Help me please.

[icklecat]

No its not from Amazon, id seen at in a store but it wasnt that much, she quoted me £170 without the motor.i dont know you need a moto? if the price is good or bad?? I dont know if the telescope is any good?? I think im in over my head with all of this. Not only do I not know nothing about any of this but its my first time coming onto forums too. Oh its so confusing.. thanks for your help. X

[Space Beagle]

Maybe just buy him (and yourself!) a good book as an introduction to Astronomy, um, like this one for example:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Backyard-Astronomers-Guide-Terence-Dickinson/dp/1554073448/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382273606&sr=8-1&keywords=the+backyard+astronomers+guide

I bought this book when I first started out and it is very good at explaining all aspects of Astronomy to new users, very nice pictures too!

Or even a decent pair of binoculars to go with it, again have a look at the FLO website for them.

Doc

[YKSE]

I think Skyliner 150P and Evostar 90 on EQ-3 are best alternatives for spending just above 200£. If 200£ is the maximum spending, then Heritage 130P(http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-heritage-130p-flextube.html) and Evostar 90 on AZ-3 (http://www.firstlightoptics.com/evostar/skywatcher-evostar-90-az3.html) are alternatives.

Pros:

Dobsonian(Skyliner or Heritage)                                                       Evostar 90

1. Best value for optics.                                                                     1. Tradition look of telescope.

2. Many Deep Sky Objects(DSO) can be seen.                                 2. maintnance free.

3. Small storage space.                                                                     3. Great for daytime use, birding e.g.

                                                                                                          4. More pleasing view of stars (Not the brightest)

Cons:

1. Not the look of traditional telescope.                                              1. Less DSO can be seen. 

2. Not suitable for daytime use.                                                          2. Even Moon and planets are dimmer due to smaller aperture.

3. needs to be collimated from time to time.                                       3. Biger storage space.

I would suggest that OP try to find out what your partner values most of these pros and cons, if a telescope is what he wants.

[ollypenrice]

Olly you are entitiled to your opinion as I am entitled to mine. 

I don't accept poor customer service when I am spending my hard-earned money and therefore I don't recommend using First Light Optics.

You are free to love them as much as you wish. I am imagining you skipping off into the sunset with them now :-)

Of course you are so entitled! I would never dream of suggesting otherwise, nor did I do so. What I said was that it was a 'minority opinion on here,' as seems to have been confirmed by subsequent posts. In fact FLO don't sell much of the equipment I use but if they'd care to invite me to a sunny beach bar in Barbados to enjoy the sunset then they're welcome to do so and, by gad, I might just accept!

I'll stick with my recommendation of the 6 inch Dob from FLO. Why?

Enough aperture to give 'serious' views both planetary and deep sky.

A simple, intuitive mount which is smooth, stable and quick to set up.

The limited budget goes mostly into the optics.

Skywatcher kit is drop shipped but that means it isn't pre-inspected by the dealer so a good returns policy is vital and it is a matter of observable fact that FLO have one. This is not what I would call an opinion, it is something that has been consistently proven. Believe me, it is downright infuriating to be on the receiving end of a bad one, especially when the spend was £5000.

Olly

[knobby]

Please forgive this southerners appalling lack of geographic knowledge of Yorkshire... But how far away from hessle is Rother Valley Optics... ?

And for me if the Mrs bought me a 150 skywatcher Dob... I'd wet my pants :-)

Good luck Cat

[Astro Imp]

Please forgive this southerners appalling lack of geographic knowledge of Yorkshire... But how far away from hessle is Rother Valley Optics... ?

And for me if the Mrs bought me a 150 skywatcher Dob... I'd wet my pants :-)

Good luck Cat

Or Green Witch @ Leeds.

[Adrian]

Ten years ago my wife (then girlfriend) bought me a telescope for my birthday - a celestron powerseeker 675 (a 114mm newtonian reflector). Now this is one of those scopes you get from 'gadget store' type shops, the sort that we will recommend that you avoid, but it got me outside and looking at the planets (Jupiter is awesome, saturn just jaw-droppingly beautiful) and I could see some galaxies & nebulae. I have since moved onto bigger and better scopes, but the point is that her present got me out there (and the scope wasn't actually bad, so long as I didn't try to get 675x magnification shown on the box!).

