Pain In The ........

[TJExcalibur]

I must admit to getting confused in knowing what I want to buy in regards to my new set up. I ask questions, get lost, ask some more then decide and change my mind. maybe its my age because I used to be and impulse buyer and wasted money. So with my stretched budget I went for what others considered the best or as good as. Martin at FLO answered all my questions on the products at FLO. I admit to liking a bargain but on the very odd occasion I found it a bit cheaper elsewhere I still purchased from FLO. Nice to save a few quid but the rewards are far greater in knowing you are buying from somewhere who know all about what they sell and cope with old pain in the .... gits like me.

[Stu]

It can be very confusing, and at some point you just have to commit based upon a gut feeling after listening to all the advice I think.

Trouble is, if you ask 10 astronomers for an opinion about kit, you are quite likely to get 15 opinions back!! That's not always very helpful for new starters.

Paying a few quid extra for some excellent advice and the backup of great service seems like a no brainier to me! I never chose the cheapest option because it is quite likely that the supplier is operating on a very tight model with plenty of compromises.

[cloudsweeper]

Yes, there is loads of advice, then you just have to take the plunge.  I waded in with a Newt on an equatorial mount and just could not take to it.  Luckily I got a refund some months later and bought a small alt-az frac.  That got me fired up, so much so that I then passed it on and did more wading and got a 5 inch Mak which I love, and which is now complemented by an 8 inch SCT.  I love that too.  

When funds allow, I fancy a better frac.

Haven't been tempted by a Dob.  Yet....... (And then there's the storage!)

Doug.

[Linda]

You really need to make your own list of priorities for your scope: budget, big aperture, grab and go, transportable, collimating or not, deep sky or planets, cooling down time, quality of optics, photography or not. The list of probably not complete at all. 

If you describe all your needs, the forum members and a good shop can hopefully advice you some useful advice. There are plenty of different scopes and you have to make a choice, but some scopes fit better for your personal needs. A good shop will be helpful, but is also a bit biased, as they want to earn money on you.

[barkis]

By new set up, I take it you already have one that you have been using.
By analysing where the existing one falls short of your Ideal, gives you a starting point for 
the Improvement a potential purchase needs to fulfil. allied to your available budget,
you should arrive at a core sample of your needs.