Looking at a Celestron 114 EQ with a nice budget

[drjay]

Hey all,

   Looking to get into this hobby and I've decided on the Celestron AstroMaster 114 EQ reflector.  Trying to gather up all of the gear I need for backyard viewing.  Occasionally we'll be taking the gear out to some dark areas.

I have a budget of no more than $400 but I've read good things about this EP & this barlow.

I know that in this hobby, you get what you pay for, but with my budget should I get the scope & upgrade the EP with a barlow right off the bat or do you guys have any other suggestions for a scope for a beginner?  At first we'll just be star gazing, but maybe later it would be nice to take photos.

My questions:

1.  should I get the scope & upgrade the EP with a barlow right off the bat

2.  do you guys have any other suggestions for a scope for a beginner? (I would like a get a decent scope with my first purchase just like everyone else ;-) )

3.  Should I get a telrad finder site & ditch the star pointer that comes with it?

If anyone has any suggestions as to how they would do it all over again, I'm all ears!

thanks!

[sheldondave]

Hi drjay,

Firstly welcome to SGL, and now to your question.

While I have not used the Celestron Astromaster scope, I would whole heartedly recomend the Baader Zoom eyepiece. I have one myself and it is frequently in my scope, and gives excelent views throughout the zoom range. As for the Barlow, I would tend to wait till you have tried the scope and eyepiece combo first, and then decide if you need it. I have had one in my eyepiece case ever since I've had my scope, and have only used it once. You could even spend the extra on a larger Telescope, i.e. a 130 or 150mm, which would give a bigger improvment in the views obtained than would a Barlow, in my opinion. But I'm sure others will disagree with me on that.

Whatever you do choose to go with, I hope it gives you plenty fun and pleasure as you find your way around the heavens.

Clear skys

Dave.

[Robp]

My first scope was a Celestron AstroMaster 114 EQ reflector, it was a gift to me.

I can say that whilst it did get me into the hobby, there are better options around and I wouldn't recommend it as a first scope to others.

The red dot finder is awful

The mount wobbles really badly

The scope feels cheap in construction and the views are not that good.

As you say, you get what you pay for

For up to $400 I believe you could do much better (think that's around £260 here?)

Spend your budget on a decent scope and add extras like  eye piece and barlow in the future as funds allow.

Now the best price/performance scopes out there for visual in my opinion are Dobsonian telescopes.

They don't have an EQ mount like the astromaster so you get more scope for your money, there easy to use (excellent for a beginner) but there not suited very well for imaging.

My advice would be to take your money and buy a Dobsonian (biggest you can afford! ). if your okay with second hand purchases then look around for a bargain around 150-200mm in size,

In the UK, Skywatcher are generally recommended at the entry level. Not sure what the equivalent in your area would be but a link to the UK ones would be (in order of size and cost):

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

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-150p-dobsonian.html

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

You should be able to find something similar in the USA

Now don't let the pictures fool you, these are not small scopes. the 150p and 200p are both 1.2Meters in length whilst the smaller 130p is 65cms but there not to hard to carry around.

Once you have a scope, use it,enjoy it, look at different targets and see what takes your fancy then expand on your eyepiece collection based on your experience.

If you wanted to go the more traditional mount and scope combo then your going to have to sacrifice the quality of the scope so that you can include the mount in the cost.

Other things worth considering are to try and find a local astronomy club and pop down and get advice, look at scopes etc and/or head to a proper specialist telescope retailer (not a general store) and have a look at stuff there.

Whatever you chose, welcome to the hobby (and an empty wallet ).