friends first scope

[Davie]

I'll try and be brief this time as I just had a large post wiped out by this damn tablet ....

A friends other half wants to get him a telescope for valintines day and has asked for some advice but this is harder than I thought mainly because its not for me, anyway the options and thoughts are

Heritage 130 dob - good starter scope but my mate is fairly tall so that could mean a lot of bending over or building something sturdy for it to sit on.

The astromaster 130 or the explorer 130, I do like my reflectors but they can end up in some odd positions, I put in these 2 as they have the different focal lengths

Last one is the evostar 90 refractor but not sure if an eq or az mount.

I think if I was buying for him id either go for the explorer 130 or the evostar 90 and flip a coin for which mount to take although id probably edge towards the az.

Sorry for the scant details but I didnt want to loose this like the last one.

Cheers in advance

Davie

[Ally8446]

Hi Davie

Is your friend interested in astro photography at all, if not then I'd suggest a dob. More aperture for your money. As far as his height goes, the dob can be positioned on top of something eg water butt stand, that puts the ep at perfect viewing position. Hope this helps.

Ally

[Davie]

Thanks for the reply Ally,

I also though the Dob would be cheaper but when your looking at the 130 size dob or reflector they are both about the same in price (£7 different)

[inedible_hulk]

Hi Davie,

Ok the EQ2 isn't perfect, but for the price the Explorer 130 is looking like a bit of a bargain!

Best wishes

Rob

[Mr Spock]

I'd go for the 130. Refractors are ok but a long tube makes a poor mount wobble.

[happy-kat]

What is the budget?

There is the 130pds which sort of opens the door for imaging

[Schorhr]

Hello,

the dobsonian is more intuitive to use and it's more stable then the EQ2 or Astro3 mounts;

Depends on where he's observing. I'm going to build a small transportation box out of inexpensive wood (roof batten, drill tip screws) for miy Heritage 130p that doubles as a table.

For my taste the Astro3 mount (between EQ2 and NEQ3) was too wobbly. Especially with higher magnification.

Of course there's allways the 150mm/6" dob that works well when seated and shows more (more aperture, better mirror, less coma and quality issues at f/8 then the 5"f/5)

[Davie]

_{thanks for all the replies}

_{I forgot to mention the budget, it was there in the first post but as i mentioned it got wiped :/  basically the scopes mentioned above are if not on the limit then they are over the limit, but we all do that dont we?}

_{I am slightly biased towards the 130 explorer as that was my first scope (loaned to me by the brother in law)  and it was great, its also only £135. I liked the flexi rods? that you used to track by hand and think that this is easy enough that even if its not facing exactly north and its not exactly set to your latitude then you can manage fine with them, I know i did and that says something!}

[Davie]

Well after a lot of thought my friends other half has decided to get him the explorer 130. It'll soon be hidden in the boot of a car and driven from Elgin to  Marbella.

She just needs to keep him out of the boot untill then

thanks for all the advice.