Telescopes & Astronomy

[richb2004]

Has anybody here ever purchased a telescope in Thailand or even noticed a shop that sells them? I know that stalls sell poor quality cheap scopes in shopping malls, but I am looking for a good quality scope. I was planning on bringing one over with me, but would be interested if I can buy one inside Thailand.

Any help appreciated.

[griser]

I was at the science museum here in Bangkok and some some nice quality ones for sale. Meade I believe!

Didn't get to see much of what they had because I am a teacher and was chasing some 9 year olds on a field trip, hehe.

Greg

[xbusman]

I dont know what quality level your looking for as I know that for some of the German optics the price can be staggering. Only place I ever found selling even half decent equipment was on the ground floor of Pantip in that mass of stalls after you just enter the doors. They are on the right about half way back surrounded by masses of "sexy DVD?" I did notice they had some nice german optics in the 30,000 to 40,000 baht range but I did not know if they were good units for that price. Good luck!

[Sulaphat]

Top floor of Seri Center on Srinakarin Road has a shop selling Meade telescopes. I bought an ETX-125 a couple of years ago from them. This shop also sells more serious Meade scopes and if they don't have what you want in stock, they will order just about any Meade scope or accessory you ask them to.

Thers is another shop near Chulalongkorn University that is a dealer for Celestron. I haven't been to that shop.

The shop in Seri Center has a stock of eyepiecess, camera adaptors for astrophotography and other accessories.

[billd766]

There is a place by the BTS stop at Ekkamai on the even numbered side of the road which has some.

It is a sort of a school / college shop but what make, price and quality there are I cannot say.

[daveh]

Has anybody here ever purchased a telescope in Thailand or even noticed a shop that sells them? I know that stalls sell poor quality cheap scopes in shopping malls, but I am looking for a good quality scope. I was planning on bringing one over with me, but would be interested if I can buy one inside Thailand.

Any help appreciated.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If you have free time, you might want to consider building one. These days you don't have to grind your own mirror, you can buy one fairly inexpensively. Building your own scope won't save you a ton of cash, but it allows you to control the level of quality.

This is something I've been wanting to do for quite some time. But unfortunately, I have very little free time to devote to it. I considered doing it while I was in Thailand, but since the skies in Bangkok have too much light pollution, I gave up on the idea.

[richb2004]

Top floor of Seri Center on Srinakarin Road has a shop selling Meade telescopes.  I bought an ETX-125 a couple of years ago from them. This shop also sells more serious Meade scopes and if they don't have what you want in stock, they will order just about any Meade scope or accessory you ask them to. 

Thers is another shop near Chulalongkorn University that is a dealer for Celestron.  I haven't been to that shop.

The shop in Seri Center has a stock of eyepiecess, camera adaptors for astrophotography and other accessories.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for the speedy reply’s from everybody. It’s really amazing that one can find information about almost anything associated with Thailand in this forum.

I was actually looking to purchase a Meade scope very similar to the one you yourself have. I am only a beginner and a lower end Meade would be fine.

Did you have very much success with the Meade and how did the price compare to outside prices, particularly UK.

[Sulaphat]

Top floor of Seri Center on Srinakarin Road has a shop selling Meade telescopes.  I bought an ETX-125 a couple of years ago from them. This shop also sells more serious Meade scopes and if they don't have what you want in stock, they will order just about any Meade scope or accessory you ask them to. 

Thers is another shop near Chulalongkorn University that is a dealer for Celestron.  I haven't been to that shop.

The shop in Seri Center has a stock of eyepiecess, camera adaptors for astrophotography and other accessories.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for the speedy reply’s from everybody. It’s really amazing that one can find information about almost anything associated with Thailand in this forum.

I was actually looking to purchase a Meade scope very similar to the one you yourself have. I am only a beginner and a lower end Meade would be fine.

Did you have very much success with the Meade and how did the price compare to outside prices, particularly UK.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The prices here will be a bit higher than in the UK. I think I paid about baht 55k for the ETX-125. I then bought a couple of eyepieces and a camera adaptor, autostar, but don't remember how much they cost. Not too expensive, if I recall correctly. I also bought the field tripod.

I think that the ETX-90 is more popular as it is smaller and can be more easily taken into a plane as carry on luggage. A bit less expensive, too. Probably a better value than the ETX-125.

I am happy with the scope, just don't have enough time to use it as often as I would like. Here in Bangkok the observing conditions aren't great, so I use it mostly upcountry. The months of November through about February or so have the best sky conditions.

Here are the details of the store:

Technology Supply Co., Ltd.

Seri Center Building (Fourth floor, I think)

Srinakarin Road

Tel: 02 746 0848 fax: 02 746 0687

The head office (I've never been there):

272 A 3 Building, 3rd floor, Soi Japanese School

Rama IX Road, Bangkapi

Tel: 02 319 9950 fax: 02 719 6190

PS: You may be aware that my screen name is the Arabic name for Gamma Lyrae.

[penzman]

Has anybody here ever purchased a telescope in Thailand or even noticed a shop that sells them? I know that stalls sell poor quality cheap scopes in shopping malls, but I am looking for a good quality scope. I was planning on bringing one over with me, but would be interested if I can buy one inside Thailand.

Any help appreciated.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If you have free time, you might want to consider building one. These days you don't have to grind your own mirror, you can buy one fairly inexpensively. Building your own scope won't save you a ton of cash, but it allows you to control the level of quality.

