Help, What Telescope Should I Buy????

[lord love rocket]

Hi Everyone,

I am a Cabbie who works nights, often staring up into space and wishing I had a better view, thus have decided to buy a scope. As a beginner don't want to spend too much cash (around the £100 mark) in case don't like.

Looking for a scope to see the moon and some planets, is this achievable on this budget?

Have seen the Celestron Astromaster 114EQ on ebay for this money, would this be a good buy? Any other Scopes you could recommend?

Not too fussed about the scope being new or used, just looking for the best results within a very small budget.

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

[John]

Hi,

To be honest you will probably be better off investing in a decent pair of binoculars and use them to develop your interest in the night skies. A pair of 10x50's can be had for less than £50 and will show you much more than your eyes can.

John

[Kai]

Hi

For the moon and planets i would either go for one of these ......http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=mercury705

Or have you considered a pair of Bino's ???

Oh and Welcome to Sgl

[rawhead]

For £40 and a drive to Bristol I'd go for this...

http://stargazerslounge.com/index.php/topic,29241.0.html

Top class Tal optics.

[SurfingNeil]

Hi,

I'm a newbie to I have bought a telescope and a pair on binoculars. To be honest the binoculars have shown me loads, for portability and cost I reckon you'd not go far wrong and if you really get into then the headache of choosing a first scope! I also got a copy of stargazing with binoculars published by Phillips, good book to have by your side.

Neil

[lord love rocket]

Thanks for all the imput really appreciated.

Kai, Mercury scope looks good, thanks, what realistically would I able to view clearly with such a scope? How does this scope compare with the Celestron scope I mentioned earlier? Does the Mercury scope come with everything needed to get me going, would I find I would need to purchase extras?

Rawhead, Thanks for the help, Bristol is a little far as I am based in Southend, Essex.

Binos, are a no no. I really fancy the idea of sitting in the garden beer in hand stargazing, couldn't drink whilst holding the binos.

Any other suggestions? if i can gather as much info beforehand would help before I purchase a scope. If anyone has suggestions of a scope which is slightly over the £100 mark would still look at.

Once again thanks for the help really appreciated.

[barkis]

To be honest, I would not be in a hurry to spend your money. If you live in Southend, there must be an Astronomy Society there. Try to find where they are located, and when the have their meetings. You can go along one evening, and they will be delighted to talk to you about your particular interests in the sky. They will certainly have a telescope or even several, that you can have a look through, weather permitting. There is nothing like seeing for yourself, and you can make a better judgement on what instrument will best suit you.

There are so many varied objects in the sky, from planets to Deep Sky Objects. of many types,

and there is no one telescope to cover all of them well.

When you eventually part with your money, you will be sure what you buy will do the job you want it to.

Also, when you do decide, don't neglect the second hand market, many a bargain can be had. If you need any advice on a particular scope that's for sale, come back and seek advice first, before buying.

Good Luck.

Ron.

[John]

Binos, are a no no. I really fancy the idea of sitting in the garden beer in hand stargazing, couldn't drink whilst holding the binos.

Unfortunately you need 2 hands with a scope as well quite often as you are going to have to move the scope to track objects when you are using medium to high magnifications as well as focus it

John

[Tiny]

The astromaster tripod looks a bit flimsy.

Maybe the Skywatcher 1145pm might be a better starter scope. As you can see here http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=s1145pm

The scope comes as a complete package of all you need to get stargazing, with eyepieces and barlow lens, motordrive and all on a good mount and tripod. At £119 it is amazing value. There is also a review of the scope available.

Mind you for a few pounds more the 130pm is if anything better value but that may, at £155, cost more than you want to spend.

[Astro_Baby]

But 130Pms crop up often 2nd hand in good nick and would be round the hundred mark. I just sold mine for £90.

[Starflyer]

I would agree with AB's recommendation.

The Skywatcher 130pm is an excellent starter 'scope and they can be had for £60 to £90 second hand; I still enjoy using mine. It comes with 2 eyepieces, a barlow lens and a motor drive for tracking the 'movement' of the sky as the earth rotates. It's a lot of 'scope for your money and the motor drive will allow you to try lunar and planetary photography in the future should you want to have a go at this.

Look out for the 650mm focal length not the 900mm focal length one as the 650mm has a parabolic mirror.

Cheers,

Ian

[lord love rocket]

The astromaster tripod looks a bit flimsy.

Maybe the Skywatcher 1145pm might be a better starter scope. As you can see here http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=s1145pm

The scope comes as a complete package of all you need to get stargazing, with eyepieces and barlow lens, motordrive and all on a good mount and tripod. At £119 it is amazing value. There is also a review of the scope available.

Mind you for a few pounds more the 130pm is if anything better value but that may, at £155, cost more than you want to spend.

Once again thanks for all the input I really appreciate it.

I think I shall go with Tiny, The Skywatcher 1145pm, the price is within budget and it seems to have great reviews.

The 130 new, is getting out of my price range (missus would go mad).

Now I need to track one down Ace Astronomical in Bristol seems to tbe the cheapest I have seen on the web at £117 with no additional charge for post & packaging. Anyone used these before? If anyone knows where I could buy cheaper please shout.

[RobH]

Have a look at this.....a TAL 100R 4 inch F10 refractor.

I've got one and it's a cracker of a scope....brilliant for lunar and planetary stuff.

http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=19553

Cheers

Rob

[russ]

Looking for a scope to see the moon and some planets, is this achievable on this budget?

Rob's suggestion of the TAL 100R for £100 is perfect. It will show you all you hope for with the moon and planets.

Plus there are no maintenance issues such as collimation. As newbie you will not want to know about collimation and if the collimation is out you'll just accept that's how it's supposed to look. The Tal is a safe bet for a great view everytime. Your jaw will drop when you see the moon.

Russ

[beamer3.6m]

Have a look at First Light Optics.

They price match and are very good. Delivery time is fantastic and very helpful on the phone.

[narrowbandpaul]

the 4" tal at F10 will give you all the magnification you could need for the moon

[Cloudwatcher]

Once again thanks for all the input I really appreciate it.

I think I shall go with Tiny, The Skywatcher 1145pm, the price is within budget and it seems to have great reviews.

The 130 new, is getting out of my price range (missus would go mad).

Now I need to track one down Ace Astronomical in Bristol seems to tbe the cheapest I have seen on the web at £117 with no additional charge for post & packaging. Anyone used these before? If anyone knows where I could buy cheaper please shout.

I get most of my gear from Ace Astronomical who have always proved very helpful and accommodating in my dealings with them.

I don't know if you noticed the Starlight 80 refractor on their web sight retailing at £99 which might suit your purposes as a starter scope. It comes as a complete kit within your budget and you could be up and running in no time............. Well,weather permitting.

Cheers

CW

Click as usual.

[moonraker1234]

Everybody is different, but personally I would choose a short tube telescope over binocs every time! A good s/h one can be picked ip for under £100, but insist that the seller spends some time with you explaining the workings in detail. They almost always are happy to oblige, and I have learned much that way!