New Moon Telescopes specializes in building custom dobsonian telescopes. If you are interested in a size not shown, give us a call- we can build it!
Mission Statement:
New Moon Telescopes is dedicated to innovation in telescope design. We believe that the benefits of a truly hand-crafted telescope enhances the hobby of astronomy. Through enhancements such as these, it is our hope that the hobby continues to grow and more and more people can enjoy the night sky with access to professional caliber tools.
Core Values:
Integrity: Being open, honest, and transparent with our customers.
Openness: Always striving to provide answers to all customer questions in a timely manner.
Service to our clients, before and after the sale. We strive to provide a laser-focused customer service experience.
Lead Times
Our lead times are currently 6-9 months. While the deadline is approximate, we strive to meet this timeline. The procurement of parts is a process which we begin early, however we cannot control if /when a vendor ships their product late. When this happens, it slows the entire build. If our estimated ship date is going to be exceeded, we alert the customer as soon as possible.
Mirror Cells:
New Moon Telescopes, as do most vendors, has a strong opinion about the proper support of our telescope mirror. In that vein, we have decided to no loner utilize any other mirror cell or edge support system other than the one we manufacture ourselves. This is key to the design of our scopes and the performance of the optics. This is now a non-negotiable point, so if an alternate optical support system is necessary, we respectfully suggest another telescope maker will be necessary.
Warranty Information:
All telescope components manufactured by other vendors (e.g. spider, finder, focuser, etc) will be delivered with original manufacturers warranty. Please refer to those individual companies for warranty information.
Shrouds, secondary covers and truss bags come with a one year limited warranty. This includes failure of a seam or excess stretching of an elastic band.
All parts machined by NMT have a five year limited warranty (see Detailed Warranty below). This includes premature and natural failure of a joint, the breaking of a weld, and the like. We do not cover accidents or abuse or misuse. To make a warranty claim, pictures and a description of what occurred may be emailed to info at newmoontelescopes dot com.
New Moon Telescope’s warranty is non-transferable and only the original owner of the telescope will be covered under manufacturers warranty.
Please note: When buyer customizations conflict with New Moon Telescope’s recommendations, warranty for the structure of an NMT may be voided. While we strive to to meet customer requests, when we deviate from our original design a telescope may perform less than optimally. If your telescope falls into this category, we will alert you verbally or in writing early enough in the process to ensure you are giving your informed consent and understand the consequences of the changes you’ve requested. Customers will be notified early in the process so that an alternate plan may be made in which the warranty will not be voided.
Damage Upon Delivery: New Moon Telescopes ships Fed Ex Ground, with insurance. If any damage is noted upon delivery, New Moon Telescopes must be informed within three days of delivery. In order for NMT to pursue a claim with the carrier, pictures must be provided via email within the above time frame.
Detailed Warranty
The following items are covered under our five year warranty:
UTA: Aluminum single ring; wood UTA; focuser board and finder board connection points; UTA connective struts; collapsible truss system aluminum struts and connection points (when untampered)
Mirror Box to include; box joints or dovetail joints
Rocker Box to include; box joints or dovetail joints
Ground board to include; feet attachment point and formica
Bearing welds (powder coating warranty is one year)
Mirror Cell to include; linear bearings including welds and connections (powder coating is one year)
Wood Finish: Should a large gash occur on the surface of the wood finish, please contact us for repair instructions. Without a minor repair, the warranty of the wood finish would become void. NMT uses Waterlox Original Finish on all telescopes. It is one of the most durable finishes on the market today and also one of the easiest to repair, should it ever be necessary.