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Beginner's Scope Group Test in Kelling

Kai

By Kai
in Star Parties & Astro Events

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Kai

Kai

Posted
Posted

Hi All.

I was thinking over threads made by beginners on the Forum and have come up with a cunning plan.

A request to any of you that are coming to Kelling to participate in a Starter Scope Group Test.

The plan is that we can in a couple of hours one evening (or over a few) have a subjective test that people could refer to (via a Sticky thread).We could get peoples opinions of the test scopes and this would give a nicley balanced view.

I will start the ball rolling by bringing my Celestron 114 Newt.

Anybody else have a scope we could evaluate ,i wouldnt worry about mounts as its only the scope we will be testing.

What do you think..........Would it be worth it ????

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Whippy

Whippy

Posted
Posted

That is a cracking idea Steve :D. Only too happy to help!

I can bring my Celestron C8N (double up for the SW 200 newt :)), my WO ZS110 (not really a starters scope though, but I'm bringing it anyway :() and I've got one of those Mercury 705's coming so I could bring that if you want to.

Even better is my Brother-in law is most likely coming too and he's a complete novice, so we could get a newb's view point too :(.

Tony..

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Kai

Kai

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I recon that if we try to keep the scopes to up to the £150 level then that would be about the amount that most beginners are expecting to spend.

If this one goes well then maybe at SGL4 we could do a mid priced test etc etc 8)

Sky at Night watch out :D:)

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Kai

Kai

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I can be the newbie!

:)

javascript:void(0);

Razz

Chris

Yup :D:(

It would be good if we could get a good cross section of experiance so the test would cover all angles

Any idea if you can get a Dob for around £150 ??

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Kai

Kai

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But i think the margin for cost should be about the 400 quid mark!!

Darren i am trying to keep the price down as alot of people will spend £150 on a beginners scope but to spend £400 takes a bit more commitment.

If this is successfull then who knows what i/we might do next :D

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Kai

Kai

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At least then i can be involved and i was a complete novice when i first started 4 months ago (still am now) :D:(:):( :(

I would love it if you got involved as your opinions would be very valid Darren :Envy:

But i want to make it a Beginners scope test so I'm afraid the £150 has to stay :(

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Andrew*

Andrew*

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I'm an exception to this, (having wanted to spend no more than £100 on my first set-up) but I think £150 is a very small budget for beginners. I think £200 would be more reasonable.

Judging by the newbies on the forum, many have come wanting advice on their first set-up and stating their budget often as much as £500...

Andrew

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stargazer1980

stargazer1980

Posted
Posted

well steve! Its not really that much kit!

The telescope was 239 quid which me and the misses paid half each for and the revelation eyepiece kit isnt exactly of astrnomical cost and half was paid by my rents as a b'day present and the red dot finder i won in a competition at FLO! So to say i have a lot of kit.........................me thinks not! LOL!

And thanks kai i would love to be involved as im still a newbie and still at the beginning stages of this hobby!

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Kai

Kai

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Put it this way....

'If you were going to buy a loved one who expressed a interest in a scope,how much would you spend ?'

My firstscope lasted approx 2 months before i upgraded , much to my wifes astonishment :? :D

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FLO

FLO

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Posted

STEVE !!!!!!

Can we 'Borrow' one of these pretty pleeeeaassseee :)

A definitive starter-scope group-test. Excellent idea :thumbright:

Whatever you need, let me know and I'll bring them with me :salute: :(

(My money is on the Dobsonian :D)

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Whippy

Whippy

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Steve (or should that be Optimus?), is that £150 ceiling for the whole setup or just an OTA? Only asking as you said it's only the scope, not the mount, etc etc that'll be on test. But if it's a beginners set up, then surely the mount and any other accessories that come with it would be incorporated into the equation would it not? If it's the whole package, then I think £200 would be a better price point. That extra £50 does give you a lot more options for a beginners package. The Mercury will be bought with me anyhoo :D.

BTW if L'missus finds one in time, I'll bring a TAL1 down too if you're going to up the price point (£175 at FLO's)

Tony..

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Kai

Kai

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The only reason i said dont worry about the mount is so it might be easier for people to transport.Also it rules out differences in mount quality as its a scope test.

Thinking some more then i still think £150 is reasonable (we are not testing additional accessories this time) and its easy to keep pushing the price point upwards to just add another scope in.

Maybe the aim is to give people a honest test of a scope and what you can expect to see under excellent (fingers crossed) skies

But i suppose i will have to make a exception for the Dob :D

So far we have a .....

4 inch Newt

6 inch Dob

some refractors

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peonic

peonic

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How can you be the noob when you have that much kit? :D

Just cos 18 year olds these days have Subaru Imprezza's, doesn't mean the little oiks know how to drive, does it :)

I'll be bringing my Celestron 102SLT for guiding purposes anyway, if you want to add it to the test.

Cheers,

Chris

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Whippy

Whippy

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So that's £150 for either an OTA or a package as you would buy it at retail right? Again, I'm only asking because Chris (Peonic) has mentioned chipping in his 102 SLT, would that count as in theory as an OTA it would cost less than £150 (probably) but you can't buy it on it's own which so it's well over £150.

BTW, that dob would a 6" not an 8" (unfortunately :D).

Tony..

PS: Sorry if it sounds like I'm being a pain, but I thought it'd be best to clarify before people bring loads of stuff down and then it doesn't get used. I still think it's a cracking idea Steve :).

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