This is something I've been wanting to do for quite some time. But unfortunately, I have very little free time to devote to it. I considered doing it while I was in Thailand, but since the skies in Bangkok have too much light pollution, I gave up on the idea.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I`ve also been thinking about building a telescope later on. I used to own an 8 inch Celestron witl all the goodies. I sure miss having a scope.

[Danny80]

Im a beginning observer and would like to get in contact with other observers in the Pattaya area.

Anybody in the Pattaya area?

[kurtgruen]

Anyone needing any Astronomical Telescope look at http://www.vancouvertelescope.com or write [email protected] they can ship world wide and fast.

[email protected]

Edited September 16, 2007 by kurtgruen

[JayBangkok]

Hi

I have a Meade ETX 125 which I am planning to sell

PM me if interested.

Thanks

[marko111]

I have just purchased a cellestron C14 from TMK trading in bangkok... its still on order and should be here in december. you would need to speak to Mr Thamrong, he has great english and is very helpful. [email protected]

for Meade, takahashi, WO, skywatcher, et al, talk to Mr Sukit at his online shop darasartcenter

Both of these guys are great, if you buy from Sukit he will come and set you up,,, he also arranges star parties and has a great site to browse... just added a nice 14 inch truss dobsonian. I bought a orion eon and a meade lsx 75 from him with all the photography gear.

It would be nice to meet some expats that are interested in astronomy,,, maybe form a small club????

[Meridian007]

A group would be great! I can't wait until I can move further away from BKK, then I'll bring my scope.

Has anyone been to the observatory? I know there is one (I think at Ramkamheng), and I think there is another upcountry somewhere. I'd love to check them out, but I always forget!

Edited November 2, 2009 by Meridian007

[marko111]

A group would be great! I can't wait until I can move further away from BKK, then I'll bring my scope.

Has anyone been to the observatory? I know there is one (I think at Ramkamheng), and I think there is another upcountry somewhere. I'd love to check them out, but I always forget!

Not sure about thai observatories but below are some of my observations whilst trying to buy a scope in thailand which may help... Sukit at Darasartcentre would know all the observational venues...

In my experience telescopes in Thailand are expensive, however something to consider when importing is the duty and interaction with the customs department which can be more expense... That’s why I have left delivery of my Cellestron C14 to Thamrong at TMK trading.

If you want a good branded telescope you will have to use the in country distributor anyway, I have tried from Europe and the states but always get reverted back to the in country distributors,,, TMK for Cellestron and Darasartcentre for Meade, WO, Takahashi, Orion and all the others, Sukit of Darasartcenter also has second hand scopes for sale from time to time.

Meade has moved their production to Mexico recently and the quality and service have reportedly dropped dramatically which is one reason that I have opted for Cellestron. Another reason is that the bigger Meade telescopes are all fork mounted and due to the low latitude in Thailand astrophotography equipment mounted to the scope will tend to be in or around the fork crutch and will invariably not pass through or foul the fork. Also the fitting of an equatorial wedge at 11 degrees north puts a lot of strain on the tracking mechanism.

Cellestron also had problems with their mount. For the 14 inch scope, it was borderline capable with the extras fitted to the scope, they have now upgraded their mount which can now handle anything you can fit to it with ease...

[Irresisti]

Good to see there are some people doing astronomy.

I have a 10" dob and regular I go out on a dark spot near Khao Jai. There are sometimes starparties organized by Darasart.com

[jazzboy]

Hi,

new to the site and checking about telescopes. I am a newbie so any advice will be most welcome.

cheers from Phuket,

Good to see there are some people doing astronomy.

I have a 10" dob and regular I go out on a dark spot near Khao Jai. There are sometimes starparties organized by Darasart.com

[BigWheelMan]

I am into amateur astronomy and a couple of years ago was seriously considering buying a Refractor scope.

But I later decided that it wouldn't be a good idea because where I live in Chiang Mai, for most of the time the sky is hazy with smoke pollution and light pollution.

For those who are thinking about purchasing an expensive telescope or refractor scope, should take into consideration the viewing quality of the sky in your area.

Edited December 14, 2009 by BigWheelMan

[Kadafi]

Been looking around for a good telescope, maybe meade or celestron.

If anyone has a scope for sale in Thailand just drop me a pm as i might be interested.

[aamaryllis2]

Hello i'm in Hua Hin and I'm selling my Celestron PowerSeeker 114 EQ telescope. (good as new) perfect to look at the Moon ! If someone are interested please contact me ! ~ 7400 B

Features : Equatorial Mount

Brand : Celestron

Weight Complete : 19 lbs.

Finderscope : 5x24

Lens Coating : Standard

GPS : No

GoTo : No

Telescopes Series : Celestron PowerSeeker Telescopes

Optical Design : Reflector

Aperture : 114mm

Focal Length : 900mm

Focal Ratio : f/8

Mount Design : German Equatorial

Eyepiece 1 : 20mm (45x)

Eyepiece 2 : 4mm (225x)

Highest Useful Magnification : 225x

Limiting Magnitude : 12.8

Resolution : 1.21 Arc Seconds

Resolving Power : 1.02 Arc Seconds

Star Diagonal : 1.25 inch

Objective Lens Size Code : 114

User Level : For the Beginner