Need help to spend £1000

[martindale]

Some Icelandic friends are coming to the UK this year, it's the old man's 50th and his other half has asked me to buy

him a scope for her to give to him when they come - up to £1000

A bit of background...

Bjorgvin and Freda, busy couple, run their own business

1 kid Johann, 14

All interested in science, amongst other things

Total novices round a telescope, quick learners

Live in Iceland, cold Very windy, fantastic skies

I was thinking along the lines of;

6" Schmidt-Cassegrain with goto & GPS - quite portable, very quick to set up 

A selection of eyepieces, 2 maybe 3, in the 82° range

Even though it's their first scope, it will be with them for quit a few years and it will get plenty of use

I was hoping you guys could help me with suggestions

[faulksy]

great scope you mention and if they havnt got much time a go to would be good. i imagine that there quite young having a kid of 14 so lifting a sct shouldnt be a problem. but you could get the cpc 800 secondhand and a couple of good eps. 8" is a great start

[jonathan]

I think there could be something to be said for either (here it comes...) a good dobsonian - a lot of scope for your money, if you don't bother with goto, or a 4" refractor on a good Alt-Az mount.  Plenty of viewing opportunities with either of these without getting bogged down with motors, batteries, or goto setup (which can be just as challenging if not more so than basic EQ alignment).

I think Skywatcher or Celestron should be the most widely available should they need parts etc once back in Iceland.  You may even have money left over for two or three decent eyepieces (appropriate to the scope you choose) and a nice flight case to keep them in.