I had some used astro-imaging equipment I wanted to sell, so I went to the premier on-line marketplace for used astronomy equipment, Astromart. I have sold items through the site before. It is a really good marketplace for astronomy equipment.

I sold two items, an SBIG STL-11000M and the 8-position filter wheel for the STL-series cameras, the FW8-STL.

I sold the STL-11000 first. I had replies to the add almost immediately. I had a request for a dark frame from the camera that resulted in a funny comment. The person to whom I sent the dark frame commented that it looked “noisy.” Since a dark frame consists only of the record of thermal noise on the chip, what else is it going to look like? Particularly a single 5-minute frame. I was amused. The sale was completed with in a couple of days.

When I listed the FW8-STL, I received a responses within minutes. Clearly this is a widely sought item. If any of you have an FW8-STL for sale, I bet you can get almost the original full retail on it, which is $1,195 (I did not charge that much). That sale is completed with the FW8 off to Australia.

Anacortes Wild Bird and Telescope does a great job keeping Astromart going. My experience there has been consistently good. It is well worth the annual membership fee. They are great to do business with as well. I have purchased several items from them. They provide excellent, knowledgeable service.