Beginner - buying second hand telescopes and what to buy

[sheenoco]

Hi,

We are beginners looking to buy our first scope.

Ideally we're looking to buy second hand. Does anyone have any tips for buying second hand or where to buy from?

Ideally we want at least an 8". Would have loved a goto but our budget of £300 just won't stretch to that. What sort of thing would you buy for that price?

Thank you in advance.

[Mark at Beaufort]

Sheenoco welcome to SGL. The forum does have a classified section but you can only see it by accumulating 50 posts to view / buy and 250 posts to place an advert in the classifieds. More details are defined in the code of conduct of the SGL forum which you agree to when you signed up.

Notwithstanding that statement you can purchase equipment from Astronomy buy and sell - link - http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/browse.php

If you have £300 to spend you could buy a 8" Dobsonian again here is a link - http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-dobsonian.html

Personally although goto scopes have there benefits you are spending a large amount on the motors and software. Buying a manual scope allows you to study the sky and to get to know the constellations and where deep sky objects are located. The 8" Dobsonian is an ideal telescope for this.

Enjoy the forum, ask questions and you will soon reach 50 posts.

Mark

[floppygoose]

Hi Sheenoco,

I would recommend not buying second hand -  for £300 you could buy a new Newtonian reflector - 200P Dobsonian scope - these are around £280 from First Light Optics, and delivery within a couple of days.

Phil

[sheenoco]

Thanks for your replies.

It's my birthday on Saturday so I wanted the scope for then.

Is the one that's linked a decent one then? We would like to buy new but didn't think the budget would allow so thanks for that.

[floppygoose]

It's the most popular scope on the market Sheenoco - people have differences of opinion over whether a Dobsonian is a better option than a 'go-to' scope. Personally I prefer to locate and find objects for myself, as such the Dobsonian is perfect for this, and it does 'what it says on the tin.'

Phil

[Kai]

Just a note of caution....

I would think carefully at what your expectations are when looking through the scope , alot of people purchase scopes thinking that they can see the universe in full colour and at huge magnifications that you see in the images that are produced.

Sadly they find out that this is not the case . The place you plan to observe from can also have a huge impact on what you can see.

Scopes come in all shapes and sizes and can be fairly heavy to transport , consider this before buying your first scope or it will very quickly start to gather dust

[Schorhr]

Hello,

I would also reccomend a larger dobsonian instead of a smaller goto telescope, as with a bit of reading and star maps it's not that difficult to locate objects. Moon and planets are the easy ones, the larger deep sky objects are quite easy to find as well...

Used equipment can be a bargain, if you know what to watch out for and if you can take a look at it prior to paying.

perhaps a local astronomy club could be of help.

What's really importaint for a 8" dobsonian would be better eyepieces and a telrad or Rigel quick finder.

Instead of looking through a narrow view finder telescope you will just comfortablly look at the sky through the telrad with projected circles, and you just have to match the circle's position to your map.

As for eyepieces, a good overview is important. This means you should get a 30-35mm wide angle 2" eyepiece (for example an Erfle with around 70 degree of apparent field of view), while most entry level eyepieces would be 25mm SUPER or better a 32mm Plössl eyepieces with around 50 degree.

For higher magnification the 45€ HR Planetary (58 degree aparent field of view) or the 30€ UWA (66 degree) are a good start.

Ideal Budget combination could be

32mm TSWA/erfle from 70€

20mm UWA 32€

6mm HR Planetary 45€

+2x Barlow 17€

+Rigel quick finder or telrad (40-70€)

+A copy of "turn left at orion" and/or printed free star charts

+red led light with adjustable brightness to preserve dark adaption

+warm clothing

...but of course the included eyepieces won't turn you blind... Unless you look into the Sun, which you should never Do without the correct front filter. ;-)

If the telescope already consumes most of the budget, go get some eyepieces later or use the inexpensive barlow and 10-17€ Plössl, they are not bad for their price.

I would always reccomend the largest aperture you can afford/transport and more accessories later, as that's usually still showing much more as a small telescope with high-end accessories...

Be aware a 8" is a huge telescope, and to transport it to REALLy dark locations, you'll either have to live out in no-where or use a car; Perhaps a bike hanger if you live at the edge of a town.

You will just realize how much light polution there is after you start observing :-(

Good luck finding a telescope and have fun!

If a car is no option, check out the Heritage 130p, it's only 5" but still fits into a (large) backpack, and really affordable.

