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beginner....go easy!


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Hello there!

After discovering my 6 year old son took genuine interest in my own interest looking up at the stars, i though it would be a great time to finally purchase myself a telescope after years of saying i would.  

Please excuse my lack of terminology and techno talk, as whilst i totally understand the principle of how a telescope works, i'm just beginning to look into the technical approach of what i need to get started.

So the main and no doubt obvious question i have in regard to purchasing a telescope is whats the best value for money, or to put it a better way, i want to spend the least possible to start with and get the best i can. lets say no more than £100 give or take. 

I've looked on ebay and amazon, and there is so much choice around. I would even consider buying a second hand one.

I am quite certain a reflector is the best one to go for and thats as far as i have got. Whilst i dont want to run before i can walk as the saying goes, i would rather get one that can keep me and my son interested for a good while.

Any suggestions and advice etc would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards

John

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Hi John,

The first thing I would suggest is to take your time and consider your options fully before you buy a first scope :grin:.

The second (and probably best) piece of advice I can give is to try and locate a local astronomy club. Contact them and head to an observing session and have a go on other peoples scopes to see what you like. It may help you narrow down your choices a bit.

Also have a look at the forum sponsors site (FLO) as they have a beginners scope page and come highly recommended in terms of customer service:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes.html

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welcome to the forum John,

best bang for buck would be something like this,

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-dobsonian.html

second hand around the £200 mark, i too wanted to buy a scope for me and my daughter when she was about 8 years old and bought a skywatcher 130p autotrak which is also a very good first scope although this needs power supply, unfortunately the hobby is very hard to get going for £100 budget but i don`t think you`ll regret buying a dobsonian scope.

you could try clubs around your area, our club in the midlands offers loan scopes to new members to get them going so something similar might be available near you.

good look and enjoy. 

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For value for money and no nonsense look no further than a Dobsonian.  The Skywatcher Skyliner series (6" and 8") models seem to pop up frequently in various shops online on stock that has been returned from a customer / ex-demo etc. New they are ~ £200 & £275 ish.  However, this will give plenty of aperture to keep you busy for years and see most deep sky objects as well as very good detail on the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn.

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Can only reiterate what has been said above, try to find a local group to have a peek through theirs; I very nearly ended up with a Heritage 76 as I was looking for a sub £100 starter scope, but I quickly realised I would have been disappointed with it and outgrown it very quickly after I'd had chance to look through one.

Of course I ended up spending more than I originally intended, but I eventually got something that met my initial needs and expectations.

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Will you be able to store any telescope downstairs in an easy to get to and move it outside location?

Only some dobsonian mounted reflectors are quite large and can be quite heavy which might preclude upstairs storage.

I have an ST80 a small refractor on an AZ3 mount and the Heritage 130p which takes moments to take outside, I sit to observe so put it on an upturned bucket.

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your better off getting a good pair of binoculars for around the price your willing to spend. If you get a telescope at that price  its like getting a really good pair of binoculars. i'm just like you i've always saying i'm going to get a scope but never do but got a lot of advice telling me to get a pair of binoculars first to familiarize  myself with spotting constellations or planets because its harder to do with a scope. i have of 15x70 celestron skymasters and there great astronomy binoculars. All you need are 15x20 binoculars for them to be good for stargazing so anything bigger is obviously better but would also require a tripod for stable viewing.  now i want the scope even more but your better off saving up for a real good scope which is usually pretty expensive but worth it, the binoculars will satisfy your kid and your astronomy viewing for the price your willing to spend.

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Unless binoculars are on a mount there pretty pants and for a child to hold them still is going to be a no no. A small dob is the way forward.a 6" dob will show you the great red spot and gas bands on Jupiter.the brighter globular clusters will be resolvable and galaxy's will be easy to see. Yoyr child can explore the craters on the moon in far more detail than a pair of 15x70 celestrons which I have and think are pants. Seeing shadows inside creators will surely be a wow moment for both of you.

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Some good advice here, the Skywatcher SW 150P Skyliner on Astroboot would be a good starting point & value for money too.

There is a phone number at the top of the web page, call them just to make sure everything (accessories etc) are there.

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Not much to add, other than I wouldn't discount the Heritage 130p as an option too. It looks like a toy, but it's a good, compact, 5" reflector, and close(ish) to budget. Some use it on a table, some on an low stool or upturned bucket - I just plonk it on the floor and sit next to it on a camping chair.

However, with a reflector, you'll probably want a collimation tool too - I recommend a Cheshire collimator - but you might want to budget for that too. Eyepieces and stuff can wait.

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I'm suprised that no one has mentionned the ever popular and ubiquitous ST80. It can be supplied with a cheap mount from FLO, it looks like a telescope rather than a mortar, it can further be used for other 'Astro' purposes, can double as a day time terrestrial telescope and is bang on budget, + is as rare as hens teeth on the S/H market because everybody keeps hold of them regardless.

I have a bad back and can simply not tolerate being bent for any length of time, consider your observing position with a small 6" Dobson, either you or it may require an adjustment of position. (chair,support?)

Just be very wary of supermarket Xmas specials, most of them could not even be classed as a useful toy and will be consigned to the cupboard by Boxing Day. Also steer clear of anything stating 'max magnification' as a means of promoting the telescope, this is just so much rubbish, as it can never be used. And lastly, try to avoid small aperture telescopes of long focal length 90/1000, 114/1000, 90/1200 etc, they mostly have a device within the system to obtain this and can be a nightmare to work with, although when you quadruple your budget they can get very good indeed for planetary observation.

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