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7 year old boy first scope?

ivrytwr3

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ivrytwr3

ivrytwr3

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Hi all,

Newbie here and in need of assistance!

I am looking to purchase a telescope for my 7 year old boy who is starting to show an interest in the skies. I have spent the last few weeks browsing forums and online stores etc and THINK i have got it down to these two:

Celestron Astromaster 130EQ - currently £134 delivered.

or

Skywatcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian - cheapest i can find £271 :):eek:

My 'criteria' for purchasing is:

a. It will be fitted to little boys bedroom and maybe moved to garden area - not much travelling with the scope will be involved.

b. The cheaper the better as it is intended as a Christmas present - if he gets the £271, there will not be much else he will be getting!

c. Most important - easy to set up. I am due to deploy to Afghanistan with the military in October for 6 months. Therefore i will miss Xmas with my family and it will be up to my non-technical wife to set up the system.

d. Easy to use - as above.

Any thoughts or advice? Any places offering cheaper/sales? Anyone offering one second hand?

Thanks for reading my essay!!

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todd8137

todd8137

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i would not bother with either of those scopes they need maintenance and may be prone to bumps and bangs of the young man, i would consider a refactor for the same cash (unless its mum and dad that really want the scope when he looses interest)

cheers

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onesmallstep

onesmallstep

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Hi

Given your requirements for the scope I'd like to suggest the following as an alternative. It's the 130 Flextube model by Skywatcher and is the simpler setup for people with limited technical abilities. The scope is aimed at beginners and can be used indoors and outside if set up on a patio table or garden chair. The cost is the same and it is portable enough to be taken on holidays.

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Heritage 130p Flextube

Good luck in Afghanistan!

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kniclander

kniclander

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Hi

Given your requirements for the scope I'd like to suggest the following as an alternative. It's the 130 Flextube model by Skywatcher and is the simpler setup for people with limited technical abilities. The scope is aimed at beginners and can be used indoors and outside if set up on a patio table or garden chair. The cost is the same and it is portable enough to be taken on holidays.

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Heritage 130p Flextube

Good luck in Afghanistan!

seconded but tbh a 7 yr old on his own is going to struggle to find anything other than the moon (although the moon is pretty awesome ) . good luck :)

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Damo636

Damo636

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I would definately consider a refractor on an alt/az or fork mount for a 7 year old, something like this maybe First Light Optics - Skywatcher Evostar 90 (AZ3) The reflectors will need maintenance at some point ie. collimation and an eq mount may be difficult for a child of that age to manage. Be safe out there bud.

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part timer

part timer

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I would go for something like the Skywatcher startravel 80 on a simple tripod.

Kids struggle with dobs and reflectors in general.

This will be simple for your wife to put together, easy for a 7 year old to point and look through and will show him every thing he wants to see, even as he gets older.

Also, It is easy to pack up without damage if you move a lot (I always seemed to get fourth floor married quarters!). And it doesn't take up any space in the house (again thinking of my 3 kids in our two bed married quarter!!)

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Cornelius Varley

Cornelius Varley

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I would definately consider a refractor on an alt/az or fork mount for a 7 year old, something like this maybe First Light Optics - Skywatcher Evostar 90 (AZ3) The reflectors will need maintenance at some point ie. collimation and an eq mount may be difficult for a child of that age to manage. Be safe out there bud.

I have to agree. A reflector requires regular collimation and equatorial mounts can be difficult to use. A big dobsonian may also be too high for a small clid to reach the eyepiece near the zenith. A small refractor on a alt-az mount would be a more suitable telescope.

Peter

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dag123

dag123

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I have the Astromaster 130EQ and I would not be wanting my little ones near it when fully-assembled without close supervision in case it somehow ("look daddy, I can climb on it") accidentally toppled over on them. It is certainly heavy enough, and with sticking-out-bits, to cause damage.

I'd follow the advise above and go for a small refractor or the table top scope that "onesmallstep" suggsted.

My only concern with the refractor is that if it were left assembled on its mount, it still might be toppled over. Therefore the table-top reflector is safer but would probably require collimination at times to keep sharp focus.

dag123

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lexyastroman

lexyastroman

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You wouldn't want to spend to much on a first scope for a 7 year old you never know how long they going to be interested in the hobby. A tabletop scope would probably be the best route, little maintance and easily stored. A Few alternatives below

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Startravel 80 TableTop Telescope £108

Celestron Travel Scope 70 Telescope £59.99

Orion GoScope 80mm TableTop Refractor - SCS Astro £115

I'm thinking of getting one of these as a grab and go/holiday scope so should be a good long term scope option. Also they got good reviews on online forums so best of luck....

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kniclander

kniclander

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You wouldn't want to spend to much on a first scope for a 7 year old you never know how long they going to be interested in the hobby. A tabletop scope would probably be the best route, little maintance and easily stored. A Few alternatives below

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Startravel 80 TableTop Telescope £108

Celestron Travel Scope 70 Telescope £59.99

Orion GoScope 80mm TableTop Refractor - SCS Astro £115

I'm thinking of getting one of these as a grab and go/holiday scope so should be a good long term scope option. Also they got good reviews on online forums so best of luck....

that orion looks interesting - a dob mounted refractor - truly the best of both worlds methinks as it avoids the wobbly tripods which are often the bane of cheap refractors.

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ivrytwr3

ivrytwr3

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I am soooo glad i asked for your advice here - i can see now why my choices were unsuitable!

Now then, i have again narrowed it down to these two:

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Evostar 90 (AZ3)

Orion GoScope 80mm TableTop Refractor - SCS Astro

Budget is much better, but my concern now is "table top scope" - i was hoping for one with a tripod so it can be positioned near his bedroom window (the only 'table top' in his room is a desk, which is no where near his window!)

Or if you could recommend a decent tripod to go with the tabletop?

Thanks again all for your help!

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jgs001

jgs001

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Personally, I'd suggest going smaller and lighter... the ST80 on a camera tripod (if you reverse mount the scope on the tripod, you can point it almost directly upwards :glasses2:) is quite a good bet... although, I have to say, I do like the like of that baby dob mount. Steer clear of the tabletop ST80... the eq1 it's on, is pretty heavy and may well be tricky for him to operate.

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part timer

part timer

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Just to piont out that the 90mm scope you linked to is probably quite a bit bigger and heavier than you think. A seven year old would not be able to use that themselves.

The little orion is the right sort of size but that little mount will cause more problems than it's worth. To use it outside you will need a table to put it on, which will make it wobbly and difficult to find objects. Also your child will soon grow to the point that it is difficult to use that mount at all.

I would stick with my original choise of the ST 80 and a semi decent camera tripod.

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Vicky

Vicky

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I'm surprised no-one has mentioned the Top Ten Telescopes from Green Witch Skywatcher Infinity- the reviews are very good, he can use it on its stand or by holding it and its cheap enough that if he doesn't really get into it then its not too expensive. Sky at Night gave it an excellent review- may be in the market for one for one of my children too this christmas.

http://www.opticalvision.co.uk/documents/66.pdf (review s@n)

Hope this helps :glasses2:

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