Telescope Reviews: yet another Lunt scope question

Hello All,

Andy , Rikki and me did not see the Interview at CN and personaly I dont know what Andy told , but something must came over wrong, so Rikki forwardet this message to me, which confirms excactly what I told to everybody at NEAF

----- Original Message -----
From: Rikki
To: Markus Ludes , Luntsolarsystems Europe
Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 8:03 PM
Subject: Re: questions about LS50 front filter delivery schedule

Hi Markus,
Why don't you post on the cloudynights and yahoo the estimated schedule. It seems people are getting the wrong idea from Andy's interview. We have not been able to watch it yet.

By end of May shipping LS60THa, LS60TCaK, LS50FHa
July shipping LS60THaDP, LS75FHa, LS100FHa, LS100THa and hopefully the LS200THaDP
Thank You,
Rikki Hocking
Lunt Solar Systems
2520 N. Coyote Dr. #111
Tucson, AZ 85745
(520)344-7348

--------------------------------------

Now something more about NEAF . I am under hurry to pack up my boxes to ship to germany and leaving New Jersey in 1 hour , but I could read partly postings.

We have had at NEAF ready to show under sun the LS 60 CaK and the LS 50 F filter , I wanted to go out , but Andy stopped me, after he heard that a customer said about the $ 26,000 product of another vendor , the image was " ok" under the present condition , Andy did not like to hear same thing about our filters. I know there may have been minutes between , where the sky was good enough to show the potential , but we have had also much to do indoors.

I personaly helped assembling and testing the telescopes and filters the weekend before NEAF , in Tucson , so I am one of 3 people who has seen first light and I liked a lot what I saw.

I also saw that the image in the LS 60 Ha was to bright and Andy agreed with me , but 1,2 days before NEAF , we could not do anything to change or tune it , this takes some additional testings and about a week time , so it was not possible for us to show at NEAF the full potential of the LS 60 Ha. I was there when Andy Lunt told this to rather many customers who tried to push us going out. I understand that not everybody heard this , but there are out customers who know its the thruth.

Andy is now back in Tucson and working to make a few samples working perfectly to ship them out to some dealers and newsgroup loudspeakers for testing and giving away some first personal impression.

We have all mechanics under work, we have all glas in stock, many etalon plates and blocking filters and ITF are polished and coated , but Andy still have to polish a lot spacers to match the etalons together.

The company set up has been delayed by about 2 month from the city who asked for everything permissions and the landlord from whom we rent the factory got almost crazy , but thats citys have big open hands for fees they want .

Our production has been also delayed by about 2 month due the first optical and mechanical designer problems, till I took over with my expertise team in Germany the optical design and mechanical drawings. All Optics are designed and partly under production and partly in stock. We still optimising some technical designs on the LS 100 and LS 200 Telescope and the LS 60 Double Pass , but this completed during next 2 weeks , so we are in good shape and under good mode to keep the estimated delivery times for the first shipments.

We do not keep secrets , I believe you know and see that , no other company every gave away so open all technical info as Lunt , but we are all working , Alan Traino and me, we running no 2 companys the same time and cannot be always at any internet place to reply very quickly and Andy Lunt is working 7 days a week , partly deep into the night watching and controlling his optical babys.

Allow us the little delay we have right now due problems we could not see coming in December / January.

Our forecast was to start shipping sometimes in April, now we have it late may , so we catched up very well and our delay of some weeks is not really bad , at least not as bad as some posting in the internet

I am going home now to Germany and maybe able to read tomorrow night my next emails again, dont worry if you do not hear something from me next 2 days

all the best from the LUNT Team