Tasco?

[szymon]

This looks very similar to a Celestron go-to scope, and the seller claims it is just 'rebranded' but with the same optics and go-to system:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tasco-Celestron-4-Starguide-Desktop-Goto-Computer-controlled-Telescope-/301200732514

It looks like, for the price, it might be a nice introduction to help us navigate the skies.

Thoughts?

-simon

[John]

The seller is broadly correct although it's a clone of an older Nexstar system. This website gives some more details:

http://www.nexstarsite.com/OddsEndsGTOriginal.htm

For a while Tasco actually owned Celestron I believe.

[szymon]

Thanks!  Ok, so looks like it will have the 'older' hand control, with less stars in the database...but I wouldn't expect to see many of those thousands of stars through the 4" scope in any case.

Does it seem like a reasonable scope for the price?

[nightfisher]

Not to bad a price, but at 4" it will be a little limited the seller is a reliable shop

[szymon]

Yes, this is my current dilemma -- to goto or not to goto.  Basically I can get this, which is more likely to keep my son interested (11 years old, in general if it's not microprocessor controlled he's not interested) or a 'manual' scope of twice the aperture.  Hard to know what to choose!

[Jim Steele]

I would probably avoid electronics in favour of bigger optics to see with. For the same money you could get a 150P dob. If he still craves the electronics, use Skyeye on android, or similar to find objects since there is an option to use it to find objects by attaching it to your tube.

It's strangely addictive finding objects this way and helps you learn a bit too

[Pete Presland]

Yes, this is my current dilemma -- to goto or not to goto.  Basically I can get this, which is more likely to keep my son interested (11 years old, in general if it's not microprocessor controlled he's not interested) or a 'manual' scope of twice the aperture.  Hard to know what to choose!

i would "goto" a dob with double the aperture, imagine his face when you look at the the moon through it   200mm is a serious amount of aperture!

[Charic]

Nothing to go wrong or set-up with a Dobsonian, compared to the  setting up of  EQ mounts, Polar Aligning, Star aligning, co-ordinates, battery packs, cables, ect. Get A Dobsonian ( just remember that Dobsonian is the name of the mounting system ) the telescope is still a Newtonian type reflector telescope.  The  6" (150mm) or 8" (200mm) Dobsonian's will fare very well.  Whatever you buy,  consider  the bigger aperture for better results? For my needs the 8" is perfect.  As you discover more about telescopes,  what's been said often makes sense from folk before us ( it has for me ) who have already past the first stages of indecisions, then purchase, then adjustments / corrections until satisfaction sets in. I'm at the satisfaction stage, and as I approach  this Winter  when its much darker up this far North, I'm more than preprepared for what's ahead.

[rowan46]

get the one you think he will enjoy rather than the one you think he should enjoy, there's nothing wrong with a small scope if he uses it. All the astronomers here will say the bigger scope will give the better views and so they will. but truth to tell unless you have a huge scope  there is not a lot that's a mind blowing view, the mind  blowing comes from the knowledge accrued and the imagination. my imagination was fired by a 60mm tasco  and probably a lot of the older members here had their imaginations fired by something equally prosaic.

[szymon]

I ended up buying a second hand 80mm f/11 (900mm barrel) refractor on a goto mount, for £80. Best move I could have made, as it's portable so we put it in the boot and took it on holiday with us! We are now in a dark sky camp site in Italy, and it's incredible. If I had bought the dob, it wouldn't have come with us. I think I will buy a larger scope for home, but it's great to have this one for now :-)