call it (Florida long distance) and the number has been disconnected! I'll start researching the other companies that carry the scope (as mentioned above), and see if they might have the piggyback mount too (ScopeTronix ETX 60AT & 70AT Piggyback Camera Mount STPB70). At this point I am a little gun-shy. I probably won't order from anybody unless I can actually call a toll free number (which is how I've always done it before). Even if I have to pay a few dollars extra.

And then...............................

I just got off the phone with Optics Planet. They had the cheapest price, free shipping, a toll free number prominently displayed on every page, and best of all she said I will have it already tomorrow or the next day!

They didn't have a piggyback camera mount that would work with it, so I will invent something when I get it. The saleslady even checked with a "scope specialist" to be sure.

And then.....................

That feeling of excitement I had at first and lost is starting to come back! UPS says it will be here today!

In several ways it turned out better. Wal-mart wanted $50 more for the ETX-80 than I ended up getting it for, they wanted almost $30 for shipping which I ended up with for free, and they said it could take a week to 10 days to get it, but from Optics Planet will be 24 hours or less if I get it today.

The clouds and rain are forecast to move in tonight for the next four days. But that's ok. It will give me plenty of time to read over the manual and familiarize myself with it.

I can't wait! A few of my wintertime favorites (Orion, Taurus, and the Seven Sisters) are up high in the morning on my way down to the barn. Unfortunately I don't have time then, other than looking up at them while I walk, but they will be up earlier in the evening before too long.

I won't be ordering anything from any companies in Florida for awhile. At least until I'm sure that my credit card is never charged or scammed.

And then.............

I got it! I ordered it from Optics Planet late yesterday at 3pm and I got it before noon today. Free shipping. I just can't get over that. I suppose I better at least open the box now.

And then...................

I open the box and unpack the stuff inside. The cover is off of the battery compartment. It and the holder for the six AA batteries are in the box under the base of the scope. The holder is crushed and smashed to smithereens. Everything else looks ok, including the battery cover. I call Optics Planet and the customer service rep. tells me they will begin an investigation. Don't touch a thing he says. Could take a week or so to figure out who is responsible.

C'mon! It's a simple little part that I could run to the hardware store or Radio Shack and get a replacement. I would do that, it's not really that big of a deal. I want to use the thing.

I'm Irish. I can hear the words I want to utter in my mind. My forehead is beginning to sweat.

And then.........................

Big sigh. At least they ship stuff real fast. And I already called Radio Shack. They handle battery holders like it for 2, 4, and 8 batteries but not for 6.

Greetings from OpticsPlanet.com!

We were recently informed that your merchandise was damaged in transit by UPS. We have filed an insurance claim for the damaged package. We kindly ask for you to reseal the damaged products using the original packaging material and UPS may be picking it up from you for an inspection. It is important that you hold on to the package for 30 days. If no pick up attempts have been made in that time, you can discard the damaged merchandise. Meanwhile, we will ship a replacement to you free of charge upon item(s) stock availability. You will be automatically notified with a tracking number once your order is shipped.

We thank you for your patience and we apologize for the inconvenience. Please let us know if you should have any further questions. We can be reached at (800) 504-5897 or by e-mail at Logistics@OpticsPlanet.com.

Thank you!

Best Regards,
OpticsPlanet.com Logistics Team
Logistics@OpticsPlanet.com
http://www.opticsplanet.com
Phone: (847) 513-6201
Toll-Free: (800) 504-5897
Fax: (847) 919-3003

And then......................

The damage doesn't look to be UPS's problem to me. It has been around the country, even has some other shipping address from Texas on it, besides Meade's California address. The packing material in the box has been bounced around a lot, possibly coming over the Rocky Mountains by horseback at least partway! I think the battery cover either fell off in transit and the holder worked it's way under the base of the scope, or someone had been playing with it (box had obviously been opened before, maybe even more than once) and just threw the battery cover and holder in the bottom of the box.

And then..........................

Still no tracking number or anything from Optics Planet or UPS this morning. I called them to ask what is going on. The e-mail they sent is incorrect. What the customer service told me on the phone is correct - UPS will pick it up, do an investigation to see who is responsible, which will take at least a week. Only then will they ship me a new scope. I tell them to send me a new scope now, bill me for it, then credit my account for the damaged one when the investigation is complete. I want a new, undamaged one before then. In the meantime, I have two scopes charged on my credit card.

And then..................................

I no sooner hang up the phone after ordering another scope from them, and UPS pulls in the driveway. Driver says it doesn't look like a damaged package to him either. He says they'll inspect it when he returns it to his terminal.

Tomorrow I should have a new and hopefully undamaged scope, and within a week maybe I will only have paid for one. I also ordered a universal camera adapter, so that it can be used for piggyback too!

And then................................

I got it yesterday! Again. Now I just need a refund for the first one and I'm a happy camper.

This one seems to be in new condition. The UPS driver said we better check it while he was here, because the package rattled. It looked like little pellets of fertilizer rolling all around. UPS driver thought maybe it was ball bearings, so he bites down on one and then starts spitting. He says "I don't think I should have done that"!

Turns out a package of desiccant was pinched between two pieces of cardboard and ripped open. The pellets were the contents of that. The eyepiece cover was off the scope, but it doesn't appear any got inside.

I haven't powered it up yet. It's been raining. I might do that in the house today. In the meantime I have been reading the manual, watched the DVD, and installed the software.

And then.............................

Over a week after this started, and I'm still waiting for a refund of the first broken scope. I researched the tracking number and UPS has delivered it back to Optics Planet, yesterday. Customer service tells me it could be another week or two yet before the investigation is complete and I have my refund.

Ongoing.......................