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Meade Bresser RB70

mikephoto

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John

John

Posted
Posted

Hi Mike,

Welcome to SGL :clouds2:

What budget do you have available for this ? - I'm asking that because there are a number of better starter scopes available for a little more money than the RB70 costs (£100) which would sustain your interest much more. For example:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=s1145pm

If you really have to stick to that budget then it might be better to invest in a good pair of 10x50 binoculars and use those to develop your interest in astronomy while you save up a little more for a better starter scope.

John

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scotastro

scotastro

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Posted

Hi Mike

Dont't buy the RB70. I have to agree with John, there are better scopes out there. I think the RB70 mount will be a bit wobbly and that can be as frustrating as poor optics.

Save a little longer and buy a larger aperature refractor (90mm minimum) or reflector (Skywatcher 130PM or 150PL) both come with a more sturdy mount.

You are probably very anxious to get observing, but if you get a small aperture "cheap" scope you will see very little and the money will be wasted.

Mike

GAC

Galloway Astronomy Centre

www.gallowayastro.com

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mikephoto

mikephoto

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Thank you both very much for input but i got word yesterday from my girlfriend that she has already got me it. It is for my birthday you see, to start with she got me the 60 version but they gave us a free upgrade for some reason. So is this going to be rubbish?

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axolotl

axolotl

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Hi

A telescope makes a lovely birthday present, and I'm sure it won't be rubbish. I've not used this scope, but looking at the specs it should give fine views of the lunar surface, allow you to see the rings of Saturn etc. I started with a fairly similar scope, a Skywatcher Capricorn 70mm refractor and although I felt the urge to upgrade quite quickly it was more than enough to get me interested in this hobby.

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scotastro

scotastro

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Oops - foot firmly in mouth. I started with only a 60mm - a long time ago. Don't get me wrong, you will be able to see a number of interesting things with a 70mm like:

- craters, etc on the Moon

- phases of Venus

- cloud bands on Jupiter and its 4 moons

- Saturn - but without its rings for a while.

- Star clusters and Globular clusters

The last item may be just a bit faint or lack detail

The main thing is to get out and use the scope as often as you can.

Two things to do soon - buy the book "Turn Left at Orion" (or another pressie maybe) and download Stellarium planetarium software (completely free) which will tell you what you can see in the Night Sky and when

Mike

PS Happy Birthday, by the way

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mikephoto

mikephoto

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Ha well i will be getting it in a few hours when my girl friend comes back from Spain, but i wont be looking tonight because whatever i see will be double haha i love birthdays. I have looked up on that book, looks like a lot of help thanks for the advise. I am very excited to set it up and start looking! I am a total novice to this even though i have been so intrested in the sky and stars since i can remember but for some reason never had a scope. Thanks for the birth day message :clouds2:

p.s Will i see satellites if i look? They have bothered me for a long time because i never had the faintest idea what they were till i went on a ufo site and they told me. I would love to see them up close.

thanks

mike

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scotastro

scotastro

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Just a quick comment on your post.

Satellites range from the size of a bucket to that of a double decker bus. But all are 100s if not 1000s of miles away so whether you see one with an unaided eye or through your scope they only look star-like, they just move quickly. The only exception is the International Space Station (ISS) which is 200 feet long and appears H shaped in a scope (at 50x magnification), but it is tricky to follow.

Keep us informed of how you get on with the scope.

Mike

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John

John

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Ok so i have only had my scope for not even a week and i can not lock it into position, just wondering if anyone else who has had this tpe of scope could help me out?

thanks for the satellite info

When you say "lock it into position" do you mean you can't fasten the tube onto the mount or is it that you can't lock the mount in position when the scope is pointing at something ?.

John

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John

John

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I don't know that scope myself but here are some photos of one which show things called motion control locks on the mount - I imagine those are what you would use to lock the mount in a certain position.

http://www.scopesnskies.com/magnify/1267.2.html

Check that the telescope tube is more or less balanced in the tube ring that holds it onto the mount.

I looks as if it should all work OK.

John

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