Cheap

[nederman63]

Only been into this hobby for a month, bought a flexi tube which I am happy with for now, if I get into it more, well who knows what I will buy next. Since I have joined this great site I have read a load of posts about scopes, and have come to realise, like everything in this life you get what you pay for, but.... If someone asked for your advise on a cheap scope that is actually any good, and will give you decent views of the sky, would you recommend any type of scope, and by cheap I mean under a £100 or as cheap as possible, or would you say forgot it. I ask this as there are loads of good scopes out there, but are there any out there that can be a good entry for someone who has a small budget.

[JamesF]

I think I might be tempted to suggest that if you wanted a decent telescope on a budget then the Heritage 130P would be the place to look, and if you couldn't afford that then a better option than a telescope might be a decent pair of binoculars, perhaps with a tripod.

James

[crashtestdummy]

i agree with james,i would get a decent pair of binoculars rather than a cheap cheap scope as you just dont get quality with the really cheap scopes and alot of them are an unknown quantity.i personally think starting with bonoculars is a better idea than going straight for a scope

[Moonshane]

you might just get a used 6" skywatcher dob for £100. this would be an excellent buy.

[John]

I always struggle to find a scope that I can recommend at £100 or less. A possible exception might be the Skywatcher Mercury 70mm F/7 refractor which comes on an AZ-3 mount for £100 but thats really the only one I can think of. Raising the budget to £150 though gives some more interesting choices including a 3.5" refractor and 5" newtonians which are capable, with thoughtful use, of showing good views of quite a wide range of objects.

As Shane says, on the used market £100 can go further ....

[Naemeth]

Used Heritage (how I started) / Used 6" Dob. The accessories mean it's never as cheap as the scope starts out though .

[JamesF]

Have to agree. If you're prepared to go second hand you can get something better. The bargains don't seem to hang around for long though.

James

[Pig]

Binoculars are a good optiion, but not too powerful beacuse you need to keep them steady - I have a pair of 8x56 and they are very impressive for stars and the moon even, and you wont need a rest/stand

(Practika Diana £49)

[Stargazer_00]

Getting poor quality equipment is worse than having nothing at all because when you have nothing at least you get to keep your first impression saved up!

If you can't find a scope on the s/h market for less than £100 then dont buy a scope at all in my opinion. Get binoculars and a binocular astronomy book of some kind. You can get some average bins and a book for £50 probably. I wouldnt spend less than £150 on a scope really. Definitely dont buy anything from ebay, buy from a reputable dealer. Some of them might even have returns or seconds that only have cosmetic damage that they might be willing to let go at a nice discount.

Being patient on the second hand market is probably the best advice

[fondofchips]

Patience & let your budget grow, nothing more gutting than a bad purchase.

[JonF]

The typical used price of a Heritage 130 or Skywatcher Explorer 130 is under £100. Both give excellent views - I know as I've got an Explorer and a very kind member on here donated a Heritage for my kids to use. The Heritage is a particularly good piece of kit.