Shipping astronomy equipment to SFRO from Spain or Europe advice needed

astrojuanan:
I also think this topic would be of particular interest to many, as many of us would like to do so or are already in the process of doing it

Jan Erik Vallestad · Dec 2, 2025, 11:42 AM

First I’d suggest reading Brays FAQ.
Secondly I’d suggest joining his Discord to get their support.

I’m not a member, nor would I ever become one as I completely agree with Andrea.

Did something happen that I'm unaware of?

Thomas · Dec 2, 2025, 01:17 PM

I’m with astrojuanan and Arun on this, did I miss something? What’s going on? I’m fine if someone just wants to PM me as well.

Honestly, my question is about shipping the equipment to the USA, but I don't understand anything that's being said. I respect your opinion, of course, but saying that strange things are happening without specifying what those things are doesn't make sense. Tomas, are you in SFRO?

Brian Diaz · Dec 2, 2025, 02:18 PM

hi,everyone

yo estoy en SFRO , es un lugar seguro ,respetado y con uno cielo maravillos y un personal muy profesional ,yo los entregue en persona,ya hice tus preguntas en el discord en cuanto tenga alguna respuesta te pondre en contacto.

tampoco entiendo algunos comentarios .en lo que pueda ayudar aqui estare

CS

Brian

I'm in SFRO; it's a safe and respected place with wonderful skies and very professional staff. I delivered them in person. I already asked your questions on Discord; I'll get back to you as soon as I have an answer.

I also don't understand some of the comments here. Let me know if I can help in any way I can.

I'm glad to hear from someone who can help me with this. As for some comments, I don't know what they're about, but they're accepted, as long as everything is said, not just half-truths.

I don’t understand what’s not understandable to be honest.

I gave OP two ways of figuring out the answer to his questions. That should give him exactly what he needs, at least how I understood the topic. He didn’t specify if he had actually tried contacting SFRO or the options I brought forth himself before asking here, so I assumed that he hadn’t researched it beforehand.

Other than that I was simply stating that I’m not a member to indicate that I don’t have firsthand experience with shipping gear across the Atlantic. I could have let that be it but I couldn’t help myself as I do agree with Andrea. However, this being the internet I probably should have kept it to myself. For several reasons that mostly aren’t of any relevance to anyone here regarding how I feel about remote imaging in general.

vikas chander:
not over your dead body because of the US tariffs and the uncertainty of shipping astro gear overseas and the risk of it getting damaged …..or then not over your dead body bcoz SFRO is not a good place to house one’s rig…..i was also planning to ship gear over from India ( 50% tariff ) but a red flag has now gone up based on your dead body comment and wud like to understand better why u said that …my other option is HCRO but they are quite expensive….TIA

Posted in error could not delete

This is not a direct answer to your question.

I might in the near future make use of a dark northern hemisphere spot. I’m based near the German-Dutch border.

Ironically Spain is an option but those in the USA are in darker spots and better seeing.

Should I go the USA route, I might buy what is needed from the USA (internet shops etc) and have it sent to the location.

It has advantages but also downsides if the stuff has defects.

You might perhaps also want to ask SFRO if someone wants to sell their equipment if you would not mind used equipment.

CS

Habib

astrojuanan · Dec 2, 2025, 05:56 PM

Habib Sekha · Dec 2, 2025, 05:34 PM

This is not a direct answer to your question.

I might in the near future make use of a dark northern hemisphere spot. I’m based near the German-Dutch border.

Ironically Spain is an option but those in the USA are in darker spots and better seeing.

Should I go the USA route, I might buy what is needed from the USA (internet shops etc) and have it sent to the location.

It has advantages but also downsides if the stuff has defects.

You might perhaps also want to ask SFRO if someone wants to sell their equipment if you would not mind used equipment.

CS

Habib

That's a very good option too, yes, I'll ask about that option as well.

Have you joined the discord yet? There’s a for sale channel in the server where people list their SFRO rigs and equipment for sale, only for equipment already on site so it pretty seamless.

astrojuanan · Dec 2, 2025, 06:04 PM

jmdl101 · Dec 2, 2025, 06:02 PM

astrojuanan · Dec 2, 2025, 05:56 PM

Habib Sekha · Dec 2, 2025, 05:34 PM

This is not a direct answer to your question.

I might in the near future make use of a dark northern hemisphere spot. I’m based near the German-Dutch border.

Ironically Spain is an option but those in the USA are in darker spots and better seeing.

Should I go the USA route, I might buy what is needed from the USA (internet shops etc) and have it sent to the location.

It has advantages but also downsides if the stuff has defects.

You might perhaps also want to ask SFRO if someone wants to sell their equipment if you would not mind used equipment.

CS

Habib

That's a very good option too, yes, I'll ask about that option as well.

Have you joined the discord yet? There’s a for sale channel in the server where people list their SFRO rigs and equipment for sale, only for equipment already on site so it pretty seamless.

Yes, I'm sure I took that step, but sometimes the equipment doesn't suit what you need.

Very true, plus you may not want to spend the money on an entire new rig. There are a good number of international rigs at SFRO, you should have no problem getting advice in the discord, and the staff is pretty great at answering questions as well, normally also in the discord.