La Maison de l'Astronomie P.L. inc.

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Name:

Web Site:

http://www.maisonastronomie.ca

Address:

8074 St-Hubert
Montreal, Quebec
H2R 2P3

Phone:

Orders:	(514) 279-0063
Inquiries:
Fax:	(514) 279-9628
Other:

Types of Stuff:

Telescopes	Eyepieces	Binoculars
Tripods/Mounts	Accessories	Books
ATM Materials

Methods of Purchase:

Store

Phone

Web(

Secure)

Methods of Payment:

Visa	MasterCard	Discover
American Express	Check	Money Order
COD	Financing

Description:

One of Canada's largest telescope shop!

Vote Highlights

La Maison de l'Astronomie P.L. inc.

Recently in Montreal and took a trip to the Maison de l'Astronomie. There were several people there and the guy that I talked to at first was all hustle: he knows how to move newbies into an inexpensive equipment configuration. He kept throwing different configurations and price points at me whereas I was just trying to get some information about a mount. Still, I let him do his salesmanship because I rarely get a chance to be inside a brick and mortar astronomy shop. After we chatted a bit and he understood what kind of rigs I already have he
slowed down a bit and showed more technical expertise. I have in fact flirting in slow motion with the idea of getting an ASGT go-to mount for portable applications. I was
assured that it worked fine in the cold, and Montreal is a good place to ask that question. On further discussion he contended that the tolerances on a mount like the G11 are too tight for extreme cold and that the ASGT did better without needing adjustment or supplementary heating. I can think of G11 users who would not agree but there was at least a logical presentation there.

Downstairs the Maison has a lot of Skywatch, Celestron, and a row of Vixens. Sales rep said that Vixen was "losing" some of its quality as it became more Chinese (I hope not). The upstairs was for used scopes. That place
was fun, you have to imagine a room just stuffed through with telescopes and even a four or five inch OTA on the floor where it might get stepped on, sort of casually strewn about in the expectation that you know what you're doing walking around in an astro shop. Sales rep said (this is 2008) they had stopped carrying Meades because of too many complaints from customers. There were however two LX200 used units for sale upstairs.

Aside from the Celestron CGE there were no "higher end" mounts on the floor that I could see. Sales rep said Losmandies were ordered for customers as needed, and there were no really fancy pants Tak mounts. There was not even a Vixen Atlux, but there was a smaller go-to
Vixen unit.

Unfortunately I was pressed for time; I could have spent several hours there looking at the offerings. The selection of books and charts was well put together.

I think if I lived in Montreal the Maison de l'Astronomie would be a resource I would use. I have met a few amateurs from the area and they have indicated that the company is an active part of the local astronomy community. It must be nice to have a real astro shop in
one's locale. The Maison supports star parties in the region. As with most situations in Quebec our conversations were all in French but the shop functions in English too. It would be unusual for a U.S. citizen to need to order from the Maison but I believe they are serious about offering products that work at a good price.

Overall Rating: 10
Price:10 Service:10
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date: 07/22/2008 08:09:09 am PST
By: gnowell
Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=578426

Reply Replies: 0

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