Wisdom of the crowd for an intriguing product idea I was an early backer for the EduSnap 53ED 2-in-1 OSC smart telescope project. Astrophotography is one of my hobbies, and I hoped this project would help me transition from planetary to deep sky imaging. I received my scope late in the first tranche of US deliveries and dawdled in the dearth of how-to information to get started. Then I downloaded a more recent app, had some successful imaging sessions, and am now on my way to making sensible use of the scope. This scope is neither a spotting scope nor a ubiquitous 70mm short scope with awful pointing. It is actually a good first implementation of a cheaper-targeted smart telescope designed primarily for deep sky astrophotography. This means it has plate-solving tracking like PHD2, live stacking like SharpCap, a celestial database and sky view like Stellarium, and the ability to actually turn out a decent entry-level expectation of a deep sky object. I mean, dayum... I'm hooked on t...
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I come to bury EduSnap...
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(updated December 15, 2025) ( paraphrased from Julius Caesar , spoken by Marc Antony ) Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury the EduSnap 53ED Kickstarter Project, not to praise it. The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones; So let it be with the EduSnap 53ED Kickstarter Project. The last team update from the scope's Kickstarter site was posted on August 18, 2025. The official web sites no longer work, including any updates for the Android and iOS apps. The Windows app finds only older versions of software/firmware for the camera and "bracket" (the GOTO base). The lights are out, the trail is cold, unfulfilled users are going through the 5 stages of grief, and the project's reputation lies in dishonor. But this is not the end of the story. Kickstarter projects are often known for sowing disappointment while building out useful technology ideas for companies that buy out these tattered failures to deliver...
Open Letter to EduSnap Developers
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Greetings to the EduSnap development team! Many backers like myself have received our rewards, and are starting to learn how to use this unique product you have designed. Thank you for the outstanding design and production effort we know you have put into this unique project. But I want to speak on behalf of many backers who are concerned about the lack of information about late deliveries, reported issues, and questions about the use of the product. We need to hear from you that the project is still supported and that our questions have been heard. Concerning support, I have created this site to help those who have received the rewards to get up to speed more quickly on enjoying your product. Several other informal support channels are starting to gain traction as well. This is all to help you on supporting new users with their "how to" questions. In return, I hope you can concentrate on helping those who need repairs or help with their missing shipments. Whoever has been ...
Site Updates #1
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See anything different here? I have converted the site from a primarily blogging tool to a topic-driven organization of fixed pages that are not part of the blog itself. Within this new organization, look for a Topics widget on the side, and a set of category links at the top. Each category will link to pages related to that category, and so forth. Finally, I applied a new responsive theme, which means that this information should be equally accessible and readable whether you are viewing on a phone, tablet, or desktop. Enjoy!