A 5/6 inch reflector is very reasonably priced and an excellent all round starter scope which will allow your partner to find out what they want from a scope (whether they even enjoy the hobby ), but in the end, any scope is a doorway to the night sky and should be well received as a gift.

[icklecat]

If its the one in Sheffield, then its about 1 hour drive away,, but good to know there is the option of driving there for a chat with somone. Ok so how about Skyliner 150p 6" Parabolic Dob or Skywatcher explorer 130p EQ2???

[Adrian]

Either one would be a wonderful gift that I think any one of us would have enjoyed as a first scope.

[Ant]

Out of those two, assuming that a camera won't be added... I'd go for the 150 Skyliner.

They also benefit from a smaller footprint that the EQ2' so can be kept in a surprisingly small space.

Ant

[ollypenrice]

Out of those two, assuming that a camera won't be added... I'd go for the 150 Skyliner.

They also benefit from a smaller footprint that the EQ2' so can be kept in a surprisingly small space.

Ant

I agree with this. The 'Dobsonian' mount is lighter, simpler, faster and far more stable. Equatorial mounts are really for photography and only high class versions, above your budget, really work anyway. My view of cheap equatorials is that they are meant to look technical and pukkha when, in fact, they are tat.

Olly 

[bingevader]

This:

If you don't know what type of scope your partner would like then you could always get gift vouchers instead:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/first-light-optics-gift-vouchers/first-light-optics-gift-voucher.html

Admittedly, vouchers lack the wow-factor of a telescope but then your partner can choose the scope that suits their needs. You have already had some excellent advice in previous posts regarding different scopes. You could show your partner this thread when the time comes and then make the decision together 

And this:

Maybe just buy him (and yourself!) a good book as an introduction to Astronomy, um, like this one for example:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Backyard-Astronomers-Guide-Terence-Dickinson/dp/1554073448/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382273606&sr=8-1&keywords=the+backyard+astronomers+guide

I bought this book when I first started out and it is very good at explaining all aspects of Astronomy to new users, very nice pictures too!

Or even a decent pair of binoculars to go with it, again have a look at the FLO website for them.

Doc

If you don't know, I wouldn't risk it.

Everyone here will be delighted to help him spend his vouchers on Christmas day! 

Cheers

[knobby]

The good thing that you are doing Cat, is the research! If you do end up getting the wrong kind of scope (ie he fancies imaging but you bought the dob) if you stick to a scope that's well thought of then you'll probably not lose much by selling it in January after or during the stargazing live panic buy :-)

But I'm sure he'll love either type.

[laowho]

You know icklecat,

We never thought we'd have a scope, even after two years of serious binocular astronomy. Figured that only "other people have scopes...smart, technical people," and that scopes were too complicated. Once we got past this, the default notion of what a telescope "is" went to the ubiquitous refractor, the only kind of scope we'd ever even seen. And the need to optically align the other reflector type seemed an automatic disqualification. Then we saw a pic of a reflector scope made from a mop handle and a bucket, and all our fears evaporated...we built our own scope never having looked through or even seen a real telescope. So fear not...and I'd even go so far as to say that, for a completely immersive intro to astronomy, get the reflector/dob. Just aligning the mirrors (collimation) (and which needn't be done all that often), is a very satisfying, intimate aspect to observing. That, and they'll see more with it, giving them every chance to continue in the hobby.

[happy-kat]

Does he do other stuff like birdwatching?

If so then something like a celestron c90 spotting scope Maksotuv which can be used for teresterial viewing and astonomy and is the same tube as the skymax 90.

If you bought second hand you might find go to scopes in your budget.

[Astro Imp]

I wonder if this group might be worth a visit:- http://northlincsastro.org/

[hazegood]

Green Witch Leeds, would be about a 45 minute drive along the M62 (depending on traffic of course for the OP)

Icklecat - its just off junction 27 of the M62, that's the one where Ikea etc is

[icklecat]

Thanks very much everyone u have been great =) if anyone has any suggestions for a first timers scope up too £230 please do send me a post thanks xx

[hazegood]

How about this for an idea, get him a book, something like 'Turn left at Orion, for Christmas, but put an envelope containing vouchers form one of the mentioned suppliers inside the first page or so.

That way he would have a decent beginners book, and money to spend on a scope or equipment he would really like.

Legh

[Beardy30]

I do recommend you look at the dobsonian skywatcher scopes in the fist light optics website they r the number one supplier and skywatcher fobs r great scopes that will provide long term pleasure.

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