[Schorhr]

Kai is right,

most are a bit disappointed when realizing what they can see under normal/mediocre conditions. But to most of us, seeing it yourself is much more satisfying then viewing planets or nebulae on Wikipedia ;-)

A good comparison of what to see, on good conditions with experience and longer observation duration, is

http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&nv=1&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=de&tl=en&u=http://www.binoviewer.at/beobachtungspraxis/teleskopvergleich_deepsky.htm&usg=ALkJrhidF6g0miZxrqxLgQvo-oxZsVXRzA (translated)

and

http://clarkvision.com/visastro/m51-apert/

As you see the observation took several minutes and is composed out of different magnifications combined... But I find it's usualy the impression you got after you pack your stuff for the night.

You will notice the increase of details with 8", that's why 8" is so oftrn reccomended :-)

[Mark at Beaufort]

It is important to consider the size, sky conditions (light pollution in your area), storage etc of a scope and sometimes even a 8" Dobsonian might be too big.

Last week I was away in a dark location - no light pollution. I took with me a small 66mm refractor on a alt/az mount. The sky was crystal clear and I had a wonderful time going from one DSO to another. I had a great view of Messier 33 and 101 which are faint even in a 8" Newtonian. Although I have a large Dobsonian I often use a 6" Newtonian as a quick grab and go and I have had great views of the Moon, Planets and DSOs with this scope.

Sheenoco having all this addition information may have made your decision more difficult. Anyway answer these questions - where will I store the scope? Will it be easy to transport close to the storage area? Do I have a car to transport to a dark location? Once you have answered these few questions come back to us and we will provide additional recommendations.

Mark

[John]

Hello and welcome to the forum 

You have had some great advice above but one additional thing I'd add is not to hurry into this. You mention that you would like a scope for next Saturday (your birthday ?) and I guess that is just about possible but there are lots of options to consider as I'm sure you are realising now so maybe settling for an "IOU a Scope" on Saturday would be a sensible move to give you more time to ask questions and develop your expectations ?

I'd also advise against rushing into buying lots of accessories for the scope, such as additional eyepieces, Again the options are virtually endless and making the correct selection (and spending wisely !) is really helped by having had a few sessions using the scope.

Sorry to advise caution but I think the saying "buy in haste, repent at leisure" can easily apply to rushed astro equipment buying decisions

[AndyWB]

I thought long and hard about getting a GOTO, and then I read this article:

http://www.deepastronomy.com/what-you-need-to-know-before-buying-a-telescope.html

It encouraged me to keep things simple - and having watched folks struggling with aligning GOTO scopes, having power problems, and so on, I'm glad I did. Goto has a number of advantages, but the simplicity of a Dobsonian-mounted Newtonian reflector is useful. The Skywatcher 200p is generally considered one of the best scopes in terms of "bang per buck". Note, however, all Dobsonian mounted scopes are not suitable for photography, if that's something you're interested it (though frankly, imaging is nearly a different game!)

[sheenoco]

Thanks so much everyone this has really helped. Are First Light Optics quick to deliver and does my one have a voucher code?

[Schorhr]

If in doubt ask if they have it in stock... What did you decide to go for?

[sheenoco]

Hi everyone sorry I haven't replied. Got the Skywatcher 8" dobsonian you all recommended. Really looking forward to using it - should have it on Saturday.

Also bought a Planetarium.

Tried to download Stellarium but my netbook can't cope with it. Does Google Skymap work as well as I have that on my phone and you can switch it to night vision mode which is a bonus?

[bingevader]

Congratulations!

I hope the skies are clear for your birthday!

Cheers

[Schorhr]

Neat!

Well, the night-mode will turn the screen black-red, but actually TFT displays will still emit a bit of white light (this can be seen on long exposure photographs); To save eye adaption a red transparency sheet helps a lot... or classic star charts and paper plus a dim red light.

For planets and such this might be no issue, but for faint nebula a good night vision / darkness adaption is key :-)

Also try Astro tools for android, not as fancy, but very useful tools for Astronomy.

[shirva]

My advice would be based on....

what do want or expect to see with a telescope

Do you want to do visual or astrophotography. .

You can save your self money and time knowing the answers to these questions. ..

Visual-large dob

Astrophotography - a lot more than 300 pounds but you can build on a half decent scope and work towards a nice set up...

Thing is one scope won't cover all types of astronomy but certain scopes can bridge the gap.

The scope you have bought is a great starting point and will definitely wet your appetite for astronomy,, I love the detail you get frpm the moon with this scope....Davy

[shirva]

Skymap is ok on the phone use ot as quick reference finder rather than using the planitarium.what mount did you get out of intrest. ..Davy

[sheenoco]

The one it came with - Wooden Alt-Azimuth Mount with Accessory Tray