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Hello everyone!


bertboy

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Hi all,

After a couple of years looking up at all of the great things that pass over our heads in the night sky with a pair of binos the time has finally come for me to take a step into the world of scopes.

As I thought the more you look at them and try to decide what would be best to get you started the more and more carried away you can get.

Keep having to remind myself that one of the main things I have to consider is storing the scope I will end up buying, it might just be me but I'm finding it tricky working out the sizes on most of them.

Finding lots of good info on here but I'm sure I'll be asking more questions sooner or later.

On with the search!

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Hi all,

After a couple of years looking up at all of the great things that pass over our heads in the night sky with a pair of binos the time has finally come for me to take a step into the world of scopes.

As I thought the more you look at them and try to decide what would be best to get you started the more and more carried away you can get.

Keep having to remind myself that one of the main things I have to consider is storing the scope I will end up buying, it might just be me but I'm finding it tricky working out the sizes on most of them.

Finding lots of good info on here but I'm sure I'll be asking more questions sooner or later.

On with the search!

hi all out there :grin:

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Hi and welcome to the forum. The key thing with anything astronomical is to take your take and make the right decision, after all the stars aren't going anywhere soon!

One thing I would recommend that you do before deciding on any one particular scope and that is to get yourself along to one of the many public stargazing events that are run by local astronomical societies at this time of year. In fact we have just come to the end of this years Stargazing Live on the BBC which always creates a lot of interest in the night sky so it may well be a good idea to check out any local events that are connected to this programme too. The reason for this suggestion is because for all the adverts and specifications that you might read, they really don't mean anything to someone like yourself starting out. It's only when you go along to some of the events and actually look through the different scopes that also come in a variety of different sizes that you begin to get some idea of what the specifications actually mean and whether those differences will suit what you intend to observe. From a couple of events you will soon be able to create a kind of "datum" line from which you then can make an informed decision on what will satisfy your own expectations and  designated budget. One other obvious advantage in going along to look through some of these scopes is that you can naturally get up close to them, be it measure their size, gauge their portability (visiting a dark site or carrying it out onto the patio etc) or length of set up times. It's worth while remembering that larger scopes take longer for their optics to 'cool down' and that some scope designs need more collimation (fine tuning the optics) than others.

As a starting point, you might like to take a look at the U.K's best selling scope, the Skywatcher 200P (a dobsonian reflector) of which there are many owners on here, all of whom seem very pleased with the views that this particular scope provides for them. I would strongly advise that what ever you end up purchasing, always stick to the main manufacturers such as Skywatcher, Meade and Celestron. Don't be tempted to buy a scope off of Ebay or even a used scope unless you have access to someone who can help you evaluate its quality. There is a lot of duff kit out there that promise huge magnifications which in the real world are impossible to achieve and will only lead to disappointment. Please don't hesitate to ask any further questions in the beginners equipment section on any kit that you are interest in or that you want to know more about as there are plenty of people here who are more than happy to assist you make the right choice. Hope the above helps you along your journey.

Clear skies for now and hope you enjoy the forum.

James

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 Thanks James, I heave to admit I have been leaning towards the dobs, mainly smaller ones due to my storage constraints.

Good advice on finding a local society in order to check out the different types though.

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