Telescope buying

[YoungAstronomer]

Hey guys!, I need your help... I got a 50mm refractor telescope last Christmas, and I'm not really satisfied with it. So, this Christmas, I want to get my self a new telescope, probably a reflector. My budget is P8,000 - P 10,000.. That's about $200 to $250. What scope should I buy? I really need your help here! Thanks in advance.. Clear Skies!

[rwilkey]

Hi YoungAstronomer, welcome to the Lounge, That's a really small budget and you will have difficulty getting a new reflector of any worth for that price, I suggest you try the second-hand market.

[Geordie mc]

Bigger scopes also need better mounts. Start saving up or you'll just waste money constantly upgrading. I think you'll need nearly double your budget for anything decent. Maybe relatives could give you cash or vouchers for your preferred astronomy retailer?

[YoungAstronomer]

I don't want those advance one, I want it simple. I don't want those computerized telescope, nor the huge high-powered one, I just want it to be simple and enough for beginners like me  thanks anyway

[Stu]

Something like a Skywatcher heritage 130p might fit the bill?

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/heritage/skywatcher-heritage-130p-flextube.html

Very simple and compact but nearly 2.5 x the aperture of your current scope and enough to get you started properly. They have a good reputation

Stu

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[YKSE]

A Skywatcher Heritage 130p should be a good choice with your budget. There're some site members having it as a grab and go scope, even if they have some othere scopes.

[YKSE]

Stu, you're too quick

[ronin]

Where will you be purchasing from?

Within the Philippines or from the US, if the Philippines there is the minor problem that most have no idea what brands of scopes are available to you.

As an example I suppose the main single brand here is Skywatcher, whaereas these are somewhat uncommon in the US.

There is a reasonable 90mm dia, 900mm focal length refractor sold here as Skywatcher Evostar 90. It is available on a basic Alt/Ax mount. That may be a decent option for you. The mount is not great however but the Evo 90 on an Alt/Az is £130 here so about $200. They come on a better EQ3-2 mount but that get the cost to over $300.

Check out Skywatcher 150P Dobsonian's for availability, £200 here so $300 which is a little high, but again may be lower price ine the Philippines. A very similar one is the Orion XT6 which may be available to you - no idea of cost.

Unfortunately without a better idea of what scopes are avail;able to you that is about as far as I can go.

You can also look for the Bresser Brand, they are part of Explore Scientific. The achro scopes are Bresser, the aop scopes are ES. They do a 90/900 scope but I cannot find the cost. The Bresser site internal links do not really work and I can get little from it. They do not seem to come with a "simple" mount, however as I can get almost nothing from the US site they might but again I cannot find out. Nice scopes however cannot give an idea of cost, some vague memory says about $120 for the 90mm, I think the 102mm is about $200 - no mount included, just scope.

[swamp thing]

As Stu has said the heritage are a good starting point

Any of the scopes on this page should be a good starting point

[Dave In Vermont]

Where will you be purchasing from?

Within the Philippines or from the US, if the Philippines there is the minor problem that most have no idea what brands of scopes are available to you.

............................................................

As an example I suppose the main single brand here is Skywatcher, whaereas these are somewhat uncommon in the US.

.............................................................

Actually Skywatcher's are quite well represented here in the US. And very popular. I have an ST80 F/5 branded as a Skywatcher. Had it for 15 years.

Another benefit of Skywatcher is, I believe, it is quite easy to get in the Philippines, and the general area as well. That 130mm F/5 reflector looks like an excellent choice.

Clear Skies,

Dave

[ronin]

Dave, every time I have looked for Skywatcher on the US side I have uncovered very little, although I only have about 4 US retailers book marked. One lists about 2 scopes and the other has a section headed Skywatcher, but it is empty, one other doesn't list Skywatcher. So from experience i tend to say "not common". Also it is erring on the side of safety - no good saying get a Skywatcher if the OP cannot locate them either. :grin:

As to the Philippines I have literally no idea what is present there. Would actually expect quite a selection to be honest.

Idea was the give YoungAstronomer a couple of ideas.

If Skywatcher are available there without problem the they can consider the Evostar 90 or 150P dobsonian as a step up from the first scope they used.

[Michael11]

Another vote for the Heritage, optics are quite descent for such a cheap instrument.

Or the 150p dob if you can push it a little bit.

[happy-kat]

Where do you observe from, it is in a city and light polluted or is there less light pollution?

Have you seen the view through a newtonian?

It is different to what is seen through a refractor. The field of view is narrower (perhaps more expensive wide field eyepeices would help here).

Perhaps there is a local club you could go see through some different telescopes before making a choice.

[Dave Lloyd]

Maybe the 50 frac could be a finder.

[Dave In Vermont]

Dave, every time I have looked for Skywatcher on the US side I have uncovered very little, although I only have about 4 US retailers book marked. One lists about 2 scopes and the other has a section headed Skywatcher, but it is empty, one other doesn't list Skywatcher. So from experience i tend to say "not common". Also it is erring on the side of safety - no good saying get a Skywatcher if the OP cannot locate them either. :grin:

..................................................................

As an example of their prevalence here, they have one of their usual full-page advertisements in Astronomy - a major US periodical magazine. Page 75 this month. It's for their truss-tube Dobs.

They call themselves "Sky-Watcher USA" here. Perhaps that threw you. Their US website is:

www.skywatcherusa.com

Hope this helps,

Dave

[Hootsitabernacle]

Hey guys!, I need your help... I got a 50mm refractor telescope last Christmas, and I'm not really satisfied with it. So, this Christmas, I want to get my self a new telescope, probably a reflector. My budget is P8,000 - P 10,000.. That's about $200 to $250. What scope should I buy? I really need your help here! Thanks in advance.. Clear Skies!

oof...how much is that in guineas?

[Hootsitabernacle]

try these sites, the former might let you attend a meeting and try out one or two scopes before you decide to buy

http://www.philastrosociety.org/faq.htm

http://www.olx.ph/index.php/classifieds+directory/q/astronomical+telescope

[Geordie mc]

The heritage 130p is right on top end of your budget new, but you might pick up an explorer150 on an eq3 for only a little more second hand. My point is not that there isn't anything available, but just from my own experience you might buy something and very quickly feel you want to upgrade to something better. It might be worth waiting a little, trying some scopes at shows or local clubs and then deciding. Good luck.

[Tinker1947]

This might help...

http://www.astroleaguephils.org/